ICT Business Alignment Versus Digital Alignment: Similarities and Differences for Driving Organizational Innovation Management

Increased digital readiness and use of digital technologies in business organizations in a variety of applications and processes are affecting how businesses innovate and perform in the new large-scale competitiveness age. Businesses are recognizing the importance of their ability to adapt to changes following knowledge revolutions, social networks and digital applications, in order to maintain an attainable and/or sustainable competitive advantage (SCA). The study focused on a central question of how businesses can integrate a digital strategy initiative and plans to improve firm performance in terms on innovativeness capabilities. Contemporary research suggests that the well-known ICT-Business strategic alignment method among traditional information technologies and business operations is not sufficient to create an SCA or to form improved firm performance. A structural equations modeling techniques operated to empirically construct a model and analyze a data set obtained from the Israeli industrial sector. It examines how this sector is affected by digital technologies and trends, create digital strategies and transformation programs, and how digital alignment corresponds with traditional ICT-business alignment. Results show significant validation of the structural model while at the same time sharpen the differences between the two concepts due to the ambiguity that exists in the literature and industry. The study also points to differences between senior or executive level managers who refer more impact to Technology Alignment over Digital Alignment while low ranking or younger managers tend to perceive digital alignment as a more powerful for gaining firm performance. Finally, the study delineates several similarities and differences factors that can serve as value drivers for researchers and practitioners to develop synchronous ICT and digital alignments strategies, and outline on a possible framework to achieve ICT and digital alignments for new firm performed innovation.