Background and purpose: Operational alignment, the alignment between business processes (BPs) and information systems (ISs), is a well-acknowledged requirement for improving business efficiency. However, a lack of sound foundation for the practical implementation of operational alignment remains in the existing literature. This is, in part, because previously developed coarse-grained strategic alignment models for operational alignment have overlooked the differences between strategic and operational levels of alignment. Additionally, while some studies have recognized these differences, they remain limited. This is partly due to their negligence of the IS’s socio-technical nature or their focus on identifying the social antecedents and their effect on operational alignment, without considering how ISs meet the business requirements in achieving operational alignment. To overcome this potential lack of applicability, the purpose of this paper is to determine the right level of abstraction for describing BPs and ISs and reconceptualizing operational alignment. Methodology: This paper conducts empirical research using a grounded theory (GT), centering on semi-structured interviews with 28 experts involved in the Iranian top public universities. Data were analyzed by using MAXQDA software. Results: The resulting FunCaps framework specifies the required combinations of BP functions and IS capabilities for operational alignment. Conclusion: FunCaps reconceptualizes operational alignment based on operational planning and reciprocal integration and establishes the broader picture by considering an IS as a socio-technical system.

Factors affecting the alignment of information systems (ISs) and organizational strategies (i.e., strategic alignment) vary depending on the organizational contexts, comprising both the structural and environmental contexts. Previous studies of strategic alignment were largely focused on organizations with flatter organizational structures and low environmental uncertainty. Therefore, findings from previous studies might not be applicable to organizations with tall organizational structures and in uncertain environments, like Iranian organizations. To this end, we aimed to discover less‐explored factors in achieving strategic alignment based on the contexts of Iranian organizations, using grounded theory. We conducted semi‐structured interviews with 29 experts in different organizations to illustrate and substantiate the development of an eightfold framework that specifies the factors for achieving strategic alignment. Specifically, the developed eightfold framework resulted in identification of 8 factors and 51 elements in achieving strategic alignment. Here, we identified five factors in achieving strategic alignment in addition to the factors reported by previous research (i.e., senior management, communication, and partnership), namely IS leadership, IS capabilities, organizational development, human resources, and IT infrastructure. The results indicate that these factors play a prominent role in determining the challenges and discerning the momentous requirements for achieving strategic alignment in organizations with tall structures in uncertain environments.

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Objective: Though rich in oil and gas, Iran, like many other countries in Middle East, increasingly recognizes the need to diversify energy sources, to ensure security of supplies and provide for more consistent energy costs. Renewable energies (e.g. wind, solar and geothermal) are realistic options without the environmental impacts of conventional fuels. Developing and using of this renewable resources and changing energy policy, was under the influence of managers' Attitudes and consequently their support of this strategy. The purpose of this paper at first is to understand managers' values about the new energy resources, and then to analyze the impact of social marketing mix on Managers' feelings.Methods: The paper employed structural equation modeling (SEM) to investigate the relationship between the social marketing and Attitude. Required data were collected from local managers in Isfahan by questionnaire method. For Data gathering and analyzing mixed (qualitative and quantitative) Methods are used.Results: findings show that managers' Attitudes towards new energy resources were positive. Also, the current social marketing mix (e.g. product, price, place, promotion, people and policy) of new energy centers are suitable. As another result, managers' Attitudes cannot influence on the social marketing mix. Conclusion:The paper recommends the integration of principles of social marketing in community programs aimed at dealing with environmental issue. In particular, it suggests identification of competing groups in the community, construction of specific programs for different segments, addressing the no-monetary prices that the change may incur on the different groups, location of appropriate places for distribution of messages, using supportive laws, indentifying people views and using TV media and Internet services as well as public means of communication and promotion.