Executive Summary
This study, co-authored by Abhijith Anand of the Sam M. Walton College of Business, University of Arkansas (Department of Information Systems), explores whether organizations benefit from forcing business units to share IT resources or allowing units to choose their own.
The research combines survey data from 120 organizations with interviews of senior
IT executives to investigate three categories of IT resources: infrastructure, applications,
and data. The study applies a complementarity perspective — meaning the combined effect
of resources may differ from their individual impacts.
Key insights suggest that sharing applications and data is generally associated with
greater business unit agility, while sharing IT infrastructure can sometimes restrict
agility. Findings also indicate that the mix of shared resources matters: certain
combinations (such as increasing applications sharing when both IT infrastructure
and data sharing are high) may reinforce agility, while partial sharing (such as increasing
IT infrastructure sharing when both applications and data sharing are low) can undermine
flexibility.
Action Items for Industry
- Evaluate resource type separately: Consider which IT resources to standardize. Shared applications and data often enhance responsiveness. On the other hand, infrastructure sharing may slow units down, particularly if the end goal is to consolidate infrastructure for efficiency and cost reduction with no follow up initiatives to promote shared applications and data.
- Adopt a systems view: Assess how different IT resources interact. The combination of applications and data sharing tends to be more valuable than either alone.
- Balance centralization with flexibility: Ensure governance structures allow some local autonomy while still pursuing economies of scale.
- Pilot before scaling: Incremental moves toward shared IT resources may trigger rigidity if not planned carefully. Test combinations in smaller units before broad rollouts.
- Leverage data as a unifier: Shared data can reduce silos and improve decision-making speed across business units, even when applications differ.
Quote from the Researcher
Organizations often assume that sharing more IT resources automatically creates synergy. What our study reveals is that agility depends not on how much is shared, but on what is shared, and how these shared resources interact.
Organizations typically begin by sharing IT infrastructure resources to establish a solid foundation before extending these efforts to applications and data. This approach is likely to hurt business unit agility in the short term, making things worse before they get better. The key takeaway for managers is to avoid withdrawing support or underinvesting during IT infrastructure consolidation, as sustained commitment at this stage is critical for realizing long-term benefits from applications and data.
-Abhijith Anand
Co-Authors & Affiliations
- Magno Queiroz — Florida Atlantic University, College of Business.
- Paul P. Tallon — Loyola University Maryland, Sellinger School of Business & Management.
- Tim Coltman — University of Waikato, Waikato Management School.
- Rajeev Sharma — Deakin University, Deakin Business School
Link to the Original Research
Published in European Journal of Information Systems, available here.
📩 Interested in learning more?
If you’d like additional information about this research or to connect directly with
the researchers, please email us at research@walton.uark.edu.
