Transition to Cios in the Public Sector: a Comparative Study Between a Developed and a Developing Country

Transition to CIOs in the Public Sector: A Comparative Study between a Developed and a Developing Country Bashir Hussain A thesis submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy School of Engineering & Information Technology The University of New South Wales, Canberra, Australia UNSW, AUSTRALIA May 2019 [this page is intentionally left blank] ii Thesis/Dissertation Sheet Surname/Family Name : Hussain Given Name/s : Bashir Abbreviation for degree as give in the University calendar : PhD Faculty : School of Engineering and Information Technology School : Canberra Transition to CIOs in the Public Sector: A Comparative Study Thesis Title : between a Developed and a Developing Country. The Public Sectors of developing countries are facing challenges in integrating Information and Communication Technology (ICT) due to the absence of an ICT leadership position. Although the literature suggests that the Chief Information Officer (CIO) position facilitates better alignment of ICT with business objectives, the literature only captures scattered issues including competency, role effectiveness, and structural relationships, and those only from developed countries’ perspectives. It remains under-researched how the public sector of developing countries can make the transition to the implementation of strategic positions such as CIO. Reflecting on the challenge of integrating ICT in the public sector of developing countries, this research advances the idea of establishing an ICT leadership position such as a Chief Information Officer (CIO) or equivalent through an empirical investigation comparing Australia and Bangladesh. Using interpretivism research, a case study approach (Yin, 2009) is applied, incorporating change management conditions (Fernandez & Rainey, 2006), defensive routines (Argyris, 1985), and Institutional process (Scott, 2008) theories. Findings of the research contribute to the CIO literature by revealing interesting and important similarities and differences between the two countries regarding CIO transition. In Australia, the CIO position was established over a decade ago through the reformation of governance structures within a whole-of-government agenda. In contrast, weak governance mechanisms, aggravated by strong defensive routines from top level management, hinder the transition to CIO in Bangladesh. A combination of theories offers a new and holistic perspective and provides that interventions in the governance structure are critical to ensure a conducive climate by nurturing coercive and normative pressures to minimize defensiveness towards establishing a CIO. 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Name Signature Date (dd/mm/yy) Bashir Hussain vi DEDICATION To my beloved mother who is blessing me from the other world and to my father who always asked to keep patience in my PhD journey. vii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS A journey by desktop, with internet connection and reflection as food, is what a PhD is about. Constant reading and writing are two hefty fellow passengers in this journey. Let us not forget the critical comments from supervisors causing hard braking. This is a PhD, just think about it! Although I was alone in this turbulent journey and wrote the intellectual ‘contributions of this research’, a number of people, including family members, friends, and fellow-researchers, also contributed to it. They painted some real colours for me on this colourless journey. Now, it is time to thank them and convey my gratitude to them. First, I would like to offer my gratitude to the most merciful and benevolent who created me, and gave me an opportunity to prove myself in this world. After Him, I should thank my parents, especially my mother, who always prayed that I would finish the journey smoothly. Thank you mom. I know you are surely watching me writing this from the other world and smiling at me as you always did. I love you mom. My father’s advice to be patient and not to lose my temper will inspire me for the rest of my life. I can tell you dad, whatever situation arises, I shall not fear. My supervisors’ Dr Ahmed Imran and Dr Tim Turner guided and inspired me throughout this journey. I am thankful to them for their suggestions and hard work. Without their guidance, this thesis would be rambling and lost in my pile of data and papers. I am also grateful to them as they arranged for me to attend a number of seminars and workshops where I got to meet IS scholars and the industry guys. I thank the CIOs in the Australian public sector who squeezed out some time from their busy schedules for my research. I am also thankful to the officers of the Bangladesh public sector, especially officers of A2i, ICT Division, MOPA, BPATC and a few other organisations who provided me with valuable data and information to complete this journey. Family, I am coming to you. My brother Mehdi, who is now Dr Mehdi, was truly my co-passenger in this journey. On many occasions, I shared my research with him and got fantastic ideas and support. His relentless support until the end of this journey is viii unforgettable. He inspired me with his own experiences during the ups-and-downs of my journey. Mehdi’s wife Nastaran was always asking me about how I was going with my thesis, and that is worth sharing here.

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