IT Governance Structures Research Articles

Exploring the Impact of IT Governance Mechanisms on IT Agility

ABSTRACT As Information Technology (IT) becomes more integral, the importance of governance and the need to adapt IT to respond to environmental changes and opportunities increases. This study analyzes the impact of IT governance relational mechanisms, processes, and structures on IT agility. A practitioner focus group and survey shows that only relational governance mechanisms have a significant positive impact on IT agility. We discuss the implications for practitioners and researchers interested in IT governance and agility.

Decolonizing IT governance in international non‐governmental organisations: An Ubuntu approach

AbstractIT has an enormous potential to democratise, equalise and decolonize development aid; however, the right IT governance is needed to actualize this potential. Such governance must align with the general efforts in development work to decolonize and eradicate adverse power imbalances. Power imbalances are at play when donors from the Global North finance and thereby set the development agenda for the Global South without concern for the actual needs. IT use in development aid is an important tool in decolonisation struggles, but corresponding structures also risk cementing problematic power distributions. As such, guidelines are needed on how to set up and decolonize IT governance structures. Using insights from a case study of a large international development aid NGO and building on the African emancipation philosophy Ubuntu, we propose five organising principles for a decolonized IT governance. These organising principles serve as guidelines to set up decolonized and emancipating IT governance structures and extend current IT governance theories.

MGBase: The launch of an international electronic database for patients with Myasthenia Gravis (P7-8.014)

MGBase: The launch of an international electronic database for patients with Myasthenia Gravis (P7-8.014)

Digital governance mechanisms and principles that enable agile responses in dynamic competitive environments

ABSTRACT Being an agile company today is no longer just about timely recognition of early signs of change in order to defend an existing competitive position but rather being able to perpetually transition between a series of short-lived, temporary competitive advantages. While traditional IT governance approaches have lent themselves well to extracting value from a long-lasting competitive advantage, they can become a liability if agile companies need to continuously reinvent themselves in pursuit of a new, “transient” competitive advantage. To that end, a temporal dimension of IT governance (when and how fast to decide) becomes as important as its structural (who decides what) and procedural (how to decide) aspects. In this paper, we adopt a “ternary” view on governance and build on the extant literature in IS, strategy, and organisation design as well as exemplar case studies to explore how traditional approaches to IT governance structures, processes, and relational mechanisms are altered to improve sensing, deciding, and responding capabilities in turbulent business environments. These mechanisms are then summarised into four digital governance principles to guide future research and practice. Those principles are: 1) disciplined autonomy, 2) IS-Business convergence, 3) permeable boundaries, and 4) incremental financial commitment including fast experimentation.

Information technology governance: an analysis of the approach in Ecuador

This work aims to show the Ecuadorian IT governance reality using descriptive research to analyze the approach of IT decisions. Indeed, one hundred and one private and governmental organizations were surveyed to examine their IT governance approach through a decision-making matrix model of responsibilities. The purpose is to distinguish IT governance perspectives and archetypes for IT decision-making, so that we collect relevant information about decision-making of executives, IT executives, C-level, and business unit leader business in a developing economy context. The survey results are conclusive; business monarchy is the centralized approach for decision-making in Ecuador. For instance, IT governance in Ecuador is different from other Latin American nations in terms of digital culture, maturity, and effectiveness. On the other hand, this work encourages practitioners and scholars to increase the research scope to create, adopt, or adapt IT governance decision-making models for low-income countries. This is another step on the ongoing discussion in the extant IT governance literature, rather than as a final answer. Finally, future work will analyze and contrast the past normality with the post-pandemic period in Ecuador. Hence, using a survey on Ecuadorian IT governance structures, practices and behaviors will show the IT governance changes, perceptions, and trends.

