Balancing technology innovation and operational effectiveness : an exploratory study in two large service organisations

Organisations are increasingly investing in complex technological innovations such as enterprise information systems with the aim to improve business operations. However, this technological innovation tends to have an excessive focus on either the purity of the system (system effectiveness), or the resulting operational performance; both positions are detrimental to the long-term enterprise benefits through failure to achieve the real value of innovation. Current literature is silent in regard to the relationship between the system effectiveness outcomes of a technological innovation and the operational performance outcomes, both of which have been well defined individually. This study explores the linkages and interactions between the two previously defined models, examining the influence of organisational factors on achieving a balance that maximises benefit to the enterprise. This research uses a qualitative approach, based on unstructured and structured interviews with employees at different levels of two large service organisations, to build on the existing literature and to further confirm and refine a theoretical framework.