Competitive agility and the challenge of legacy information systems

Using a case study in the temporary services industry, this paper illustrates the common concerns of large multinational corporations with their legacy information systems. The paper uses the popular concept of the organizational life cycle to demonstrate how and when to respond to new competitive challenges and opportunities. Organizational and systems rigidities faced by large and mature firms are identified. These rigidities include: a multitude of diverse and globally dispersed systems that need to remain operational while new systems are being implemented, thus diverting staff attention from development to maintenance; formalized, but possibly outdated business processes are embedded into existing information systems; within each functional area, “ownership” relationships exist regarding business processes and related IT systems; and difficulties in achieving cross‐functional consensus for cross‐functional systems.