IT managers' relations and value creation: complementary insights from four theoretical standpoints

Scholars investigating the importance of effective IT managers’ relations tend to rely on two mainstream theoretical approaches: the resource-based view (RBV) and sister theories, on the one hand; and the business-IT alignment view, on the other hand. This study proposes that these two theories, although very effective in explaining several aspects of the importance of IT managers’ relationships, are not sufficient, and could be usefully complemented by at least two further important theories: Lawrence and Lorsch’s view of organisational differentiation and integration, and the cyclical model of organisational learning proposed by Zollo and Winter. Therefore, this study presents the contribution of these four theoretical approaches (RBV, business-IT alignment, organisational integration, and cyclical organisational learning) to explaining the importance of IT managers’ relationships. For each theory, two propositions are deduced. The eight result-ing propositions are briefly compared, in order to highlight the importance of theoretical cross-fertilisation and integration for a better scientific understanding of IT management value.