DOCSLIB.ORG

Exploring IT Governance Effectiveness: Identifying Sources of Divergence Through the Adoption of a Behavioural-Based Organizational Routines Perspective

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Exploring IT Governance Effectiveness: Identifying Sources of Divergence Through the Adoption of a Behavioural-Based Organizational Routines Perspective Exploring IT Governance Effectiveness: Identifying Sources of Divergence through the Adoption of a Behavioural-Based Organizational Routines Perspective By Allen E. Brown B.A. University of Western Ontario M.B.A McMaster University A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Affairs in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy In Management Carleton University Ottawa, Ontario © 2014/2015 Allen E. Brown ABSTRACT This research seeks to broaden and strengthen the holistic understanding of IT governance effectiveness by specifically examining why IT governance systems often fail to produce appropriate or desired IT and organizational behaviours. To address this objective, we investigate and develop a theoretical framework for understanding and explaining the varied sources of divergence that occur during the enactment of IT governance mechanisms. Defined as the difference between desired behaviours and actual behaviours, we argue that the acceptance and consideration of all sources of divergence within the enactment of IT governance mechanisms, is not only necessary, but critical to the appropriate design and maintenance of an effective IT governance system. Traditional IT governance perspectives, heavily rooted in the structural and normative aspects of oversight and control (i.e. structures), have limited our ability to adequately and fully understand how IT governance performs in practice. Framing IT governance mechanisms as routines, we draw on institutional theory and organizational routines theory as an alternative lens for understanding why organizational behaviours are not always aligned to those expected by IT governance owners. Based on Pentland and Feldman`s (2008) generative model of organizational routines, we establish a novel conceptualization for IT governance divergence that posits and delineates three primary sources of IT governance divergence: Representational Divergence, Translational Divergence and Performative Divergence. Through the in-depth examination of the IT investment planning, prioritization and selection routines within two exploratory case studies, we inductively propose a model for explaining IT governance divergence. We apply a narrative networks approach to frame and analyse qualitative data captured through semi-structured interviews, archival and document review and direct observation. Pattern- matching and emergent themes analysis is performed to identify and define first-order and second- order constructs, along with 15 relational propositions. Given the dearth of theoretically-grounded research in this domain, the central contribution of this study rests in the establishment of a robust theoretical framework of IT governance divergence upon which further cumulative empirical study can be undertaken. For the practitioner community, the recognition of divergence is necessary for designing IT governance systems that reduce and control negative actor divergence while simultaneously embracing and reacting to instances of positive divergence. In most organizations, significant investment is being made into the implementation of formal IT governance structures and processes despite little empirical evidence as to their effectiveness. By adopting and highlighting a behavioural-based perspective of IT governance effectiveness, we hope to encourage practitioners to move away from the strict normative view of IT governance towards an alternative conceptualization that accepts and accounts for the complex social and individual environments in which IT governance systems are enacted. From this perspective, we argue that IT governance effectiveness can be improved and IT investment failures can be reduced. Keywords: IT Governance, IT Governance effectiveness, Organizational Routines Theory, Divergence PhD Thesis – Allen E Brown Page | ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS “It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop” -Confucius This journey, as long as it was, would not have been possible without the unwavering support of a number of selfless and dedicated individuals. First and foremost, I would like to thank my wife, Elvan, for putting her life on hold while I pursued my academic dreams, and for holding down the fort during all those countless evenings and weekends I spent hidden away writing and researching. I would also like to thank my three children, Taydan, Devran and Derya for accepting and understanding that Daddy couldn’t always be around to play, even though he desperately wanted to be. Thank you also to my parents and sister for their constant words of encouragement, proofreading, late night counselling and babysitting support. I am deeply in debt to my amazing supervisor, Dr. Gerald Grant, for his endless professionalism, patience and understanding. He knew exactly when to push and when to sit back and let me vent, something I probably did way too often. Thank you to the members of my committee, Dr. Shaobi Ji, Dr. David Cray, Dr. Benoit Aubert and Dr. Muriel Mignerat for their thoughtful (and very time consuming) review and feedback. Thank you to the graduate committee registrar, Joanne Bree, for her understanding and support. Finally, thank you the organizational sponsors who opened their doors to my research effort and went above and beyond to provide access to their organizations to make this research possible. PhD Thesis – Allen E Brown Page | iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract ................................................................................................................................ ii Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................. iii List of Tables ....................................................................................................................... ix List of Figures ....................................................................................................................... x List of Appendices ............................................................................................................... xi Chapter 1 – Introduction .................................................................................................... 