Rockart's concept of critical success factors is clearly inspired by the issue of optimum match
between environmental conditions and business characteristics, i.e., the core of business strategy. The surrounding environment is assumed to possess certain fundamental requirements
and limitations, threats and opportunities, to which businesses must align their strategy, skills
and resources, in order to achieve success. No organization, according to Rockart, can afford
to develop a strategy which fails to provide adequate attention to the principal factors which
underlie success in the industry. This provides the rationale for making them the basis of a
management information system.