MSL 884: Information Systems Strategy

3 Credits (3-0-0)
Instructor: Prof. P. Vigneswara Ilavarasan.
Room No.604 | Ph: 1174 | vignes@iitd.ac.in; evignesh@gmail.com

Objective
At the end of the course, the participants shall be able to learn:
about the strategic role played by information systems (IS) in businesses; how to establish an effective process
for developing IS strategies; how to align IS with the current business operations and innovate further; how to
exploit the IS for strategic advantage using different tools and techniques; how to manage the IS portfolio and
justifying IS investments; how to manage IS within organizations and for internal stakeholders; and about the
future trends and directions.

Content
No Topic
1. Course Introduction
2. Strategic role of information Systems (IT) in businesses
3. Application of strategic management & IS strategy
4. Process for developing IS strategies
5. Aligning business operations and strategy
6. Innovating with IS strategy
7. Exploiting IS for strategic advantage
8. Determining business IS strategy – tools & techniques
9. Managing IS portfolio
10. Managing IS within organizations and between internal stakeholders
11. Managing IS services and infrastructure
12. Future trends and services
13. Case Studies / Industry Interaction seminars / Student presentations
14. Case Studies / Industry Interaction seminars / Student presentations
Note: Please feel free to suggest new topics.

Readings
Textbook:
Peppard, J., & Ward, J. (2016). The strategic management of information systems: Building a digital strategy. John
Wiley & Sons.

Each lecture shall be based on a chapter from the textbook supported by additional material - research journal
articles, caselets, Newspaper reports and trade press videos. The references shall be given in the slides. The material
shall be made available by the instructor.

Evaluation – Final grading shall be relative in nature.

Individual (55%): Mid-term exam; End term exam.
Group work (45%): Presentation, Project, & assignments.
Number of groups should not exceed 12 numbers. Please form a group and give a title / name. Please DO NOT
MENTION your name in any of the submissions.

Mid (20%) & End Term (35%) Exams

Your understanding will be tested through descriptive answers. Questions shall be application oriented and take-
home ones. Deadline: As notified by the dept.
Presentation 1 – 5%
Each new topic in the course shall begin with a presentation for ten minutes by a group. Please pick up one from the
following articles. The same sequence needs to be followed. Maximum of four slides (all included) should be used.

1. Singh, A., & Hess, T. (2017). How chief digital officers promote the digital transformation of their companies. MIS
Quarterly Executive, 16(1), 1 – 17.
2. Meske, C., Osmundsen, K. S., & Junglas, I. (2020). Designing and implementing digital twins in the energy grid
sector. MIS Quarterly Executive, 3 (3), 183 – 198.
3. Dremel, C., Wulf, J., Herterich, M. M., Waizmann, J. C., & Brenner, W. (2017). How AUDI AG established big data
analytics in its digital transformation. MIS Quarterly Executive, 16(2), 81 – 100.
4. Sia, S. K. & Soh, C. (2016). How DBS bank pursued a digital business strategy. MIS Quarterly Executive, 15 (2), 105
– 121.
5. Lacity, M. C., & Van Hoek, R. (2021). How Walmart Canada used blockchain technology to reimagine freight
invoice processing. MIS Quarterly Executive, 20(3), 5, 219-233.
6. Smith, H. A., & Watson, R. T. (2019). Digital transformation at Carestream Health. MIS Quarterly Executive, 18(1),
85-98.
7. Hansen, R., & Sia, S. K. (2015). Hummel's digital transformation toward omnichannel retailing: Key lessons
learned. MIS Quarterly Executive, 14(2), 51 – 66.
8. Melville, N. P., & Kohli, R. (2021). Models for API value generation. MIS Quarterly Executive, 20(2), 6, 151 - 167.
9. Tumbas, S., Berente, N., & vom Brocke, J. (2017). Three types of chief digital officers and the reasons
organizations adopt the role. MIS Quarterly Executive, 16(2), 121 – 134.
10. Schuetzler, R. M., Grimes, G. M., Giboney, J. S., & Rosser, H. K. (2021). Deciding whether and how to deploy
chatbots. MIS Quarterly Executive, 20(1), 4, 1-15.
11. Aubert, B. A., Saunders, C., Wiener, M., Denk, R., & Wolfermann, T. (2016). How adidas realized benefits from a
contrary IT multisourcing strategy. MIS Quarterly Executive, 15(3), 179 – 194.
12. Hess, T., Matt, C., Benlian, A., & Wiesböck, F. (2016). Options for formulating a digital transformation strategy.
MIS Quarterly Executive, 15(2), 123 – 139.
13. Zhang, Z., Nandhakumar, J., Hummel, J., & Waardenburg, L. (2020). Addressing the key challenges of developing
machine learning AI systems for knowledge-intensive work. MIS Quarterly Executive, 19(4), 221- 238.
14. Mayer, A. S., Strich, F., & Fiedler, M. (2020). Unintended consequences of introducing AI systems for decision
making. MIS Quarterly Executive, 19(4), 239 – 257.
15. Constantiou, I., Marton, A., & Tuunainen, V. K. (2017). Four models of sharing economy platforms. MIS Quarterly
Executive, 16(4), 231 – 251.

Presentation 2 – 10%
Each group should pick up a topic relevant to the course. You may like to pick up a topic listed below. Please feel free
to choose new topics in discussion with me. Maximum of seven slides (all included) should be used.

Tips for online presentation:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/maryabbajay/2020/04/20/best-practices-for-virtual-presentations-15-expert-tips-
that-work-for-everyone/?sh=3eb341b53d19

Possible topics:
1. Analysis of advertisements for CIO roles in India.
2. CIO job movements – nature and insights.
3. Reasons and processes of digital routes adoption by traditional businesses in India.
4. IS strategies of large Indian businesses and MNCs in the same business domain.
5. Use of big data analytics by Indian organizations.
6. Success cases of IS for strategic advantage by Indian businesses.
7. Failure cases of IS implementation in public or private organizations in India.
8. IS governance in organizations in India: Best practices.
9. IS implementation challenges due to government regulations / compliances – privacy; financial transactions.
10. IS for human resources management in hybrid enterprises.
2
 11. Top five / ten technology trends for health care industry or any industry of your choice.
12. IS vendor ecosystem in India.
13. Use of blockchain in business operations.
14. Traditional banks’ response to neo banks.

Project – 5+10%
Proposal: Submit a printed single page (A4 size, single space, and 12 font) plan for your project. It should clearly state
the reason for selecting the topic, list of questions to be answered, and how will you collect the data for the report.
Report that uses either primary data or secondary data shall be evaluated more positively. This deliverable is
essential to proceed to the next stage. The topic for the project can be anything related to the course or extend the
idea shared in the presentation one or two.

Deadline for the proposal: Mid-term exam day. Report: Submit a project report of four PPT slides. Deadline: Two
days before the major exam.

Consultation & Other information

• You can e-meet me after the class. Please send me an email for meeting.
• Academic dishonesty (copying in exams and plagiarism in assignments) will result in F grade.
• I am open for guiding minor & major projects to extend your work in this course.

***