Effects of strategic information systems on competitive strategy and performance

Purpose This study argues that strategic information systems (SISs) are necessary for organizations’ survival and corporate performance in turbulent economic environments. Applying Miles and Snow’s strategy typology, the purpose of this paper is to explore how SIS supports business strategy and corporate performance. Design/methodology/approach This study uses quantitative survey data from 389 Brazilian companies during economic crises and analyzes them using structural equation modeling. Findings There is strong evidence that SIS promotes capacity and flexibility to create competitive strategies in response to environmental changes. SIS significantly and positively predicts firms’ use of prospector strategies, reducing the need to sacrifice efficiency for innovation. SIS can predict corporate performance more strongly than firms’ strategic orientations can. Practical implications The results provide organizations insights on how SIS enables strategic planning processes to create competitive strategy and improve performance during economic turbulence. Originality/value This research demonstrates SIS’s positive effects during economic turbulence on competitive strategy and performance, revealing that corporate performance is influenced more by SIS (strategic process) than strategic orientation (content). Hence, this study fills a research gap in the information systems strategy literature by contributing new insights about SIS.