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It governance in the public sector: a conceptual


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Article in Information Systems Frontiers · November 2015


DOI: 10.1007/s10796-015-9614-x

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Inf Syst Front
DOI 10.1007/s10796-015-9614-x

It governance in the public sector: a conceptual model


Adriano Olímpio Tonelli 1 & Paulo Henrique de Souza Bermejo 2 &
Pâmela Aparecida dos Santos 2 & Larissa Zuppo 2 & André Luiz Zambalde 2

# Springer Science+Business Media New York 2015

Abstract Information technology governance (ITG) has been Keywords Information technology governance . IT
identified as an organizational ability of great importance for management . Strategic alignment . Organizational
IT strategic alignment and the delivery of business though IT. performance . IT performance
However, the results and contribution of ITG are poorly
understood. This work presents an explanatory model of
the effects of IT governance mechanisms on IT and 1 Introduction
organizational performance of public organizations. To
test the model, data was collected from a survey con- Information technology governance (ITG), essentially defined
ducted in 146 Brazilian public organizations. Partial as a set of decision-making structures, processes, and
least squares analysis was applied to test the proposed relational mechanisms (Peterson 2004), is an organiza-
model. The results indicate that (i) IT performance is tional capability that plays a significant role in value
positively correlated with organizational performance, delivery from information technology (IT) investments
(ii) relational mechanisms between IT and a business are (ISACA 2012a; Van Grembergen and De Haes 2009;
determinant factors for the performance of IT, and also posi- Weill and Ross 2004). In the public sector, the focus
tively correlated with organizational performance, and (iii), on IT governance has intensified as governments be-
decision structure and process maturity are not significantly come large consumers of IT (Pang 2014) and have
correlated with IT performance. moved toward the modernization of public administra-
tion, where questions related to performance, transpar-
ency, quality of service, and efficiency have become
central concerns (Ali and Green 2007; Campbell et al. 2009;
* Adriano Olímpio Tonelli
Suomi and Tähkäpää 2004). In this scenario, ensuring trans-
adriano.tonelli@ifmg.edu.br parency and efficiency in IT investments has become a central
Paulo Henrique de Souza Bermejo
concern in order to provide better public IT-enabled services.
bermejo@dcc.ufla.br However, despite the government’s efforts to foment the de-
Pâmela Aparecida dos Santos
velopment of IT governance, little is known about the effects
pam.santos91@gmail.com that ITG practices have on improving organizational and IT
Larissa Zuppo
performance. The majority of studies on IT governance are
lzuppo@sistemas.ufla.br conducted in private organizations. Unlike the private sector,
André Luiz Zambalde
where investments aim to generate profit and financial return
zamba@dcc.ufla.br to shareholders, the public sector has different demands in
1
Instituto Federal de Educação, Ciência e Tecnologia de Minas
terms of results (Moore 1994). Issues associated with im-
Gerais - Campus Formiga, Rua Padre Alberico, 440, São Luiz, provement in public services and transparency are central to
Formiga, MG 35570-000, Brazil the public sector. Therefore, it is difficult for studies on the
2
Department of Computer Science, Universidade Federal de Lavras, effects of IT governance in the private sector to be generalized
Lavras, Minas Gerais 37200-000, Brazil to public organizations.
Inf Syst Front

