INFLUENCE OF IT-SAVVYNESS, IT-PORTFOLIO AND BUSINESS ALIGNMENT IN SINGAPORE CONSTRUCTION COMPANIES

Abstract

Construction Industries’ use of information technology (IT) systems was studied by looking at the firms’ use of IT budget, IT-portfolio. The strategic alignment of these companies were compared with the IT systems (particularly on enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems) use and also the link between IT savvy employees, strategic alignment and IT use. The survey questionnaire was based on finding out the importance of IT savvy employees, the strategic alignment and the IT budget. A total of 23 copies of survey questionnaire are collected from the A1/A2 construction companies. The responses are summarized to give a more holistic view, and to understand what the companies’ profiles are. A discussion of the results and the inferences drawn is presented. The 3 factors are compared using causal models and analyzed with McKinsey’s 7S Model. Variations from the expected results are analyzed and possible reasons are proposed for the variations. It is found that IT savvy employees do help, but have been shown in terms of quality of work and increasing the efficiency of the team, thereby changing the IT portfolio of the companies. The budget is impacted much by company’s IT view. Recommendations to increase the IT savvyness of employees and having top management support will help to improve the benefits from the IT system. Business alignment would also improve the benefits, but there are risks of alignment trap if the systems are unable to integrate into the company’s operations.