1 The Rise of IT Governance ............................................................................................... 1 The (In) Effectiveness of IT Governance ......................................................................... 7 Research Motivation and Research Contribution ......................................................... 13 Research Purpose and Contribution .......................................................................... 17 Chapter 2 – Theoretical Background ................................................................................ 22 Defining IT Governance Success and Failure................................................................. 22 Divergence as an Indicator of IT Governance Effectiveness ..................................... 25 IT Governance as a set of Mechanisms ..................................................................... 28 IT Governance and Sources of Divergence ................................................................ 29 The Epistemological Blinders of IT Governance Research ............................................ 33 Necessity of a Different Approach............................................................................. 36 The Diverse Theoretical Perspectives of Divergence .................................................... 38 Formal and Informal Institutions ............................................................................... 40 Divergence within Institutional Theory ..................................................................... 43 The Various Levels of Analysis in Institutional Theory .............................................. 47 Organizational Routines as a Theoretical Perspective .................................................. 54 Routines as Rules ....................................................................................................... 56 PhD Thesis – Allen E Brown Page | iv Routines as Behaviour Patterns ................................................................................ 57 Routines as Collective Dispositions ........................................................................... 59 Organization Routines Conceptualization – Dyadic and Triadic perspectives .............. 63 Including Rules and Artefacts .................................................................................... 68 Organizational Routines as a Level of Analysis ............................................................. 74 Chapter 3 - Conceptual Framework .................................................................................. 79 IT Governance Mechanisms and Organizational Routines ........................................... 79 Organizational Routines and Information Technology Research .............................. 80 Introducing IT governance routines .......................................................................... 82 Organizational Routines and Divergence – Towards a Conceptual Framework ........... 84 A Conceptual Framework for Explaining Divergence within IT Governance Routines . 90 Representational Divergence .................................................................................... 94 Translational Divergence ........................................................................................... 99 Performative
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Aron Lindberg
    THE ORIGIN, EVOLUTION, AND VARIATION OF ROUTINE STRUCTURES IN OPEN SOURCE SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT: THREE MIXED COMPUTATIONAL-QUALITATIVE STUDIES by ARON LINDBERG Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Dissertation Committee: Kalle Lyytinen, PhD, Case Western Reserve University (chair) Fred Collopy, PhD, Case Western Reserve University Richard Boland, PhD, Case Western Reserve University Jagdip Singh, PhD, Case Western Reserve University Youngjin Yoo, PhD, Temple University James Howison, PhD, University of Texas-Austin WEATHERHEAD SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT DEPARTMENT OF DESIGN & INNOVATION CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY August 2015 CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF GRADUATE STUDIES We hereby approve the thesis/dissertation of Aron Lindberg candidate for the Doctor of Philosophy degree*. (signed) Kalle Lyytinen (chair of the committee) Richard Boland Fred Collopy Jagdip Singh Youngjin Yoo James Howison (date) May 19, 2015 *We also certify that written approval has been obtained for any proprietary material contained therein. Copyright © 2015 by Aron Lindberg All rights reserved Dedication Tove Jansson, in her book Moominpappa at Sea, wrote: ”But on an occasion like this we must wait for sunset. Setting out in the right way is just as important as the opening lines in a book: they determine everything.” He sat in the sand next to Moominmamma. “Look at the boat,” he said. “Look at The Adventure. A boat by night is a wonderful sight. This is the way to start a new life, with a hurricane lamp shining at the top of the mast, and the coastline disappearing behind one as the whole world lies sleeping. Making a journey by night is more wonderful than anything in the world.” This work is dedicated to my fiancée, Hope Lu, without whom I could never have launched the journey, which this dissertation is the start of.
