Information technology (IT) alignment studies which focus on conceptual debates have left little room for studies investigating practical issues such as organisational structure. On the other hand, the attention paid to private and commercial organisations has resulted in findings that might not apply to public organisations. To address this gap in the literature, and respond to calls for further research, this study explored the influence of formal and informal organisational structures on IT alignment in a public organisation.

This thesis is a compilation of three studies—a systematic literature review and two case studies. The literature review revealed the lack of IT alignment studies in public organisations focusing on organisational structure. The findings of the case studies, conducted in one Swedish municipality, indicate the simultaneous existence of a formal and informal organisational structure which influenced IT alignment. The result of the qualitative case study revealed a centralised formal organisational structure, and three forms of informal organisational structure—interpersonal relationships, cross-departmental relationships, and professional networks—were identified. The findings also seem to indicate that the identified organisational structure forms have influence on IT alignment. The second (i.e. quantitative) case study established the strength of these effects.

Among the identified organisational structure forms, cross-departmental relationships were found to have the most substantial influence on IT alignment, particularly on communications, partnership and the dynamic IT scope. The influence of a centralised organisation structure on IT governance was also confirmed.  While the influence of interpersonal relationships on the three dimensions of IT alignment—communications, IT governance and skills development—was established, the influence of professional networks on IT alignment could not be substantiated.

This study makes several contributions to research and practice in IT alignment. Although prior studies have investigated the role of different organisational structures in IT alignment, the contribution of this research is that it looked into the influence of both formal and informal organisational structures on IT alignment, simultaneously. The research has also assessed the relative significance of various forms of organisational structure on IT alignment. Leaders and managers in the public sector can make use of the findings of this research to help them identify different organisational structure forms and make the necessary adjustments to improve IT alignment.

Tidigare informationsteknologi (IT)-alignment-studier fokus legat på den konceptuella debatten och inte på studier som undersöker praktiska frågor. En sådan praktisk fråga är vilken påverkan som organisationens struktur har på IT-alignment. Forskningsfokus för IT-alignment-studier legat på privata och kommersiella organisationer och inte offentliga organisationer. För att ta itu med dessa luckor i forskningslitteraturen syftar denna studie till att undersöka formella och informella organisationsstrukturers inflytande på IT-alignment i offentliga organisationer.

Avhandlingen är en sammanställning av tre studier - en systematisk litteraturöversikt och två fallstudier. Litteraturöversikten visar på bristen på IT-alignment-studier i offentliga organisationer med fokus på organisationsstruktur. Resultaten från de två fallstudierna i en svensk kommun, tyder på att det samtidigt både finns formella och informella organisationsstrukturer som påverkar IT alignment. Resultatet av den första (kvalitativa) fallstudien visade centraliserad formella organisationsstrukturen samt tre former av informella organisationsstrukturer, nämligen interpersonella relationer, tvärsavdelningsrelationer och professionella nätverk, vilka alla påverkade IT-alignment. Den andra (kvantitativa) fallstudien syftade till att fastställa styrkan i de olika organisationsstrukturformernas påverkan på IT-alignment.

Bland de identifierade organisationsstrukturformerna hade den informella organisationsstrukturen tvärsavdelningsrelationer det mest betydande inflytandet på IT-alignment, mer precis kommunikation, partnerskap och den dynamiska IT-räckvidden. Även interpersonella relationer hade inflytande på kommunikation, IT-styrning och kompetensutveckling. Den centraliserade organisationsstrukturens inflytande på IT-styrning bekräftades också, däremot gick det inte att fastställa inflytandet av professionella nätverk.

Denna studie ger flera bidrag till forskning och praktik. Även om tidigare studier har undersökt olika organisationsstrukturers inflytande på IT-alignment, så är – så vitt vi vet – detta den första studie som undersökt inverkan från både formella och informella organisationsstrukturer på IT-alignment. Studien ger också empiriskt stöd för den rollen organisationsstruktur spelar för IT-alignment i offentliga organisationer. Ledare inom den offentliga sektorn kan använda sig av resultaten för att identifiera olika organisationsstrukturformer och göra nödvändiga justeringar för att förbättra IT-alignment.

The widespread acceptance of digital transformation has brought the topic to the top of researchers’ and practitioners’ agendas. However, despite the anticipated benefits and opportunities, evidence suggests that many organisations still struggle to realise the results of successful digital transformation. The recent data from academic literature, consultancy firms and media reports indicate that, on average, between 70 and 80 per cent of digital transformation projects fail. According to the Boston Consulting Group, the figure for organisations in the public sector stands at 78 per cent. Among others, one of the reasons cited for this challenge is a phenomenon referred to as ‘IT alignment’—the appropriate and timely application of information technology (IT) in congruence with the overall organisational goals, internal organisational settings, and external environments.

The recognition of the critical role IT alignment plays in digital transformation has triggered calls for studies investigating the relationship between the two constructs, in various organisational contexts. However, a closer look at the extant literature reveals that public organisations were not the focus of studies exploring IT alignment’s role in successful digital transformation. This paucity of knowledge needs to be addressed since the differences between private and public organisations influence the adoption of emerging technologies. Thus, scholars argue that our comprehension of the relationship between the two constructs, based on studies conducted in private organisations, might not apply to public organisations. To address this gap and respond to the calls for further research, this study investigated the role of IT alignment in the digital transformation of public organisations. In addition to two systematic literature reviews, the thesis presents the results of two case studies with two follow-up confirmatory surveys.

The research question answered in this thesis is: “How can public organisations pursue IT alignment to enable successful digital transformation?” The main results of the study presented are the following. First, three roles of IT alignment for digital transformation in a public organisation are identified, i.e., enabling organisational agility, improving the value derived from IT investments, and enabling integration of digital technologies. Second, the organisational and managerial factors that influence IT alignment are revealed: i.e., organisational agility, organisational structure, organisational culture, leadership skills, digital metrics, HR management, stakeholder relationships, and external domain alignment. The study also ranked the relative degree of influence of the identified factors on IT alignment. Third, based on two systematic literature reviews and the analysis of interviews and survey data, the thesis proposed a framework with 19 actions that decision-makers could take to improve IT alignment, thereby enabling successful digital transformation. These 19 actions are linked to six IT alignment dimensions, which, in turn, are used for improving the degree of IT alignment.

The findings of the study presented in this thesis have various research and practical implications. First, the study contributes to research on the relationships between various organisational and managerial factors, the six dimensions of IT alignment, and the success of digital transformation in public organisations. Second, the study contributes to practice, as leaders in the public sector can use the findings, especially the 19 actions, as they make the necessary organisation-wide adjustments to improve IT alignment. As the finds of the studies presented in the thesis indicate, public organisations can succeed in their digital transformation endeavours when they improve the degree of IT alignment. To this end, understanding the relative degree of influence of the identified factors and the order of priority of the proposed actions will be invaluable.