Abstract

In a global, digital economy, companies increasingly depend on IT for timely information sharing, effective operational control, rapid innovation, speed to market, and customer satisfaction. On the other hand, recent global financial crisis and economic recessions encourage trends for increased managerial scrutiny to reduce IT spending and to increase business value of IT. Globally, concepts of IT governance (ITG) have proliferated as a solution for improving IT management under business uncertainty and rapid technological change. However, empirical research on organisational ITG practice still is lacking and urgently required. This paper, therefore, presents survey results on ITG practice from a perspective of senior IT managers in Australian private-sector organisations. The survey examines ITG practices, IT/business strategic alignment, ITG maturity level, IT organisation, and the relationship between IT organisation and business. Archival analysis of company documents is also performed to verify survey responses and gain additional insights. Despite different ITG frameworks being implemented across the companies, the results show the central importance of shared clear understanding of the strategic role of ITG by all levels of employees across the enterprise. The paper also discusses research limitations and future research directions.

Keywords

IT governance, Australia, IT/business strategic alignment, Shared understanding of the strategic role of IT governance

ISBN

ISBN: [978-1-86435-644-1]; Full paper

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