    [Show full text]
  • How Do Organisational Members at Lamata
    ORGANISATIONAL LEARNING AT LAMATA A QUALITATIVE CASE STUDY THESIS SUBMITTED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION (DBA) OLURINU JOSE UNIVERSITY OF LIVERPOOL MANAGEMENT SCHOOL FACULTY OF HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES UNIVERSITY OF LIVERPOOL FEBRUARY 2019 ABSTRACT Title of study: Organisational Learning at LAMATA – A qualitative case study of a transport agency in Lagos Nigeria. Background: LAMATA is a semi-autonomous public transport regulatory authority created by law by the Lagos State Government with financial and technical assistance from the World Bank and French Development Agency (AFD) to develop an integrated public transport system for a city of over 18 million residents. Organisational learning was a critical strategy to improve institutional capacity to resolve the intractable messy problem of public transportation in Lagos State. LAMATA over its years of existence has implemented several organisational learning strategies aimed at improving individual and organisational capacity to take effective action. Aims of the study: This case study explores organisational learning strategies and practices at LAMATA to uncover how learning occurs amongst organisational members to understand the behaviors, practices and systems that enable effective workplace learning. Furthermore, the case study also explores context specific organisational learning facilitators and barriers to effective learning. Methodology: The research adopts a qualitative case study approach to gain insights into
    [Show full text]
  • Building Sustainable Contextual Ambidexterity Through Routines: a Case Study from Information Technology Firms
    sustainability Article Building Sustainable Contextual Ambidexterity through Routines: A Case Study from Information Technology Firms Maria Gil-Marques 1,* and Maria D. Moreno-Luzon 2 1 Department of Economics, Business Management and Marketing, Universidad Católica de Valencia San Vicente Mártir, 46003 Valencia, Spain 2 Department of Business Management, University of Valencia, 46022 Valencia, Spain; [email protected] * Correspondence: [email protected] Received: 30 October 2020; Accepted: 16 December 2020; Published: 19 December 2020 Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to explain the role that routines play in achieving sustainable organisational ambidexterity in information technology (IT) firms. Our exploratory analysis of four case studies reveals the key importance of routines in setting the context for sustainable ambidexterity. Companies build up contextual ambidexterity through routines derived from normalization of processes, normalization of skills, and normalization of results. The findings of the study show that routines support IT professionals to decide whether to exploit or explore in each particular case. Firstly, the enabling character of explicit routines as a result of the normalisation of work processes and the freedom that IT professionals have when implementing them, allows IT professionals to balance exploitation and exploration. Secondly, companies build up contextual ambidexterity through normalisation of skills. Hence, IT professionals develop embedded implicit routines as a result of training. Thirdly, the findings of the study reveal how routines are settled through the normalisation of results that orientates performance towards satisfying customer demands, as well as supporting professionals in their efforts to balance between exploitation and exploration which is necessary to achieve sustainable ambidexterity in IT firms.
    [Show full text]
  • Rules and Routines in Organizations and the Management of Safety Rules
    Diss. ETH No. 20956 RULES AND ROUTINES IN ORGANIZATIONS AND THE MANAGEMENT OF SAFETY RULES A dissertation submitted to ETH Zurich for the degree of Doctor of Sciences presented by JOHANN CHRISTOPH WEICHBRODT Dipl.-Psych., University of Göttingen born June 1, 1979 citizen of Germany accepted on recommendation of Prof. Dr. Gudela Grote (examiner) Prof. Dr. Georg von Krogh (co-examiner) 2013 II Danksagung Zuallererst gilt mein Dank meiner Betreuerin Gudela Grote, die mir durch viele fruchtbare Diskussionen geholfen hat mich durch das Thema hindurchzufinden und mir viel Freiraum zur Entwicklung meiner eigenen Ideen gelassen hat. Bedanken möchte ich mich auch bei meinem Zweitbetreuer Georg von Krogh für Feedback und Unterstützung. Besonderer Dank geht zudem an die Mitarbeiterinnen und Mitarbeiter der Schweizerischen Bundesbahnen, welche mir während meiner Besuche und besonders in den Interviews bereitwillig Auskunft gaben