The notion of strategic alignment as used in this article is based on three central arguments found in the literature. One, an organization's performance is related to its attaining the appropriate structure and capabilities to execute its strategic decisions." Two, alignment is a two-way street. As organizations enter an era of information superhighways, expanded electronic commerce, and "virtualness," executives increasingly realize that in addition to business strategy influencing IT, IT now also influences business strategy.' Finally, it is evident that strategic alignment "is not an event but a process of continuous adaptation and change.'"' Thus, our view of strategic alignment focuses on an organization's
ongoing efforts to establish and maintain a series of interdependent relationships