USING COBIT FRAMEWORK FOR REDUCING THE AUDIT RISKS OF ACCOUNTING INFORMATION SYSTEMS

The fast transition of accounting information systems from manual to electronic media impacts the financial reporting process linked to information technology. First, significant dependence on electronic accounting information systems may expose the company’s databases to information security threats, resulting in higher audit risks. As such, this study seeks to demonstrate how information technology governance structures may aid in protecting information in the context of electronic accounting information systems. Second, the study investigates the impact of improving information technology governance in Iraqi private banks in decreasing audit risks using the COBIT framework for internal control. The results indicate that implementing IT governance mechanisms in Iraqi private banks can reduce audit risks identified by external auditors. This framework increases the reliability of accounting information systems and enhances information security in the context of electronic accounting information systems. In addition, the field findings indicated a positive and statistically significant relationship between audit risk reduction and the dimensions of information technology governance (mechanisms and automation, policies, plans, and procedures, responsibility and accountability, skills and experience, knowledge and communication, and goal setting and measurement). Finally, the study proposes that Iraqi private banks implement the COBIT framework for internal control to govern information technology and risk management in electronic accounting information systems

The Interrelation of Information Technology Governance and Enterprise Risk Management to The Organization’s Performance: A Review of Empirical Literature

Given that the role of information technology (IT) governance and enterprise risk management (ERM) within the organization are imperative due to the ever-increasing complexity in the corporate environment, this study aims to uncover the relationship between IT governance and ERM along with the impact of the two frameworks’ interconnectedness on the organization’s performance through empirical literature review. Furthermore, the findings obtained from the empirical review are also used to create a checklist that every organization can apply. The purpose of the created checklist is to help organizations examine the interconnectedness of their IT governance and ERM with respect to their needs and objectives. The findings from the empirical review show that both IT governance and ERM emphasize the importance of strategic and process alignment regarding its implementation, and it is positively significant to the organization’s performance. Hence, the level of effectiveness of one’s IT- and risk-oriented approaches are dictated by how well an organization appropriately aligns its IT governance and ERM structure, mechanism, and process with its objectives, needs, and business operations.

Safe clinical photography: best practice guidelines for risk management and mitigation.

Clinical photography is an essential component of patient care in plastic surgery. The use of unsecured smartphone cameras, digital cameras, social media, instant messaging, and commercially available cloud-based storage devices threatens patients’ data safety. This paper Identifies potential risks of clinical photography and heightens awareness of safe clinical photography. Specifically, we evaluated existing risk-mitigation strategies globally, comparing them to industry standards in similar settings, and formulated a framework for developing a risk-mitigation plan for avoiding data breaches by identifying the safest methods of picture taking, transfer to storage, retrieval, and use, both within and outside the organization. Since threats evolve constantly, the framework must evolve too. Based on a literature search of both PubMed and the web (via Google) with key phrases and child terms (for PubMed), the risks and consequences of data breaches in individual processes in clinical photography are identified. Current clinical-photography practices are described. Lastly, we evaluate current risk mitigation strategies for clinical photography by examining guidelines from professional organizations, governmental agencies, and non-healthcare industries. Combining lessons learned from the steps above into a comprehensive framework that could contribute to national/international guidelines on safe clinical photography, we provide recommendations for best practice guidelines. It is imperative that best practice guidelines for the simple, safe, and secure capture, transfer, storage, and retrieval of clinical photographs be co-developed through cooperative efforts between providers, hospital administrators, clinical informaticians, IT governance structures, and national professional organizations. This would significantly safeguard patient data security and provide the privacy that patients deserve and expect.

Information Technology Governance in Small and Medium Enterprises - a Systematic Mapping

Abstract Information Technology (IT) governance in small and medium-sized businesses is a subject that still requires more effort. Many of the studies that deal with this subject refer to large companies. IT governance structures, originally developed for the context of large enterprises such as COBIT, ISO/IEC 35800 or ITIL, when applied to the context of small and medium enterprises, lead to undesirable results and failures in the deployment process. The objective of this work was to perform a systematic mapping on IT governance in small and medium enterprises between 2007 and 2017. Systematic mapping studies are useful for categorizing and summarizing the existing information concerning a research question in an unbiased manner. Thus, from an initial set of 63 papers, a total of 17 research papers were selected for the mapping study. The results obtained allowed us to reach conclusions concerning the state-of-the-art of IT governance mechanisms, theories applied in the context and the consequences of IT governance. From the results of this study it was possible to perceive the low use of relational mechanisms of IT governance in the studied context, the constant need to adapt frameworks such as COBIT and ITIL, so that they can adapt to the reality of SMEs, the wide variety of theoretical approaches and the importance, for SMEs, of the concept of IT value for the business.

