Towards a Human Processual Approach of Business-IT Alignment

This study answers the question whether human processual interventions are used to improve business-ICT relationships and if not, what the reasons might be for this. Human processual interventions are about improving human relations and match the problem of troubling relationships between IS and business with its associated miscommunication, unclear responsibilities, leadership issues or perceived cultural differences better than techno-structural interventions (pertaining organizational structures, business processes, alignment models, infrastructures, etc.) that are mainly put forward in the literature. Our explorative qualitative research shows that consultants recognize the human relations nature of alignment but that they have different reasons for being inclined towards techno-structural interventions. These reasons provide a mirror to the academic community. We argue that these reasons reinforce the social structure in which many IS people work and that academics are an important group to break with that structure. To this purpose, an adoption of human processual approaches is recommended.