Special Issue: Second Special Issue on the Strategic Impact of IT Deployment

This second issue in the series on information technology deployment continues our quest to further understand successful implementations. As noted in the first issue, the literature in this area has largely focused on the barriers toward implementation
and the reasons for failure. This series aims to address that gap by drawing upon the latest research undertaken in a range of sectors from academic and expert practitioner perspectives. Once again we wish to thank those who have contributed articles, along with the reviewers who have helped to shape the final submissions, and the editorial team who have been so helpful and supportive. Sims, Powell, and Vidgen lead this issue, with their examination of the development of new technology deployment strategies in UK universities. Adopting a resource‐based view of the organization, they consider how an emergent strategizing
process may be synthesized within a rational, top‐down strategizing framework.

The authors employ multiple case studies to examine the use of e‐learning technologies and institutions’ considerations of ‘build vs. buy’ for the acquisition of new resources and capability development. The study points to two idealized models of strategizing, one logical and rational, the other less organized and experimental, which span a continuum of possible approaches. The points at which new capabilities are acquired differ markedly between these two approaches:
capabilities respectively precede or follow technology acquisition. Both have significant implications for an organization’s human resources and outsourcing strategies.