The aim is to address the approach and identify the assessment of the effectiveness of IT investment used by organisations, to develop a thesis of good practice in this area; and to test this thesis by reference to a focus group consisting of practitioners.The research began using the case study method to collect evidence and then content analysis was employed to analyse this evidence to identify empirical generalisations and thus develop a theory of IT investment, IT investment evaluation and IT benefit identification. Correspondence analysis was used on the case study data as one step in establishing the theory. A focus group was used to present the relevant theory and the models that were created. Finally, the practical management guidelines suggested by the research and the models and content analysis figures were presented to practitioners as a cross-validation process and the results reported. The results of this research are an objectively developed theory of how IT investments are formulated and evaluated and how IT investment benefits are identified.

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Alignment is important to all organizations. This is confirmed by King (1995) but it is not yet clear how to achieve harmony between business strategy, information technology (IT) and e-commerce and what the impact of this alignment would be on an organization. In the past, the IT department was responsible for planning, development and management of information systems (IS). With the convergence of e-commerce, gaining an understanding of how e-commerce and IT may be jointly employed to support organizational strategies is important for managers (it is acknowledged that some organizations place e-commerce in the IT department, while others have it as a separate department). Good practice will ensure that the organization will find the best place for it. It is, however, good policy to split e-commerce and IT staff while aligning strategies. It is necessary to align the strategy for the e-commerce department as well. This alignment could be either “lawful” (wishes to create and protect) or chaotic (wishes to destroy).

Contents 1. Overview of the study 2. Focus on key concepts 3. Aim of the research 4. Why research study is important 5. Nature of a methodology 6. Initial stages of research 7. Research options 8. Bias in research 9. Case studies as research strategy 10. Different types of evidence on which a case study may be based 11. Bias in the case study 12. Significance of uniformity when recording data 13. Formality of the case study research methodology 14. Case study protocol -research objectives and schedules 15. Summary and conclusions 16. References 1 Overview of the study Case study methodology and the philosophy that underpin IT research are discussed in this article. It seems that a majority of IT research projects rely on a number of data collection methods. It should also be remembered that people do what they know, do what they have done, do what is easier and do what is rewarded. It is therefore important to explore new avenues in IT research by expanding the definition of data and thereby creating opportunities for discoveries.