Ubiquitous IT: The case of the Boeing 787 and implications for strategic IT research

  • Authors:

  • Richard L. Nolan

  • Affiliations:

  • Management and Organization, Emeritus Foster School of Business, University of Washington, Box 353226, Seattle, WA 98195-3226, United States and William Barclay Harding Professor of Business Admin ...

  • Venue:
  • The Journal of Strategic Information Systems
  • Year:
  • 2012

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Abstract

Case-based research was conducted on strategy and IT evolution in the Boeing Company. Results showed IT investment in the 20th century supported an increasingly decentralized hierarchical functional corporate organization structure, and shifted during the early decades of the 21st century toward an IT-enabled global network organization structure. IT investment context changed from an inward focus to an outward, IT-ecosystem focus. IT had penetrated every facet of the corporation creating IT ubiquity. But while IT was everywhere, IT strategic leadership remained fragmented and nowhere. Further research is required to define strategic IT leadership and its locus in the modern corporation.