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Strategic alignment remains a key area of focus among business executives. Methods exist with which to determine the type of alignment a firm is following and there has even been research into the factors which aid and hinder the achievement of alignment. What is currently lacking is a financial performance metric with which a firm can benchmark itself against its competition controlling for industry classification or similar alignment perspective. This paper explores the financial performance and alignment of over 500 firms over the past five years. From these data, a regression equation to measure performance controlling for alignment perspective and industry classification is proposed. Such an equation provides firms with an idea of where they stand, on average, within their respective industry and among firms following the same alignment perspective. Implications for managers are also discussed as well as general strategies for managers to facilitate and enhance information technology investment.

The purpose of this paper is to review and synthesize the research literature on the quality of life (QoL) of both caregivers (CGs) and care recipients (CRs) with dementia after admission to long-term care facilities.

Four databases – AgeLine, Medline, EBSCO, and PyscINFO – were searched and the relevant literature from 2002 onwards was reviewed.

The review of 12 studies (five studies, including only family CGs; six studies including residents; one study including both family CGs and CRs) reveals a discrepancy regarding the effects of institutionalization on the CRs’ and CGs’ QoL. Among seven studies on CRs’ QoL change, some reviewed studies found a significant decline in CRs’ QoL after placement with others showing that CRs’ QoL was improved or stable. While some reports indicated that some family CGs benefited from placement, others showed that CGs merely maintained their QoL. However, family CGs in the reviewed studies were more likely to report improved QoL than were their CRs after institutionalization.

The authors recommend that future studies should focus on understanding the individual’s adaptation to placement, dyadic changes in QoL (including mediators/moderators). They emphasize the need for a comprehensive longitudinal study with more than one wave and includes diverse groups including racial/ethnic minority CGs and CRs.

This study reviewed and synthesized the research literature on the QoL of both caregiver and the people with dementia they cared for after those they cared for were admitted to long-term care facilities. The conclusions drawn about influences on QoL provide guidance for identifying best practices and research.

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This paper aims to analyse residents’ perceptions of tourism growth in Porto prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, aiming to determine the most appropriate strategies to mitigate negative tourism impacts. Studies on resident perceptions of tourism impacts are still scarce, particularly the ones addressing the topic in the context of Portuguese urban tourism areas.

Data was collected through an online survey, focusing on three categories of impacts: (i) economic, (ii) sociocultural (iii) and spatial-environmental, and the respective mitigation strategies, analysed from the perspective of Porto’s residents. Descriptive and bivariate statistics – T-test and Eta correlation – were used to analyse the collected data.

Respondents who live in the city centre experience specific tourism impacts more negatively, when compared to those living outside the inner-city area. Furthermore, no strong correlation is found between the said impacts and the respective mitigation strategies. However, creating awareness among tourists about acceptable behaviour in shared spaces is the strategy that stands out, as it has a medium correlation with all three impact categories. Most impact-strategy associations are weak, meaning that the defined strategies are not the most case-appropriate, which is something that policymakers should address.

To the best of the author’s/authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to adopt this approach in tackling the negative impacts of rapid tourism growth in Porto.

The purpose of the paper is to examine and analyze the alignment between (information technology) IT, strategic orientation (SO) and organizational structure (OS) and their impact on firm performance (FP).

A theoretical framework is proposed regarding the constructs of IT, SO and OS. A model incorporating these three constructs is examined and their impact on FP is assessed using structural equation modeling (SEM). The sample data from 295 firms were obtained through structured questionnaires.

The results of the SEM support the hypothesis that the alignment between IT, SO and OS significantly affects FP.

Non‐financial and intangible performance measurements are not included and the sample is not homogeneous.

This study suggests that managers should choose the appropriate level and type of IT, depending on a firm's structure and SO, in order to benefit from the advantages of IT usage and achieve higher performance levels.

This study presents an overview of the impact of SO, OS and IT on FP, and that shows that there is scope for further research into the inter‐organizational relationships that exist between them.

Strategic alignment is a theory-based state that is considered as crucial for organizations in order to realize performance gains from information technology (IT) investments and deployments. Within the domain of purchasing and supply chain management there has been a growing interest on how purchasing strategy can be effectively aligned with IT and what conditions facilitate this state. The purpose of this paper is to investigate complex causal relationships of contingency elements that are key in enabling the “fit” between purchasing strategy and IT.

