A Socio-Technical Analysis of Enterprise Architecture Misalignments

Modern organizations must adapt to competitive environments through the analysis of their current state and plan for a future state through the use of Enterprise Architecture (EA). EA is a management discipline to align business and IT strategies. However, many organizations face challenges in effectively implementing and using EA due to misalignments between EA parts, such as organizational support, documentation, and governance, leading to inefficiencies. Thus, this study employs the Punctuated Socio-Technical Information System Change model to examine EA misalignments through four interrelated components: structure, task, actor, and technology. It offers a comprehensive analytical lens for examining EA misalignments. This model is used to examine how EA misalignments emerge from disruptions or inconsistencies among various EA components that affect EA coherence and efficiency. Considering the purpose and nature of this research, a case study is a suitable research method. The research issue to be examined, EA misalignments, is contemporary and must be explored in its context. The findings reveal some EA misalignments that are categorized into four groups: organizational, governance, capabilities, and management, highlighting how disruptions among these components affect EA coherence and efficiency. The implications of this research are twofold: first, EA components must be aligned for optimal efficiency; second, any misalignment between these components results in EA operational inadequacies and practice failures.

@article{Alwadain2026,
  title     = {A Socio-Technical Analysis of Enterprise Architecture Misalignments},
  journal   = {International Journal of Advanced Computer Science and Applications},
  volume    = {17},
  number    = {3},
  year      = {2026},
  publisher = {The Science and Information Organization},
  author    = {Ayed Alwadain},
  doi       = {10.14569/IJACSA.2026.0170387},
  url       = {https://doi.org/10.14569/IJACSA.2026.0170387}
}