Though little research has been conducted into examining indirect relationship between IT governance mechanisms
the performance effects of IT governance in the public sector and organizational performance. To the best of our knowl-
(Ali and Green 2007; Pang 2014), exceptions include Ali and edge, no other research has considered a path model based
Green (2007), Nfuka and Rusu (2011), and Pang (2014). on IT governance mechanisms, IT performance, and organi-
These studies provide understanding about the specific prac- zational performance in the public sector.
tices implemented to provide effective IT governance (Ali and Following this introductory section, this paper is organized
Green 2007), critical success factors for effective IT gover- to present specific sections for related works, methodological
nance (Nfuka and Rusu 2011), and the moderating role of aspects of the study, the proposed conceptual model, hypoth-
IT governance on the relationship between IT spending eses, results, discussion, and concluding remarks.
and cost efficiency (Pang 2014). However, the impacts
of IT governance mechanisms (decision-making structures,
processes, and relational mechanisms) on IT performance 2 Related works
and on organizational performance remain poorly understood.
Investigating the effects on performance of an organization’s IT governance is composed of a set of practices grouped into
capability in operating decision-making structures, processes, three categories: decision-making structures, processes, and
and relational mechanisms can contribute to the understanding relational mechanisms (Peterson 2004).
of how ITG can be developed to provide improvements in First, decision-making structures specify decision rights
both IT and organizations in the public sector. and responsibilities related to different activities involving
Therefore, in order to fill this gap, this paper presents a the use of IT in organizations. Second, the processes define
conceptual model that describes and tests the relationships approaches to guide decision making, control, monitoring,
between IT and organizational performance, as well as key evaluation, and direction setting for IT. Third, the relational
components of IT governance: an organization’s capability mechanisms include practices designed to promote communi-
to operate decision-making structures, processes, and relation- cation and synergy between people involved in information
al mechanisms. The proposed model was tested based on data technology governance (Peterson 2004; Van Grembergen and
collected from a sample of 146 Brazilian public organizations. De Haes 2008).
This paper promotes advances in understanding IT In theory, once implemented in organizations, these three
governance and performance in public organizations in components contribute to organizations by helping them gain
three ways. First, the proposed model takes into account higher value from information technology. Previous studies
a broader approach to IT governance. Most of the previous have found that, once implemented effectively, IT governance
research addressed the effects of single IT governance prac- can contribute to better performance of organizations (De
tices associated to one or more ITG mechanisms, such as Haes and Van Grembergen 2009; Lunardi et al. 2014; Weill
steering committees (Ali and Green 2007), or performance and Ross 2004). On the other hand, inappropriate IT gover-
measurement systems (Srimai et al. 2011). The proposed mod- nance can neutralize the contribution of IT on firm perfor-
el addresses ITG mechanisms as a whole, promoting a wider mance (Pang 2014).
view of ITG. Furthermore, in addition to decision-making The idea that IT governance is relevant to improving the
structures, relational mechanisms, and IT governance process- performance of organizations has been propagated by a series
es (Peterson 2004), the model addresses the IT management of works. According to Weill and Ross (2004), organizations
processes construct. Although addressed in frameworks, such with superior IT governance have profits at least 20 % higher
as Control Objectives for Information and related Technology than firms with undeveloped ITG. De Haes and Van
(COBIT),1 these IT management (ITM) processes have not Grembergen (2009) report that maturity in aligning IT to busi-
yet been tested empirically in conjunction with traditional IT ness goals is higher when organizations implement mature
governance mechanisms. Second, unlike previous studies of practices of IT governance including processes, strategic plan-
ITG (e.g., Pang 2014), the proposed model promotes a ning, structures formed around IT strategic committees, and
broader view of IT performance in public organizations. In informal meetings among IT executives and senior managers.
addition to cost effectiveness, the proposed model encom- Lunardi et al. (2014), based on data from Brazilian firms listed
passes other factors related to the contribution of IT to promo- on the São Paulo Stock Exchange, found that IT governance
tion of better public services and to improving internal pro- practices improved the financial performance of organiza-
cesses in the organizations. Third, we test empirically the tions, particularly in relation to profitability. These studies,
however, are based on data from private companies.
1
COBIT is a framework for the governance and management of enter- A small part of the research considers data from public
prise IT developed by The Information System Audit and Control
organizations, suggesting that only a small number of isolated
Association (ISACA). It is designed as an educational resource to guide
professionals to design an approach to govern and manage information ITG practices have been evaluated in the public sector.
technology in organizations. Usually, research based on IT governance in public
Inf Syst Front

