selling into additional locations; lateral growth, by applying excess capacity, by-products or expertise, in order to address new marketplaces. Growth of any kind tends to be associated with the economies of scale or scope mentioned earlier. (5) Alliance By an alliance, Wiseman means a combination of two or more groups or individuals, whether intra- or supra- to the enterprise, which works together to achieve a common objective. Four types of alliance are identified: product integration; product development; product extension; and product distribution. Other important contributions have been made to the process whereby strategic systems are, can be and/or should be uncovered (Wiseman & MacMillan 1984, Rackoff et al 1985, Earl 1986, EDP Analyzer 1986a, 1986b, Vitale et al 1986, Somogyi & Galliers 1987, Madrick 1987, Henderson et al 1987, Lederer & Mendelow 1988, Lederer & Sethi 1988, Laudon & Turner 1989, Main & Short 1989, Clemons & Weber 1990, Clemons 1991, Reich & Huff 1991, Dennis et al 1991, Lederer & Gardiner 1992a, Yetton & Johnston 1993). Directions of Development One of the findings by Scott Morton's `Management in the 1990s' Program' was that IT is a critical enabler of the re-creation (redefinition) of the organisation. The recognition and exploitation of IT capabilities is fundamental to strategic choices of business scope, governance mechanisms, organisational reconfiguration, and competitive actions in the marketplace. Approached from a different perspective, IT can be used to create an opportunity for change in organisations, whether or not the technology is actually central to the delivery of the benefits sought. The business process redesign and business process re-engineering (BPR) movements became highly influential during the early 1990s (Hammer 1990, Hammer & Champy 1993). The point was reached where it was difficult to submit papers to conferences, even those of an academic nature, without including the phrase in ...
