How useful are strategic plans for information systems? THOMPSON S. H. TEO and JAMES S. K. ANG Department of Decision Sciences, Faculty of Business Administration, National University of Singapore, 10 Kent Ridge Crescent, Singapore 119260; e-mail: fbateosh@nus.edu.sg Abstract. Although much research has been done in the area of strategic planning for information systems (IS), relatively less research has focused on the output of the IS planning process, namely, the IS plan. This paper examines the usefulness of IS plans through a ® eld survey of 136 IS executives. Results indicate that IS plans are generally perceived to be useful for supporting business objectives, improving systems integration, exploiting information technol- ogy (IT) for competitive advantage, and prioritising IS development projects. Conversely, IS plans are perceived to be less useful for clarifying the role of IS, evaluating IS performance, anticipating surprises and crisis, and adapting to unanticipated situations. Implications of these results are discussed. 1. Introduction Lederer and Sethi (1988) de® ned strategic information systems (IS) planning as `the process of identifying a portfolio of computer-based applications that will assist an organisation in executing its business plans and consequently realising its business goals’ (p.446). Over the past ten years, strategic IS planning has consistently been among the top ten issues facing IS executives (Brancheau et al. 1996). Consequently, it is not surprising that researchers have examined a wide variety of issues such as IS planning methodologies (Lederer and Gardiner 1992, Lederer and Sethi 1988), problems and di culties (Lederer and Mendelow 1987, Lederer and Sethi 1991, Lederer and Sethi 1992), stages of growth (King 1988, King and Teo 1997), integration between business planning and IS planning (King 1978, Teo and King 1997), process and content dimensions (Das, Zahra and Warkentin 1991), research agenda (Boynton and Zmud 1987), critical success factors (Ang and Teo 1997), role of steering committee (Raghu- nathan 1992), and the planning process itself (Ciborra 1991, Earl 1993). Researchers have also assessed the impact of IS planning process (Premkumar and King 1991) and IS planning integration (Teo and King 1996). However, most research seems to focus on the IS planning process itself and its attendant features (e.g. pro- blems, challenges, and critical success factors) rather than the output of the IS planning process, namely the IS plan. Researchers have generally found the strategic IS planning process to be intricate and often plagued with numerous problems. Consequently, ® rms may be reluctant to invest much e ort in IS planning, if they are unconvinced of the bene® ts and the usefulness of the output IS plans. For example, top management must be convinced that e ective, sound IS plans will translate to healthier sales and increased productivity. The need to be assured of the usefulness of the IS plan assumes a higher degree of importance when IS investments involve huge capital outlays. Researchers also commonly emphasised the bene® ts of IS planning, rather than empirically examining the extent of usefulness of each of these bene® ts. Hence, this research is an initial attempt to provide some insights into the usefulness of strategic plans for IS in various areas. The results should be of value to researchers and practitioners in better understanding the value of strategic plans for IS and in promoting strategic IS planning. 2. Method 2.1. Sample and procedures The sample was taken from the Key Business Directory of Singapore (Dun and Bradstreet 1996/97). A cover letter, stamped reply envelope and a copy of the BEHAVIOUR & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY, 2000, VOL. 19, NO. 4, 275±282 Behaviour & Information Technology ISSN 0144-929X print/ISSN 1362-3001 online Ó 2000 Taylor & Francis Ltd http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals