PapersFlow Research Brief
Information Technology Governance and Strategy
Research Guide
What is Information Technology Governance and Strategy?
Information Technology Governance and Strategy is the set of mechanisms and processes that ensure alignment between information technology and business objectives, including enterprise architecture, strategic information systems planning, CIO roles, IT governance maturity, and their effects on organizational performance.
This field encompasses 44,607 works focused on factors influencing IT-business alignment and governance mechanisms for IT. Key topics include IT alignment, business strategy, enterprise architecture, and the CIO role in achieving competitive advantage. Research examines how IT governance maturity impacts organizational performance through knowledge sharing and strategic planning.
Topic Hierarchy
Research Sub-Topics
IT Business Alignment
Researchers investigate models and frameworks for aligning IT capabilities with business strategies, including the Strategic Alignment Model and dynamic capabilities approaches. Studies measure alignment maturity and its correlation with firm performance.
IT Governance Frameworks
This sub-topic evaluates governance frameworks like COBIT, ITIL, and Val IT for structuring IT decision-making, risk management, and resource allocation. Research assesses implementation challenges and maturity models in diverse organizational contexts.
Enterprise Architecture Management
Studies explore enterprise architecture (EA) practices for integrating business, data, application, and technology architectures to support agility and change. Researchers develop EA modeling languages like ArchiMate and metrics for EA success.
Chief Information Officer Role
This sub-topic analyzes the evolving role of CIOs in strategic leadership, digital innovation, and cross-functional collaboration. Research examines CIO archetypes, succession, and impact on organizational outcomes across industries.
Strategic Information Systems Planning
Researchers study processes for IT portfolio management, IS planning methodologies, and scenario planning for emerging technologies. The sub-topic covers tools like business case analysis and alignment with long-term business objectives.
Why It Matters
IT governance and strategy enable organizations to leverage technology for business transformation, as shown in Henderson and Venkatraman (1999) who outlined strategic alignment models that organizations use to restructure IT functions for performance gains. Bharadwaj et al. (2013) demonstrated how digital business strategy shifts IT from a functional support to a core driver, with firms like those in MIS Quarterly studies reporting improved competitive positioning through fused IT-business strategies. DeLone and McLean (1992) established metrics for information systems success that organizations apply to measure ROI, with over 10,471 citations reflecting its adoption in enterprise settings for evaluating systems like ERP implementations.
Reading Guide
Where to Start
'Information Systems Success: The Quest for the Dependent Variable' by DeLone and McLean (1992) because it provides a foundational model for evaluating IT outcomes central to governance and strategy discussions.
Key Papers Explained
DeLone and McLean (1992) set the baseline for IS success metrics, which Henderson and Venkatraman (1999) in 'Strategic alignment: Leveraging information technology for transforming organizations' build upon by linking success to alignment models. Bharadwaj et al. (2013) in 'Digital Business Strategy: Toward a Next Generation of Insights' extend this to bidirectional IT-business fusion, while Orlikowski and Baroudi (1991) offer methodological foundations for studying these dynamics. Freeman (1984) in 'Strategic management a stakeholder approach' provides the stakeholder context underpinning CIO roles across these works.
Paper Timeline
Most-cited paper highlighted in red. Papers ordered chronologically.
Advanced Directions
Research continues to apply PLS-SEM techniques from Hair et al. (2017) to test governance maturity in alignment models, with Osterwalder et al. (2005) informing business model integrations. No recent preprints are available, so focus remains on established frameworks amid absent new news coverage.