organizations addresses the effects of specific ITG practices Second, there is an opportunity to consider a wider ap-
on the overall effectiveness of IT governance. proach to ITG, focusing on the organization’s capability to
Table 1 illustrates a synthesis of studies evaluating the out- operate decision-making structures, processes, and relational
comes of specific practices of IT governance in the public mechanisms, as well as the effects of these mechanisms on IT
sector. From Table 1, we can verify that specific practices and organizational performance. Today, the literature lacks an
related to decision-making structures have provided negative explanatory model that jointly considers decision-making
or even disparate results among different studies. For exam- structures, processes, and relational mechanisms and the rela-
ple, although the consolidation of decision-making structures tionship of these three elements with IT performance and
(Nfuka and Rusu 2011) has shown positive results, the same business performance. Conceptual models available in the lit-
could not be verified for IT manager committees. These com- erature (e.g., Ali and Green 2007) are restricted to the investi-
mittees do not have positive correlations with IT governance gation of the relationship between IT governance practice and
performance in the Thai public sector (Maidin and Arshad its effectiveness. Approaches that address the direct relations
2010) or in the Australian public sector (Ali and Green 2007). between ITG mechanisms and IT and organizational
In addition, it appears that IT strategic committees have performance have been disregarded. De Haes and Van
different results when compared to results obtained by Grembergen (2009) have considered a wide range of practices,
Maidin and Arshad (2010) and Ali and Green (2007). While classified as structures, processes, and relational mechanisms,
the first found no significant correlation in the context of pub- the approach used by the authors of this study. However, their
lic organizations in Thailand (Maidin and Arshad 2010), the study was conducted in ten Belgian organizations from the
second found positive results in the context of the Australian financial sector and took into account the effects of these prac-
public sector (Ali and Green 2007). tices on IT-business strategic alignment. Other works address a
Contradictory results are also observed when considering broader sample of public organizations, but with reduced focus
specific processes of IT governance, especially in perfor- on specific practices. For example, Ali and Green (2007; 2012)
mance measurement systems. In Thai organizations considered management and strategic IT committees,
(Maidin and Arshad 2010; Srimai et al. 2011), and in involvement of management with IT, system performance
Tanzanian organizations (Nfuka and Rusu 2011), there measurement, compliance culture, and a system of corporate
are positive correlations with performance measurement communications. Nfuka and Rusu (2011) analyzed a set of 11
systems and ITG performance, but in the Australian context factors related to IT governance performance, essentially con-
(Ali and Green 2007) such evidence does not confirm a pos- sidering relational mechanisms and investigating IT leadership,
itive result. support from top management, partnership between IT and
Regarding the relational mechanisms, the studies have not business, stakeholder engagement, alignment strategies,
shown differences in terms of results. Although these mecha- decision-making structures, politics, IT infrastructure manage-
nisms were analyzed in small studies, conducted in the public ment, IT governance training, skills of IT professionals, and
sector, it can be seen that in the context of organizations in performance measurement.
Thailand (Maidin and Arshad 2010) and Tanzania (Nfuka and Thirdly, there is an opportunity to include organizational
Rusu 2011) such mechanisms demonstrate positive results. performance. Previous works investigated the effects of ITG
Therefore, based on the results presented in the literature, on IT governance effectiveness (Nfuka and Rusu 2011), IT
we observe a wide set of specific practices that can be used to cost effectiveness (Pang 2014), and strategic alignment be-
implement decision-making structures, processes, and rela- tween IT and business (De Haes and Van Grembergen
tional mechanisms. Previous research examined the effects 2009). However, the indirect links, via IT performance, be-
of specific practices. Additionally, researchers are far from tween IT governance and organizational performance were
establishing a consensus on the effects of IT governance not considered.
mechanisms in public organizations. This scenario opens up In the following section, we present the conceptual model
space for three main directions of research on IT governance and hypotheses.
in the Brazilian public sector.
First, previous results show that IT governance practices
can bring different results in different contexts. Contradictory 3 Conceptual model and hypotheses
results of performance measurement systems in organizations
in Thailand (Maidin and Arshad 2010; Srimai et al. 2011), Assuming that mature IT governance practices are important to
Tanzania (Nfuka and Rusu 2011), and Australia (Ali and organizational outcomes (De Haes and Van Grembergen 2009;
Green 2007) corroborate this finding. Given the lack of stud- Van Grembergen and De Haes 2008; Weill and Ross 2004), the
ies focused on the Brazilian market, there is space for new proposed conceptual model (Fig. 1) describes relations between
research opportunities to consider IT governance in public the maturity of decision-making structures, processes, and rela-
organizations in Brazil. tional mechanisms, and IT and business performance.
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Table 1 Summary of studies about IT governance practices

Processes
Practice Focus on public sector Empirical results Reference
Performance measurement system Yes Positive (Maidin and Arshad 2010)
Positive
Positive
Yes Non-significant (Ali and Green 2007)
Yes Positive (Srimai et al. 2011)
IT strategic planning No Positive (Abu-musa 2009)
No Positive (De Haes and Van Grembergen 2009)
IT budget management No Positive (De Haes and Van Grembergen 2009)
Reverse charge No Positive (De Haes and Van Grembergen 2009)
IT governance assessment mechanism No Negative (De Haes and Van Grembergen 2009)
Knowledge management for IT governance No Non-significant (De Haes and Van Grembergen 2009)
IT portfolio management No Positive (De Haes and Van Grembergen 2009)
Project governance No Positive (De Haes and Van Grembergen 2009)
Service level management No Non-significant (De Haes and Van Grembergen 2009)
Alignment between IT and organizational strategies Yes Positive (Nfuka and Rusu 2011)
Relational Mechanisms
Practice Focus on public sector Empirical results Reference
Corporate communication system Yes Positive (Maidin and Arshad 2010)
Positive
No Positive (Ali and Green 2012)
Yes Positive (Ali and Green 2007)
Communication policy No Positive (Huang et al. 2010)
CIO reports to CEO No Positive (De Haes and Van Grembergen 2009)
Cross-training No Non-significant (De Haes and Van Grembergen 2009)
Informal meetings between IT and business staff No Positive (De Haes and Van Grembergen 2009)
IT expertise in top management No Negative (De Haes and Van Grembergen 2009)
IT governance awareness campaign No Non-significant (De Haes and Van Grembergen 2009)
No Positive (Nfuka and Rusu 2011)
Job rotation No Negative (De Haes and Van Grembergen 2009)
Encouraging communication between IT and business No Positive (Nfuka and Rusu 2011)
Training in IT governance No Positive (Nfuka and Rusu 2011)
Decision making structures
Practice Focus on public sector Empirical results Reference
IT steering committee Yes Non-significant (Maidin and Arshad 2010)
Yes Negative (Ali and Green 2007)
No Non-significant (Ali and Green 2012)
No Positive (De Haes and Van Grembergen 2009)
Steering committee Yes Positive (Maidin and Arshad 2010)
IT strategic committee Yes Non-significant (Maidin and Arshad 2010)
Yes Positive (Ali and Green 2007)
No Positive (De Haes and Van Grembergen 2009)
No Non-significant (Ali and Green 2012)
IT architecture committee No Non-significant (De Haes and Van Grembergen 2009)
CIO involvement in top management No Positive (De Haes and Van Grembergen 2009)
IT audit committee at boar level No Non-significant (De Haes and Van Grembergen 2009)
IT governance unit No Non-significant (De Haes and Van Grembergen 2009)
IT project committee No Positive (De Haes and Van Grembergen 2009)
IT security committee No Non-significant (De Haes and Van Grembergen 2009)
Top management support No Positive (Nfuka and Rusu 2011)
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Fig. 1 Conceptual model

