IS management and success of an Italian fashion shoe company

Abstract

This paper presents the case study of a well-known Italian company (that we will call "LSB") producing and selling high quality shoes all over the world. Today, LSB employs about 250 people and has 30 self-owned shops in many important cities like New York, Paris, and London.Until the beginning of the 90s, LSB was unquestionably considered the leader of its sector, while today, the situation has changed. Even if the overall performance indicators still show a healthy company that succeeds in its industry (thanks to its high quality products and the strong brand name), during the past few years, LSB has clearly underperformed with regards to its competitors.The analysis of LSB processes and organizational structure shows that the information management is a crucial issue; this case study aims at investigating the possible influence of the IS management on the evolution of LSB performance.