Papers at a Glance
| # | Paper | Year | Venue | Citations | Open Access |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Strategic management a stakeholder approach | 1984 | — | 23.4K | ✕ |
| 2 | Information Systems Success: The Quest for the Dependent Variable | 1992 | Information Systems Re... | 10.5K | ✕ |
| 3 | Administrative Behavior: A Study of Decision-Making Processes ... | 1978 | Contemporary Sociology... | 4.9K | ✕ |
| 4 | How to Write Up and Report PLS Analyses | 2009 | — | 4.8K | ✕ |
| 5 | Leading change: why transformation efforts fail | 2009 | IEEE Engineering Manag... | 3.6K | ✕ |
| 6 | Digital Business Strategy: Toward a Next Generation of Insights | 2013 | MIS Quarterly | 3.6K | ✓ |
| 7 | An updated and expanded assessment of PLS-SEM in information s... | 2017 | Industrial Management ... | 3.5K | ✕ |
| 8 | Strategic alignment: Leveraging information technology for tra... | 1999 | IBM Systems Journal | 3.5K | ✕ |
| 9 | Studying Information Technology in Organizations: Research App... | 1991 | Information Systems Re... | 3.3K | ✕ |
| 10 | Clarifying Business Models: Origins, Present, and Future of th... | 2005 | Communications of the ... | 3.3K | ✓ |
Frequently Asked Questions
What factors contribute to information systems success?
DeLone and McLean (1992) identified information systems success as an elusive dependent variable, proposing a model that integrates system quality, information quality, use, user satisfaction, and net benefits. Their framework, cited 10,471 times, has guided empirical studies on IS effectiveness. It remains a standard for assessing IT investments in organizations.
How has the view of IT strategy evolved?
Bharadwaj et al. (2013) noted that traditional views positioned IT strategy as aligned to business strategy, but recent shifts treat digital business strategy as bidirectional, with IT shaping business models. This next-generation insight, with 3,586 citations, emphasizes fused strategies. It applies to digital transformation efforts across industries.
What is strategic alignment in IT governance?
Henderson and Venkatraman (1999) described strategic alignment as leveraging IT to transform organizations through four perspectives: strategic fit and functional integration. No single mode is superior, as alignment adapts to context. Their model, cited 3,469 times, informs enterprise architecture practices.
What research approaches dominate IT studies in organizations?
Orlikowski and Baroudi (1991) analyzed 155 articles from 1983-1988, finding positivist assumptions prevalent in information systems research. They categorized approaches into positivist, interpretive, and critical. This foundational work, with 3,330 citations, shapes methodological choices in IT governance studies.
What role does stakeholder theory play in IT strategy?
Freeman (1984) introduced stakeholder theory in 'Strategic management a stakeholder approach,' influencing IT governance by expanding strategy beyond shareholders to include IT stakeholders like CIOs and users. Cited 23,409 times, it underpins alignment efforts. It connects to CIO roles in balancing diverse interests.
How is PLS-SEM used in IT governance research?
Hair et al. (2017) assessed PLS-SEM usage in information systems, providing reporting guidelines followed in IT alignment studies. Their expansion of prior work ensures rigorous analysis of governance maturity models. Cited 3,549 times, it standardizes quantitative methods in the field.
Open Research Questions
- ? How can IT governance maturity models be adapted to measure digital business strategy fusion as described by Bharadwaj et al. (2013)?
- ? What interpretive research approaches are needed to study CIO roles in stakeholder-driven IT alignment beyond positivist assumptions from Orlikowski and Baroudi (1991)?
- ? In what contexts does strategic alignment fail to deliver organizational performance, extending Henderson and Venkatraman (1999)?
- ? How do evolving business models from Osterwalder et al. (2005) integrate with IT governance for competitive advantage?
- ? What PLS-SEM extensions from Hair et al. (2017) best capture the dependent variables of IS success in modern IT strategy?
Recent Trends
The field maintains 44,607 works with no specified 5-year growth rate; high-citation classics like Freeman at 23,409 citations and DeLone and McLean (1992) at 10,471 citations dominate.
1984Recent methodological advances include Hair et al. on PLS-SEM with 3,549 citations for IS research rigor.
2017No preprints or news from the last 12 months indicate steady reliance on prior works.
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