In traditional theories of how information technology (IT) is applied, a firm develops a business strategy, then chooses the structure and management process, aligns IT, and ensures that employees are trained and their roles are well designed. The authors describe and analyze a case in which business transformation occurred along a different, almost reverse, path to fit, through the incremental adoption of IT. At Flower and Samios, a small architectural firm, business strategy emerged gradually and was an outcome, rather than a driver, of change. The case shows how individual mastery, organizational learning, and the management of risk are critical components of a strategic change in which IT becomes an integral part of a firm’s core business processes.
Computer-Aided Architects: A Case Study of IT and Strategic Change
Acknowledgments
We gratefully acknowledge the generosity of John Flower and his colleagues at Flower and Samios for permitting us to observe and interview them at work.