  This paper presents a comprehensive study of the influence of environmental
uncertainty on business-IT alignment. The existing literature postulates
environmental uncertainty as a key challenge to achieving business-IT
alignment. Hence, the first objective of this study is to identify the extent
of the impact of environmental uncertainty on business-IT alignment, and to
determine its relative impact in the light of the other antecedents.
Furthermore, small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) differ fundamentally
from large firms in many ways. Thus this paper also aims to investigate the
variation between SMEs and large firms with regard to the antecedents for
strategic alignment. Based on data collected from 212 firms, a conceptual model
is tested against the research objectives. The findings provide important
contributions to both research and practice by demonstrating the relative
impact of environmental uncertainty, and showing how the antecedents of
alignment vary between SMEs and large firms.
