Strategic ICT Alignment in Uncertain Environments: An Empirical Study in Emergency Management Organizations

Marcus Vogt, Bond University
Kieth Hales, Bond University
Dieter Hertweck, Heilbronn University

Abstract

Information and communication technology (ICT) can help to prevent and mitigate the effects of threatening situations if applied appropriately. In industry ICT governance methods have become important tools to successfully align ICT with business goals. However, the domain of emergency management (EM) has to deal with unpredictable situations, multi organizational collaborations and ad-hoc teams, conditions which make conventional ICT governance frameworks and methods less useful. Based on a qualitative analysis of several European and Australian EM organizations and government agencies this paper discusses the issues and benefits of strategic ICT alignment in EM and identifies the current barriers and the special requirements of this domain. Finally, it presents a prototypical approach to fill this gap