Investigation of the strategic alignment in public sector organisations using knowledge based strategy

Shuwen Ma

Hangzhou College of Commerce, Zhejiang Gongshang University, 310012, Hangzhou, China

Ageing workforce is one of the critical challenges a public sector organisation is facing and will face more terribly. The cost of knowledge loss can have huge impact on the bottom line of business. A major issue facing Public Sector Organisations (PSOs) in recent times has been the increasing pressure to demonstrate value from investments in Information Technology (IT). One omnipresent but often overlooked solution is Strategic Alignment (SA) between corporate business objectives and IT initiatives as achieving SA remains one of the more enduring challenges for organisations. Moreover, deriving value from IT investments through SA requires both IT and business executives to foster synergies between their respective areas, which contributes to increased organisational performance. Conversely, business-IT misalignment may eventually lead to failure in achieving business goals. Shared Domain Knowledge (SDK) is a key factor within the social dimension of SA and is concerned with the level of knowledge business and IT have of each other’s to each other’s missions, objectives, and plans. This paper presents findings from a study which investigated the influence of SDK on SA within organisations in the Australian public sector. The developed research model examined SDK between business and IT professionals as a factor that would potentially influence SA. The findings suggest that increased levels of SDK between professionals from the business and IT domains leads to more efficient SA in PSOs.