The concept of maturity has been applied to assess the level In the literature, several approaches related to decision-
at which organizations can establish and communicate rules making structures have been proposed and analyzed. Weill
that effectively govern the way work is accomplished. and Ross (2004), in research conducted in 256 public and
Immature organizations are essentially reactive, with a high private organizations around the world, found that different
degree of improvisation in the work. There is no objective basis structural configurations bring different results for domain de-
to judge results obtained for solving problems and making cisions related to IT principles, IT architecture, IT infrastruc-
decisions. In mature organizations, on the other hand, the work ture, business and investment applications, and prioritization.
is carried out according to planned processes that are widely According to Weill and Ross (2004), structures that centralize
communicated. The rules for processes are consistent with the decisions related to IT have positive results for domains asso-
way the work actually gets done (Team 2006). In this context, ciated with IT infrastructure and IT architecture, while hybrid
the concept of maturity and the maturity levels have been structures, in which responsibilities are shared by IT and
applied in different areas, including IT governance. De Haes business personnel generate better decisions and outcomes
and Van Grembergen (2009) applied a generic maturity model associated with business applications. Cumbie and Sankar
to assess 33 IT governance practices associated with decision- (2012) found that there is a tendency to adopt governance
making structures, processes, and relational mechanisms in modes that promote centralization in decision making regard-
Belgian firms from the financial sector. Luftman (2004) pro- ing disaster recovery. Nfuka and Rusu (2011) found that struc-
posed a maturity model to assess the alignment between busi- tures that provide responsibility for IT have a positive rela-
ness and IT. COBIT (ITGI 2007) proposed maturity models to tionship with the effectiveness of IT governance in Tanzanian
evaluate processes for IT governance. Therefore, we applied public organizations.
the concept of maturity as a way to direct decision-making In other studies focusing on specific practices related to
structures, processes, and relational mechanisms to perfor- decision-making structures, however, authors have not found
mance improvement in public organizations. In other words, positive effects in terms of the use of decision-making struc-
we propose that positive effect on performance can be obtained tures. Ali and Green (2007; 2012), for example, did not find a
through ITG governance mechanisms that are formally de- positive correlation in Australian public organizations be-
fined, operate with defined rules and standards that are widely tween strategic committees and IT governance effectiveness.
communicated, and are monitored and improved periodically. However, as pointed out by Ali and Green (2007), these re-
In the following sections, we describe the hypotheses pro- sults may be due to the low maturity of organizations dealing
posed in the model. with the formalization of roles and responsibilities for making
IT decisions. In addition, according to Kooper et al. (2011),
3.1 Decision-making structures organizations suffer from incomplete implementations of ITG
mechanisms in practice, leading to suboptimal results.
IT governance structures include groups or individuals within Therefore, given this context and based on the results of
an organization that have the right to make decisions and are Weill and Ross (2004), and the justifications proposed by Ali
responsible for certain activities related to information tech- and Green (2007), we consider the premise that once decision-
nology (Van Grembergen and De Haes 2008). making structures are mature, that is, properly established and
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well developed, they bring positive results for organizations. framework (ISACA 2012a), and the work developed by
Thus: Peterson (2004). These guidelines consider the integration of
IT governance and IT management functions. While ITG
H1: The maturity of organizations in terms of decision- functions focus on monitoring results, strategic evaluation,
making structures is positively and significantly related to targeting practices, and policy recommendations, IT manage-
IT performance in Brazilian public organizations. ment focuses on the implementation of the directions set by