Evaluating IT Governance Structure Implementation in the Gulf Cooperation Council Region

IT governance (ITG) implementations in organizations started to gain momentum during the turn of the twenty first century mainly due to (but not limited to) the need for IT business alignment, better return of investment, effective utilization of IT and for a strategic direction of IT. This initially mandates to establish and implement a set of ITG structures in the organization to initiate, adopt, and implement relevant ITG frameworks to set in the motion of successful ITG implementation. While researchers have stated twelve relevant ITG structures that needs to be set in place, two questions remain in terms of the two factors namely ‘ease of implementation/use’ and ‘effectiveness’ of these ITG structures. With scant research in this domain, we explore the relationship of these two factors on the twelve ITG structures through a survey of senior managers involved in ITG domain in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region. With diverse board and executive level cultures evident in different regions of the world, the adoption of these ITG frameworks and standards depend on the ITG practices being followed in each cultural context. The results thus assist organisations and ITG consultants in the GCC region to know the level of effectiveness of relevant ITG structures as well as the implementation effort required for these.

Robotic process automation

Within digital transformation, which is continuously progressing, robotic process automation (RPA) is drawing much corporate attention. While RPA is a popular topic in the corporate world, the academic research lacks a theoretical and synoptic analysis of RPA. Conducting a literature review and tool analysis, we propose – in a holistic and structured way – four traits that characterize RPA, providing orientation as well as a focus for further research. Software robots automate processes originally performed by human work. Thus, software robots follow a choreography of technological modules and control flow operators while operating within IT ecosystems and using established applications. Ease-of-use and adaptability allow companies to conceive and implement software robots through (agile) projects. Organizational and IT strategy, governance structures, and management systems therefore must address both the direct effects of software robots automating processes and their indirect impacts on firms.

IT Governance Practices in the Gulf Cooperation Council Region

The adoption of IT governance (ITG) frameworks in organizations worldwide, along with the subsequent need to comply with regulations and standards, has placed ITG implementation decisions firmly with the boards and executives of organizations. With diverse board and executive level cultures evident in various parts of the world, the adoption of ITG frameworks depends on the ITG practices followed in each cultural context. Through an online survey, this study thus examines the existing ITG practices through the structures, processes and relational mechanisms (SPR) practices model, followed by senior management in the GCC region. In this respect, this study evaluates effective baseline ITG practices at the board and executive levels and suggests ITG structures, processes, and relational mechanisms that ITG consultants in the Gulf Co-operation Council region can follow for effective ITG implementation.

Board-Level IT Governance

This paper suggests that boards’ involvement with information technology (IT) governance is often not at the needed level. It illuminates the differences between board-level and executive-level IT governance, explains why both the board and executives should be motivated to engage in IT governance, and provides board-level IT governance structure, action, and style suggestions. Building on a categorization of different board governance styles, this paper also offers practical recommendations, including IT related areas and questions the board should focus on, as well as a set of tools to choose and switch between governance styles.

Exploring the Influence of Executive Management Diversity on IT Governance

As all organizations are attaching more strategic importance to information technology (IT), IT governance has gained researchers’ interest. In fact, a large body of literature focuses on firm-specific or executive management attributes such as leadership as determinants of IT governance. However, it is still relevant to identify other factors influencing IT governance. Since executive management demographics and demographic diversity have an impact on strategic decisions, we explore the influence of executive management diversity on IT governance. Results suggest that IT governance for a high educational-high tenure diversity profile differs significantly from that for a low industry-moderate tenure diversity profile and a high industry-low tenure diversity profile. Furthermore, IT governance structures differ according to executive management diversity profile more than IT governance processes and relational mechanisms.

A Project-Based IT Governance Framework to Control the Implementation of Information Systems

Despite the use of traditional project-based IT governance structures such as project control methods and risk management, organizations often struggle to successfully implement enterprise systems....

