The Business Value of IT: A Synthesis and Framework of Archival Research

Abstract

This paper synthesizes recent empirical archival research investigating the link between information technology investment and business value. It examines 1) financial and non-financial measures to represent different elements of business value, 2) IT investment measures and links with firm performance, 3) IT and business complementarities that affect firm performance; and 4) the impact of business context and IT alignment with business strategy on resulting performance. The review of prior research is guided by a balanced scorecard framework that places IT in a business context and highlights the role of potential drivers and contextual factors that impact the association between IT and firm value. The paper concludes by proposing several broad avenues of future research that may be of particular interest to archival accounting information systems researchers.

Keywords: Accounting Information Systems (AIS) Research, Information Systems (IS) Research, Research Directions, Business Value of IT

JEL Classification: O14, O33, O32, M40