The paper employs a configuration theory approach and propose that purchasing alignment is dependent upon patterns of multiple contingencies. In adherence with contingency theory, the authors group these elements as relating to strategic orientation, organizational factors, and purchasing decisions. On a sample of 172 international companies the authors then apply the novel methodology of fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA).

The paper empirically demonstrates that depending on the strategic orientation that a company follows, there are alternative combinations of elements that lead to high purchasing alignment. For companies following an operational excellence strategic orientation, a high contract binding scheme, or a small firm size facilitates purchasing alignment. Enabling elements for product leadership companies include a decentralized purchasing structure, a broad supplier base, and a large firm size. Purchasing alignment for customer intimacy companies is supported by a centralized purchasing structure, loose contract binding, and a large supplier base.

The findings of this study suggest that practitioners aiming to attain a state of purchasing alignment should consider a number of contingency elements in the process. The paper shows that there is equifinality in the configurations that lead to purchasing alignment. This means that attaining purchasing alignment is dependent upon various clusters of contingency elements which must be taken into account when formulating a purchasing strategy.

In contrast with past studies examining purchasing alignment as a result of the isolated impact of several antecedents, we applied a configuration theory approach to demonstrate that it is facilitated by the combined impact of a set of cause-effect relationships. In cases were non-linear and synergistic relationships exist between independent variables, this type of research may be a viable alternative.

Prior research highlights the vital role of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) for innovation in response to environmental conditions. However, there is a lack of studies that analyse the determinants of ICT investments on the innovation activities of firms in relation with their impacts on the industrial and competitive dynamics using large data sets. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

In this paper, the authors investigate the effects of ICT investments on the industrial and competitive dynamics for a large and representative panel data set. All the industries are included, and lagged effects of ICT investments are studied. The model is tested on a seven-year panel (2008–2014) of 231 Italian industries using two-stage least squares instrumental-variables estimators with industry time and fixed effects.

The results indicate that munificent industries and higher ICT spending are interrelated facts, showing that in sectors with more growth opportunities firms invest more in ICT and this leads to higher industry concentration, greater profit dispersion and higher competitive turbulence in the sector. Also, the paper shows that SMEs can rarely take advantage of their ICT-based innovation to start high-growth phenomena.

The results suggest that ICT-based innovation may create competitive advantages that are hard to sustain over the long-term raising important implications for managers involved in ICT-enabled innovations and policy-makers involved in building programs to foster innovation.

Against the backdrop of today’s digital transformation, the paper enriches our understanding on the disruptive effects exerted by the digitalization of the innovation process and provides a base to continue the investigation of industrial changes and competitive dynamics.

The quantity and scope of the information that has materialized so far on the subject of AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) has increased significantly since the first case of the syndrome in the United States was diagnosed in 1981. Initially, information could be found only in a few articles in the medical periodical literature or in a few newspapers. Gradually, more information appeared in health care, allied health, and other professional journals and periodicals. As the incidence of the syndrome increased, more newspapers and the mass market magazines and the electronic media began covering the syndrome, and both health care professionals and the general public found themselves presented with a steady stream of information, research, and education on the subject of AIDS.

Though prior studies have attempted to explore the various effects of managing information technology (IT) investment on firm performance, the mechanism through which management of IT impact on firm performance rests less clear. The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of managing IT and business-IT alignment on firm performance.

Drawing on the resource-based theory and process theory, this study examines how managing IT impacts business-IT alignment and firm performance. The primary survey of 182 responses from IT and business managers from Sri Lanka was empirically examined.

The findings reveal that managing IT has a positive and strong impact on business-IT alignment and firm performance. Further, business-IT alignment partially mediates between managing IT investment and firm performance relationships.

Today, businesses have invested a massive amount of money in IT investment, and the return on this investment is always a serious concern for managers and industry practitioners. This study finding proposes meaningful insights on managing IT, business-IT alignment and firm performance.

This study opens up the black box on the above nomological linkage and contributes to the literature by extending the theoretical lenses while suggesting insightful and practical implications.