governance (ISACA 2012a; Peterson 2004; Stachtchenko
2008). Although the effects of this new approach have not
3.2 Processes been empirically tested in a large sample of organizations, it
is expected, from this end-to-end approach, that IT gover-
In the IT governance context, processes involve the organiza- nance processes and management will be of equal importance
tion’s approach to monitoring results of ITassessment and setting in a governance–management system that is able to generate
directions, rules, and recommendations related to IT (Peterson positive results for organizations. However, empirical work on
2004). Therefore, processes are defined as the systems used in an IT governance has not incorporated IT management in a joint
organization regarding how to make decisions involving IT, as analysis with ITG mechanisms.
well as how to monitor and evaluate IT concerns in line with Therefore, it is proposed that:
business priorities (Van Grembergen and De Haes 2008). In the
literature, various IT governance processes have been analyzed H3: The maturity of organizations in terms of IT manage-
in relation to the results brought to public organizations. ment processes is positively and significantly related to IT
Srimai et al. (2011) conducted an exploratory study in Thai performance in Brazilian public organizations.
organizations and found that a performance measurement sys-
tem positively contributes to strategic alignment. However, as
occurs with decision-making structures, results relating to the 3.3 Relational mechanisms
effects of specific IT governance processes are surrounded with
contradictions. Ali and Green (2007; 2012), for example, found Relational mechanisms involve the organization’s capability
no significant effect of performance measurement systems on to provide active participation of and collaborative relation-
business success. Ali and Green (2007) argue that these results, ships among the board, IT management, and line managers
especially for public organizations, can occur due to the com- (Peterson 2004). Therefore, these mechanisms have been con-
plexity of developing and maintaining appropriate systems for sidered crucial in promoting alignment between IT and busi-
measuring performance, considering the complex indicators ness, even in cases where decision-making structures and pro-
that are not directly related to financial issues. cesses are well developed (Broadbent and Weill 1998; Van
Therefore, as seen with decision-making structures, the Grembergen and De Haes 2008).
proper implementation of processes is a challenge for organi- In the literature, studies that investigate the results of iso-
zations. Marnewick and Labuschagne (2011), in a study con- lated practices related to relational mechanisms in public or-
ducted among Saudi organizations, found that most ganizations have been of dual importance, promoting synergy
implementations of IT governance processes are incomplete and proper training of those involved in IT governance.
or inadequate. In this context, we argue that mature processes, First, relational mechanisms are considered essential to IT
once documented, widely communicated, and assessed can governance. In this sense, Ali and Green (2012) found
contribute to better IT performance in public organizations. that top management involvement with IT and enterprise
Therefore, it is proposed that: communication systems has a positive correlation with effec-
tive IT governance. The positive correlation of enterprise
H2: The maturity of organizations in terms of IT gover- communication systems was further confirmed by Ali and
nance processes is positively and significantly related to Green (2007) in the context of public enterprises. Nfuka and
IT performance in Brazilian public organizations. Rusu (2011) found a positive correlation from public organi-
zation data in Tanzania between the effectiveness of IT gov-
The investigations of IT governance processes are recurrent ernance and a set of relational mechanisms: understanding of
in previous research, as shown in Table 1. However, to pro- business objectives by IT teams, support and involvement of
vide better guidance to organizations in implementing an end- senior management, partnership and communication between
to-end approach to increasing the value delivered by informa- business and IT, key stakeholder engagement, gover-
tion technology, recent efforts have been undertaken to pro- nance training, and IT training for IT staff. In this con-
