مفاهیم سیستم‌های اطلاعاتی استراتژیک و مزیت رقابتی و مدیریت راهبردی

ABSTRACT Competitive Advantages and Strategic Information Systems

The potential usefulness of different kinds of Information System (IS) for environmental management is well recognized (Díez et al, 2009). Perhaps we can say advances in information provision have led organizations to attempt to develop IS or information technology (IT) strategies which interrelate with their business strategies and which together support corporate missions (Rogerson et al, 1994). The three general types of IS that are developed and in general use are financial systems, operational systems, and strategic systems. Well-directed financial systems and operational systems may well become the strategic systems for a particular organization. Relationship between IS functions and corporate strategy was not of much interest to top management of firms in recent years and so many problems because of failure in achieving strategies and that disconnecting for organizations go to existence. Modern organizations are increasingly seen as knowledge-based enterprises in which proactive knowledge management is important for competitiveness (Holsapple et al, 2000). One of the hot research topics in new decades is research about strategic IS and its aspects and Project management IS has changed considerably over the last decade (Ahlemann, 2009). One of the major factors in competitive environment is knowledge management and companies for achieving the competitive advantages should concentrate in its IS. IS has a vital role in business operation and financial and non-financial aspect such as decision making as a big role of management. ISs were thought to be synonymous with corporate data processing and treated as some back-room operation in support of day-to-day mundane tasks (Rockart, 1979). Nevertheless, in the 80’s and 90’s, there has been a growing realization of the need to make ISs of strategic importance to an organization. Strategic SISs are systems that support or shape a business unit’s competitive strategy (Callon, 1996, and Neumann, 1994). Strategic ISs are touted throughout the trade press and the academic literature as the way to achieve the greatest benefits from an investment in new IT (Bajjaly, 1998). An SIS is characterized by its ability to significantly change the manner in which business is conducted, in order to give the firm strategic advantage (Turban et al, 2006). In literature we have many definitions for strategic IS such as: “The IS to support or change enterprise’s strategy” (Wiseman, 1985). But clear definition is “a system that helps companies change or otherwise alter their business strategy and/or structure.” It is typically utilized to streamline and quicken the reaction time to environmental changes and aid it in achieving a competitive advantage. Key features of the Strategic ISs are the following:

1. Decision support systems that enable to develop a strategic approach to align IS or IT with an organization’s business strategies
2. Primarily Enterprise resource planning solutions that integrate/link the business processes to meet the enterprise objectives for the optimization of the enterprise resources
3. Database systems with the “data mining” capabilities to make the best use of available corporate information for marketing, production, promotion and innovation. The SIS systems also facilitate identification of the data collection strategies to help optimize database marketing opportunities.
4. The real-time ISs that intend to maintain a rapid-response and the quality indicators.

Any IS that a change the goals, processes, products, or environmental relationships to help an organization gain a competitive advantage or reduce a competitive disadvantage is a strategic IS (Turban, 2006). According to Porter (1985) a competitive strategy is a broad-based formula for how a business is going to compete, what its goals should be, and what plans and policies will be required to carry out those goals.

Turban et al (2006) believes that any organization seeks a competitive advantage in their industries in other word an advantage over competitors in some measure such as cost, quality, or speed. Competitive advantage is at the core of a firm’s success or failure (Porter and Millar, 1985, and Porter, 1996); such advantage seeks to lead to control of the market and to larger-than-average profits. Some of the more common ways of thinking about gaining competitive advantage are:

1. Deliver a product or a service at a lower cost. This does not necessarily mean the lowest cost, but simply a cost related to the quality of the product or service that will be both attractive in the marketplace and will yield sufficient return on investment.
2. Deliver a product or service that us differentiated. Differentiation means the addition of unique features to a product or service that are competitive attractive in the market.
3. Focus on a specific market segment. The idea is to identify and create market niches that have not been adequately filled. IT is frequently able to provide the capabilities of defining, expanding, and filling a particular niche or segment. The application would be quite specific to the industry.
4. Innovation. Develop products or services through the use of computers that are new and appreciably from other available offerings.

A strategic IS helps an organization gain a competitive advantage through its contribution to the strategic goals of an organization and/or its ability to significantly increase performance and productivity. Turban et al (2006) believes an SIS enables companies to gain competitive advantage and to benefit greatly at the expense of those that are subject to competitive disadvantage. They said Competitive advantage in the digital economy is even more important than in the old economy. For some businesses the impact of the digital economy is revolutionary.

Frequent changes in technologies and markets and the appearance of new business models can introduce radical changes in industry structure (Deise et al., 2000) and the nature of competition can shift rapidly (Afuah and Tucci, 2003, and Choi and Whinston, 2000). At the same time, the digital economy has not changed the core business of most firms. For most businesses, Internet technologies simply offer the tools, sometimes very powerful tools, which can increase their success through their traditional sources of competitive advantage—be that low cost, excellent customer service, or superior supply chain management. Bithos (2001) believe that for the overwhelming majority of businesses, the first step to competitive advantage in the digital economy are to ask and answer the question, “Where, given my industry and position, does my competitive advantage come from?” Then the follow-up question, “How can IT, especially the Internet, help my business?” will be easier to answer.

As Figure.1 shows, there were five business pressures on the company. Rosenbluth’s strategic response was (1) to eliminate the retailing activities, which were most likely to be impacted by the pressures, and (2) to change the revenue model from commission-based to fee-for-service-based. Such strategy required extensive IT support (Turban et al, 2006).

At first, strategic information systems were considered to be outwardly focused—that is, aimed at increasing direct competition in an industry and visible to all. For example, strategic systems have been used to provide new services to customers and/or suppliers, to increase customer switching costs, and to lock in suppliers, all with the specific objective of achieving better results than one’s competitors. But since the late 1980s, strategic systems have also been viewed inwardly: They are focused on enhancing the competitive position of the firm by increasing employees’ productivity, streamlining business processes, and making better decisions (Turban et al, 2006). In the next part of this article we consider the role of the IT in strategic management.

As Bhatnagar (2006) believes the advances in IT have affected the lives of most of the human beings in their day-to day lives, but the strategic IS may deliver a product or service that is at a lower cost, that is differentiated, that focuses on a particular market segment, or is innovative. With the passage of time, the technology has evolved immensely and so have the opportunities. IT is being used in the business activities for improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the people and the business on the whole. The increasing demand of IS and IT has made the management of the more and more complex and difficult. SISs are different from other comparable systems as:

• They change the way the firm competes.
• They have an external (outward looking) focus.
• They are associated with higher project risk.
• They are innovative (and not easily copied).