1. A Review of three current
publication on IT Governance
E. Irving
CHSB
30/8/13

2. Content
• Information technology governance: an evaluation of the
theory-practice gap
• Information technology, an enabler in corporate
governance
• Determinants of Effective Information Technology
Governance
• Synthesis
• References

3. Information technology governance: an
evaluation of the theory-practice gap - Ko & Fink
(2010)
• The purpose was to identify theoretical dimensions of IT governance;
and to use them to examine IT governance practices
• Dimensions to IT governance; the structure-oriented view (emphasizes
control and coordination); the process-oriented view (emphasized
sustainable capability and continuity) and the people-oriented
approach (issues leadership and impact on HR).
• The study used a qualitative approach - a multiple case design – of four
universities to illustrate the practical approaches to IT governance.

4. Findings
• Structure: A centralized approach to IT
governance was preferred
• Process: Externally developed guidelines were
being utilized (e.g. ITIL, COBIT, ISO17799). The
adaptation of performance measures (technical
and or business) was needed.
• People: strong committed leadership and ‘buy in’
is necessary; also a better understanding of the
role of IT management.

5. Information technology, an enabler in corporate
governance - Elizabeth Abraham (2012)
• The purpose was to understand how information technology
can be utilized as a driver of incentives in the decision-making
process of corporate governance
• Weak CG, misplaced incentives, unethical behavior and greed
are citied as causes of corporate scandals
• Agency – principal theory
• Shareholder theory
• Stakeholder theory

6. • A major criticism of stakeholder theory is the
fiduciary responsibilities of mangers in exercising the
right balance between the various stakeholders and
those of the firm.
• The author advocates this approach notwithstanding
the criticisms as a balance can be found.
• Executive incentives has been dominated by extrinsic rewards
such as pay-performance and stock option. The rational is to
align the interest of the agent with that of the principal but
this is not always necessarily the case

7. • The normative approach of why people obey
the law further supports the importance of
intrinsic approach to motivation.
• The goal is to get people to obey the rules,
regulations, laws.
• The author posits promoting an intrinsic value
laden approach that taps into the intrinsic
values of executives in promoting legitimacy.

8. “IT can empower executives to promote a
participative and stakeholder welfare
environment in the decision making of CG,
where various stakeholders can be informed,
participate to some level; and raise awareness
of their best interests.”

9. Four major components to decision making:
• observation or the gathering of information;
• memory or the storage of information;
• computation or the manipulation of
information;
• communication or the transmission of
information

10. Determinants of Effective Information
Technology Governance Ferguson et al 2012
• IT has been considered an enabler of an
organization's strategy,
• Now seen as integral part of a strategy in
facilitating the exploitation of information-based
competitive advantage to maximize benefits,
capitalize on opportunities, and promote growth
• Agency theory

11. The Five determinants of effective IT
governance
• IT steering committee
• Centralization of IT decision-making control
• Senior management involvement in IT
• Position of the IT function
• Corporate performance measurement system

12. Findings
• Survey of 80 (66 internal and 14 external
auditors)
• The use of IT steering committees, the
involvement of senior management in IT, and
the use of corporate performance
measurement systems can influence positively
effective IT governance

13. • Empirical backing for the implementation of
corporate performance measurements
systems, such as balanced IT scorecards, as a
mechanism for achieving higher levels of
effective IT governance

14. Synthesis
• different methods to gather and analyze data and
information collected
• theoretical and conceptual framework addressed was
similar except that each focused on a specific theory
• Common threads: centralized IT governance, strategic use
and alignment of IT/Business, CG theory, best practices
• It was interesting to note that research generally
confirmed what the theory and literature concluded.

15. References
• Abraham, S. E. (2012). Information technology, an
enabler in corporate governance. Corporate
Governance, 12(3), 281-291.
• Ko, D., & Fink, D. (2010). Information technology
governance: an evaluation of the theory-practice gap.
Corporate Governance, 10(5), 662-674.
• Ferguson, C., Green, P., Vaswani, R., & Wu, G. H.
(2012). Determinants of effective information
technology governance. International Journal of
Auditing. Vol.17 pages 75-99, March 2013