Business IT Alignment and Technology Adoption; The Case of RFID in the Logistics Domain

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) is increasingly applied in the logistics domain. As with other emerging technologies it is complex whether, when and how an organization should invest in RFID. In this paper the decision to adopt RFID in the logistic domain is explored. The authors take a business/IT-alignment approach and investigate the relation between business/IT-alignment principles and preference for RFID applications. A comparison of thirteen organizations that operate one or more warehouses shows that managers and decision makers in companies are not necessarily in sync with the business/IT-alignment principle which implies to further mature in the areas/domains that are least developed. Organizations were more prone to invest in business/IT areas that are already well developed. We conclude that other factors influence decisions to apply this type of new technology. Yet, the framework offers the opportunity to analyze and prepare a technology decision; it provides insight in and arguments for possible RFID adoption.