vide guidelines for construction of a governance–management text, it is natural that relational mechanisms, once properly
system for IT. Representative of these efforts are Taking established in the organization, can promote synergy and mu-
Governance Forward (Stachtchenko 2008), the COBIT 5 tual understanding between IT, top management, and other
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organizational units, so that information technology can be Other works (Stiroh 2008) emphasized that while IT invest-
directed, designed, implemented, and used in line with orga- ments have grown, the returns are diminishing, suggesting
nizational priorities. that the potential for innovation brought by IT is declining.
Therefore, it is proposed that: Other studies, however, show that there is a positive corre-
lation between IT investments and organizational performance.
H4: The maturity of organizations in terms of relational Tambe and Hitt (2012), from a study on a data panel in 1800
mechanisms is positively and significantly related to IT firms over 20 years, showed that the benefits brought by IT
performance in Brazilian public organizations. have been higher since the 2000s, suggesting that organizations
continue to develop innovative IT solutions and great value for
Second, according to De Haes and Van Grembergen businesses. In the context of small businesses, Sandulli et al.
(2009), relational mechanisms are easier to implement than (2012) evaluated data from nearly 2000 Spanish organizations
processes and structures. Thus, aligning with the notion of and found that intensive IT use in operational processes is as-
quick gains (quick wins) advocated by deployment models sociated with a substantial increase in productivity.
of IT governance (OGC 2007), these mechanisms may con- However, these studies focus on a different reality than that
stitute the first steps for proper IT governance development in of the public sector. According to Jääskeläinen and Lönnqvist
organizations. Given the difficulties in implementing ITG pro- (2011), performance evaluations in public organizations are
cesses and decision-making structures (ISACA 2012a; based on criteria that often do not consider profitability, turn-
Kooper et al. 2011; Marnewick and Labuschagne 2011), over, and financial return to shareholders. In large part, the
starting with the easy implementation components can be an performance of the public sector is reflected in issues such
effective way to create a context in which IT governance is as transparency in costs, delivering benefits to citizens from
able to effectively contribute to results in an organization. public services, and quality of life (Moore 1994; Peyvand and
When used to create the foundation for ITG development, Gupta 2005; Polidano 2000).
relational mechanisms may be considered important for the Given this scenario, organizational performance in public
subsequent development of structures and processes of deci- organizations has not been a function of profitability and fi-
sion-making. This idea is aligned with Weill and Ross (2004), nancial returns, but performance is instead measured in terms
who suggested that communication and synergy are necessary of the ability to apply resources to fulfill institutional missions
to promote the proper functioning of the processes and struc- and to deliver benefits to citizens (Moore 1994). Likewise, IT
tures of decision making. performance can be described as the ability to direct organi-
Therefore, it is proposed that: zational information technology resources toward: (i) align-
ment between IT and institutional demands of organizations
H5a: The maturity of relational mechanisms is positively (Moore 1994), (ii) proper IT actions in terms of costs and
and significantly related to the maturity in decision- benefits (Brasil 2010; Weill and Ross 2004), (iii) optimized
making structures in Brazilian public organizations. IT resource application (Weill and Ross 2004), and (iv) the
H5B: The maturity of relational mechanisms is positively flexibility to adapt to changes (Weill and Ross 2004). These
and significantly related to the maturity of IT manage- evaluation criteria are shown to be consistent with the results
ment processes in Brazilian public organizations. obtained by Weill and Ross (2004), who suggest that public
H5c: The maturity of relational mechanisms is positively organizations that have a superior ability to govern also expe-
and significantly related to maturity in terms of IT gover- rience superior IT performance.
nance processes in Brazilian public organizations. Therefore, it is proposed that:

