Business/information technology alignment for financial services: A review and synthesis of existing literature

Strategic alignment between information technology (IT) and business departments has been the subject of academic and professional discourse for over two decades. It is believed to be a precondition for, and predictor of competitive advantage. As IT management has sought to mature its relationship with its business partners, governance models and processes have been created to attempt to deliver this alignment. This paper analyses the scholarly discourse for contributions to the literature on strategic alignment with a specific focus on non-retail financial services. In the literature with explicit focus on financial services, there is no direct discussion on strategic alignment and so this paper will set the context for such a discourse and will contribute to the wider understanding of strategic alignment. In practical terms, it will provide pointers to senior executives, inside and outside IT departments and consultants on alignment and governance models.