Reframing It Business Value for the Digital Era: A Multidimensional Narrative Synthesis

Abstract

This narrative literature review critically examines the evolving discourse surrounding information technology business value (ITBV) in the context of digitally transformed organizations. The review addresses the central research question: How can organizations more comprehensively conceptualize and measure the business value generated by information technology investments? Drawing upon contemporary scholarship, the study synthesizes two dominant paradigms within ITBV research: the systems approach, which emphasizes process-oriented and qualitative outcomes, and the accounting approach, which prioritizes quantifiable financial and market-based indicators. A structured narrative review methodology was employed using peer-reviewed journal articles indexed in databases including ABI/INFORM, EBSCO, Emerald Insight, Google Scholar, IEEE Xplore, JSTOR, ProQuest, and ScienceDirect. Articles were selected based on relevance to ITBV conceptualization, measurement frameworks, digital transformation, organizational capabilities, and strategic performance outcomes. The findings reveal that IT business value is multidimensional, context-dependent, and contingent upon complementarities between technological resources, organizational capabilities, and strategic alignment. The review further demonstrates that existing measurement approaches remain fragmented due to the separation between qualitative process-oriented perspectives and quantitative financial approaches. The synthesis suggests that future ITBV frameworks should integrate both tangible and intangible dimensions of value creation, including customer experience, organizational agility, innovation capability, and strategic adaptability.