THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE IT ENTERPRISE ARCHITECTURE MATURITY AND THE BUSINESS PERFORMANCE FOR THE BANKING INDUSTRY IN KENYA

Abstract

Purpose:  The study aimed at establishing the relationship between the IT enterprise architecture maturity and the business performance for the banking industry in Kenya.

Methods: The study involved analyzing qualitative data first and then the quantitative data. The study employed stratified sampling. The population was made up of 39 banks. The 6 Tier banks were the sample size of the study. The participants were the CEO, CFO and CIO of these banks. The study used correlation design (multiple regression).

Results: The results from the assessment of the six Tier-one banks show that some banks clearly do a better job of imbedding the best practices in IT enterprise architecture. The higher alignment maturity levels are linked with better business performance measures including the ROA and NPM.

Unique contribution to theory, practice and policy: Achieving significantly higher levels of IT enterprise architecture maturity across a wider range of organizations is a long-term journey.  The journey in each organization begins with a complete assessment of how business views IT and how IT views business.  The journey continues with how business and IT executives work together to close the gaps and improve the performance of the organization.  And in the quest for continuous improvement within a dynamic global environment, the journey may never end.