The influence of IT investment and IT governance on corporate performance of multibusiness firms

The concept of IT relatedness has explained a link between IT and corporate performance of multibusiness firms. Although IT relatedness provided a significant link between IT relatedness and corporate performance, there is limited understanding about antecedents of IT relatedness. Thus, this study is the first to investigate what factors influence IT relatedness, which ultimately leads to corporate performance. With a total of 324 responses from multibusiness firms, this study empirically investigates the two antecedents of IT relatedness–IT investment and IT governance structures. This study suggests strategic guides regarding IT relatedness to IT managers of multibusiness firms.

BrightSoft: Sustaining the Information Technology Agenda

Many organizations in Asian countries are struggling to sustain the Information Technology (IT) agenda beyond basic enterprise systems (like Enterprise Resource Planning [ERP] implementation). To sustain the real benefits of an enterprise system, these organizations require a different paradigm of information leadership and a contextually relevant IT governance structure and supporting mechanisms. The Chief Information Officer (CIO) alone cannot make ERP deliver business value; rather, it requires the participation of all in the top management (TP) team. The present case presents the dilemma faced by a real-life Indian manufacturing organization. After the successful implementation of an ERP and reaping initial benefits, the organization feels it is not creating any incremental value. Though the case pertains to the manufacturing industry, it is equally relevant to organizations across all kinds of industries such as banking, insurance, retail, etc. The case highlights the situation that is common in many organizations. It has been developed with the objective of appreciating the need for, and building an understanding of a collective form of leadership and a befitting governance structure with respect to IT management. Two specific tools, the information leadership grid and IT governance matrix, have been synthesized based upon literature review as specific tools for the purpose.

IT Governance Structures in Brazilian, Dutch and Portuguese Universities

Effective IT governance is determined by how the IT function is organized and where the IT decision-making authority is located within the organization. Three different IT governance structures may be considered: centralized, decentralized and federal. The appropriacy of these structures is based on the organization´s context. This article aims at analyzing how appropriate the IT governance structure adopted by universities is. Using a qualitative approach, we carried out six interviews in three countries, namely Portugal, the Netherlands and Brazil. The findings show that the centralized structure allows economizing on skills and applications, leading to cost reduction and standardization. While the decentralized mode calls for a duplication of resources, higher risks and a difficulty in communication in faculties, a centralized IT system emerges in the university. We can conclude that the federal structure is more suitable for universities where the infrastructure and strategy is centralized and the execution and operation are decentralized. Our findings are in consonance with the literature. This article will end presenting the limitations and future work.

Implementing Food Security and e-Governance Initiatives: A Comparative Study of Chhattisgarh and Telangana

Food Security is crucial in achieving the Zero Hunger, one of the crucial goals of Sustainable Development Ggoals (SDG). In the post-independent India, Public Distribution System (PDS) is an important policy intervention for providing the food security to the hunger and poor. There are certain challenges in the implementation of the PDS like corruption, leakages, ghost cards, market diversion of ration and other supply chain management issues. The paper attempts to understand the role of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) tools in reducing the corruption and ‘leakages’ in food security policy of India, concerning PDS programme for reducing the hunger. In the federal system of India, states play a crucial role in the implementation of the PDS programme and the states are advised to leverage the ICT tools in the National Food Security Act (NFSA). There are differences in the food policy implementation of various states by improving their information technology governance structure. Hence, a comparative study of two states-Chhattisgarh & Telangana Electronic Public Distribution System projects-will give valuable inputs for improving the policy and hence in reducing the hunger. The paper is based on the field level experiences of beneficiaries and interviews with the technocrats in both the states along with analysing the various policy documents of two states.

Governing innovation in U.S. state government: An ecosystem perspective

In the public sector, the strategic quest for IT-based innovation often starts by hiring a successful private sector CIO and hoping his or her prior experience will transfer. However this often ignores the existence and influence of other entities and IT governance structures that form the innovation ecosystem. Applying the legal view of agency theory to the U.S. state innovation ecosystem and using a crisp-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (csQCA) approach, we investigate factors that are associated with public sector IT-based innovation. We find that CIO characteristics, structural oversight mechanisms, CIO relationships with authorities, and the state environment combine to form configurations that lead to both high and low performance.