und mir einen Einblick in ihre Arbeitswelt ermöglichten. Insbesondere möchte ich Andreas Hönger danken für die Vermittlung der Kontakte und das Interesse am Projekt. Während meiner Zeit an der ETH hatte ich mit vielen weiteren Wissenschaftlerinnen und Wissenschaftlern regen Austausch über meine Arbeit. Darüber hinaus hatten wir auch einfach eine fabelhafte Zeit miteinander. Dafür möchte ich mich bedanken bei: Boris Battistini, Julia Belting, Nadine Bienefeld, Matthias Briner, Sifra Corver, Wiebke Doden, Gian-Claudio Gentile, Marius Gerber, Martin Gubler, Hannes Günter, Mareike Haase, Jacqueline Hohermuth, Peter Jäger, Patrick Jiranek, Barbara Künzle, Max Neufeind, Olga Samuel, Sarah Seyr, Renato Sydler, Cécile Tschopp, Mona Weiss, Anette Wittekind und Patricia Wolf. Besonderer Dank geht dabei an Daniel Boos, Denniz Dönmez und Michaela Kolbe. In der Peer-Mentoring-Gruppe SOWAS konnten wir uns während Workshops, Schreibwochen und dem gelegentlichen Feierabendbier gegenseitig unterstützen – vielen Dank dafür an euch alle! Auch Familie und Freunde waren während der gesamten Zeit wichtig als Quelle der Inspiration und Unterstützung.
    [Show full text]
  • A Proposal to Investigate the Role of Interim Or Other Atypical
    A proposal to investigate the role of interim or other atypical management in the transformation of lean organisations in response to market conditions. Document 1 Definition and Mapping of Research Questions In part fulfilment of the requirements of Nottingham Business School in pursuance of an award of the degree of Doctor of Business Administration Jeffrey Tyrrell 33 Pyotts Copse, Old Basing, Basingstoke, Hampshire, RG24 8WE 01256 811983, [email protected] Introduction .................................................................................................................... 2 Section 2: Organisational and management context ..................................................... 6 Section 3: Management problems and issues description. ............................................ 8 Introduction ................................................................................................................ 8 Context ....................................................................................................................... 8 Lean organisations ................................................................................................... 10 Atkinson’s concept of the flexible firm ..................................................................... 13 Atypical management ............................................................................................... 15 Section 4: Academic fields relevant to the proposal. ................................................... 16 Document 2 .............................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Helsinki University of Technology Department of Industrial Engineering and Management Doctoral Dissertation Series 2010/7 Espoo 2010
    Helsinki University of Technology Department of Industrial Engineering and Management Doctoral Dissertation Series 2010/7 Espoo 2010 THE PROCESS OF ORGANISATIONAL ADAPTATION THROUGH INNOVATIONS, AND ORGANISATIONAL ADAPTABILITY Tommi Tikka Dissertation for the degree of Doctor of Science in Technology to be presented with due permission of the Faculty of Information and Natural Sciences, for public examination and debate in Auditorium TU1 at the Aalto University School of Science and Technology (Espoo, Finland) on the May 21, 2010, at 12 noon. Aalto University School of Science and Technology Department of Industrial Engineering and Management P.O. Box 15500 FIN•00076 AALTO FINLAND Tel.: +358 9 470 22846 Fax: +358 9 470 23665 Internet: http://www.tuta.tkk.fi/ © 2010 Tommi Tikka ISBN 978•952•60•3065•4 (print) ISBN 978•952•60•3066•1 (electronic) ISSN 1797•2507 (print) ISSN 1797•2515 (electronic) http://lib.tkk.fi/Diss/2010/isbn9789526030661 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission in writing from the publisher. Multiprint Oy Espoo 2010 ABSTRACT OF DOCTORAL DISSERTATION AALTO UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY P.O. BOX 11000, FI•00076 AALTO http://www.aalto.fi Author Tommi Tikka Name of the dissertation The Process of Organisational Adaptation Through Innovations, and Organisational Adaptability Manuscript submitted April 7, 2009 Manuscript revised December 2, 2009 Date of the defence May 21, 2010 Monograph Article dissertation (summary + original articles) Faculty Information and Natural Sciences Department Department of Industrial Engineering and Management Field of research Organisational behaviour Opponent(s) Prof.
    [Show full text]