Enterprise Architecture Artifacts' Role in Improved Organizational Performance.

The significance of enterprise architecture (EA) in strategic renewal, such as digital transformations, is evident and widely accepted. Firms rely on EA to support strategic renewal, especially digital technology-driven strategic renewal. EA artifacts are used to document and communicate decisions and facts about the EA's current, future, and transition states. They facilitate bridging the communication gap and alignment between business and IT stakeholders. However, despite extant research in the area of EA, its role in strategic renewal, and its contribution to improving organizational performance, EA artifacts' contribution mechanism is still unknown. Therefore, this research explores how EA artifact creation and use facilitate strategic renewal, such as digital transformations. Based on 29 interviews at 4 case firms, we found 17 different EA artifacts and 16 ways EA contributes to strategic renewal, i.e., 16 EA values. Moreover, we determined the interrelatedness of EA values and a model of how EA artifacts contribute to strategic renewal and improved organizational performance. The EA artifact value contribution mechanism described in this study is simple and universal and, thus, has significant implications for both practice and research.