Indeed, the issue of alignment between IS and the business has traditionally been one of the key issues
facing IS management.' Perhaps the reason for the interest in strategic IS alignment is because it has been shown to enhance not only IS success but organizational success as well.^ Yet, despite this general recognition of the importance of strategic IS alignment, insufficient research has been conducted on how such alignment is achieved and sustained over time. Consequently, the difficulties in
achieving and sustaining alignment have been largely underestimated and the
path toward alignment is often treacherous.