The strategic information systems planning (SISP) literature has retained a narrow focus on organizational level activity to date. Limited empirical research has explored SISP’s multi-level interlinkages and complexities. Studies that have attempted to explore the micro activity of strategizing via a practice-based perspective have had their significance to academic and practitioner audiences questioned on grounds of micro-isolationism. Using a strategy as practice (SAP) lens, this study investigates how senior managers practice SISP through case studies of two public sector organizations (PSOs). The research’s primary contribution is a multi-level framework representing the practice of SISP. We ‘de-isolate’ SISP activity by empirically revealing how it is linked across macro, meso, and micro levels by SISP’s practitioners. Relating seemingly mundane strategic activity to matters of consequence has proven an enduring issue. Yet, at a time when organizations are facing grand challenges of increasing frequency and scale, we argue that the situating of day-to-day information systems (IS) strategy work within its broader context has never been more important. We propose a future research agenda premised upon moving ‘upstream’ to position SISP relative to grand challenges and ‘downstream’ to capture more open and inclusive forms of SISP.

迄今为止，战略信息系统规划（SISP）文献一直只关注组织层面的活动。有限的实证研究已经探索了SISP的多层次相互联系和复杂性。尝试通过基于实践的视角探索战略制定的微观活动的研究，对以微观隔离主义为基础的学术和从业者受众具有重要意义。本研究使用战略实践（SAP）视角，通过对两个公共部门组织（PSO）的案例研究来研究高级管理人员如何实践SISP。该研究的主要贡献是代表SISP实践的多层次框架。我们通过经验揭示SISP从业者如何跨宏观，中观和微观层次来“隔离” SISP活动。将看似平凡的战略活动与后果问题联系在一起，已被证明是一个持久的问题。但是，在组织面临频率和规模不断增长的巨大挑战的时候，我们认为，在更广泛的背景下定位日常信息系统（IS）策略的工作从未如此重要。我们提出了一个未来的研究议程，该议程的前提是将“ SISP”移至相对于重大挑战的“上游”，而将“下游”移至“ S下游”以捕获更开放和包容的SISP形式。