H6: IT performance is positively and significantly corre-


3.4 IT and business performance lated to business performance in Brazilian public
organizations.
IT productivity and business outcomes have been very con-
troversial topics. Discussions about IT productivity gained
strength from the end of the 1980s, when Robert M. 4 Methodology
Solomon noted that one can see the computer age everywhere,
except in the productivity statistics of organizations. 4.1 Measurement
According to Carr (2003), information technology did not
have strategic importance for businesses at the time of his In this section, we present the measures applied to each con-
study. IT had become a commodity, in that it had become struct described in the proposed model. In order to provide a
widely available in the market. Therefore, it was not consid- wider approach to ITG mechanisms, the constructs were op-
ered to be of strategic importance by high-level management. erationalized as multi-item scales. IT performance,
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organizational performance, the organization’s maturity in & OP3. Transparency in disclosing expenditures and results;
decision-making structures, ITG and ITM processes, and re- & OP4. Improvement in public services provided by the
lational mechanisms were measured considering multiple var- organization.
iables for each. Therefore, a set of items (manifest variables)
were considered to measure each construct (latent variables). These items were measured by a six-point Likert scale with
The questionnaire (Appendix Table 6) relates each item for responses ranging from BTotally agree^ to BTotally disagree.^
the six constructs proposed in the model. As will be described
below, these items were proposed based on previous literature IT performance (ITP) IT governance literature highlights
on how to implement IT governance mechanisms, and on how various items that can be used to assess IT performance in
to describe IT performance and organizational performance in organizations. In general, IT performance reflects: (i) the stra-
public organizations. tegic alignment between IT and business (De Haes and Van
The items related to the dependent constructs (operational Grembergen 2009; Nfuka and Rusu 2011; Weill and Ross
performance and IT performance) were measured by a six- 2004); (ii) IT value delivery (Nfuka and Rusu 2011; Van
point scale ranging from BTotally agree^ to BTotally Grembergen and De Haes 2009; Weill and Ross
disagree.^ Items related to the independent constructs 2004); (iii) resource optimization in delivering IT ser-
(decision-making structures, ITG processes, ITM processes, vices (ISACA 2012b; Stachtchenko 2008); (iv) IT cost
and relational mechanisms) were measured by a six-point effectiveness (Pang 2014; Weill and Ross 2004); (v)
scale, each point corresponding to a maturity level proposed business flexibility through IT (Weill and Ross 2004);
by the Capability Maturity Model (Team 2006). We applied and (vi) qualifications of IT and business staff for the
the maturity levels proposed by the Control Objectives for proper exercise of IT responsibilities (De Haes and Van
Information and related Technology (COBIT) (ITGI 2007) Grembergen 2009; Weill and Ross 2004).
to evaluate items related to decision-making structures, ITG Based on the items mentioned above, IT performance was
processes, ITM processes, and relational mechanisms. The measured using the following items:
following maturity levels were used:
& ITP1. IT initiatives are conducted in alignment with orga-
& Level 0. Non-existent: The practice is not performed in the nizational objectives (De Haes and Van Grembergen
organization; 2009; ISACA 2012b; Nfuka and Rusu 2011; Weill and
& Level 1. Ad-hoc: The practice is performed, but applied on Ross 2004);
a case-by-case basis and with no standardization; & ITP2. IT initiatives have a good cost-benefit ratio (Pang
& Level 2. Intuitive and repeatable: The practice is per- 2014; Weill and Ross 2004);
formed intuitively by different people; & ITP3. IT initiatives contribute to improving the flexibility
& Level 3. Implemented and documented: The practice is of the organization (Weill and Ross 2004);
performed according to documented standards that are & ITP4. IT resources are optimized when conducting IT ini-
communicated to individuals in the organization; tiatives (ISACA 2012b; Stachtchenko 2008).
& Level 4. Measured with indicators: The practice is mea-
sured according to its performance and adherence to doc- These items were measured by a six-point Likert scale
umented standards; ranging from BTotally agree^ to BTotally disagree.^
& Level 5. Optimized with improvements: The practice is
based on best practices and is continually improved based
on measurements. 4.1.2 Independent constructs

Below, we describe the items used to measure each con- Based on Peterson (2004), the following independent con-
struct proposed in the model. structs were used to describe IT governance capability.

4.1.1 Dependent constructs Decision making structure (DMS) To develop this construct,
we considered as a reference the set of IT concerns that
Organizational performance (OP) This construct was are subject to decisions within organizations, as pro-
adapted from Weill and Ross (2004) to include the following posed by COBIT 5 (ISACA 2012b) and endorsed by
items: the Brazilian government to guide and assess IT gover-
nance initiatives in public administration (Brasil 2010).
& OP1. Operational efficiency; Specifically, according to De Haes and Van Grembergen
& OP2. Innovation in the actions promoted by the organiza- (2009), we measured the organization’s maturity in op-
tion in public service delivery; erating formal committees to specify the decision authority
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and responsibilities for the following key topics in governance & ITP_M2. IT project management: The organization’s ca-
and management of IT: pability to manage IT projects in line with budgets, dead-
lines, and quality constraints (De Haes and Van
& DMS1. IT architecture; Grembergen 2009; ISACA 2012b);
& DMS2. IT audit; & ITP_M3. IT budget control: The organization’s capability
& DMS3. IT security and risk; to control IT budgets in line with organizational priorities
& DMS4. Governance and strategy; (De Haes and Van Grembergen 2009);
& DMS5. IT projects and portfolios. & ITP_M4. IT service portfolio management: The organiza-
tion’s capability to manage the IT service portfolio in line
with organizational priorities (De Haes and Van
Processes for IT governance (ITG_P) We addressed IT gov- Grembergen 2009; ISACA 2012b);
ernance processes as the organization’s capability in the insti- & ITP_M5. IT operational risk management: The organiza-
tutionalization of rules, standards, and policies to guide people tion’s capability to identify, assess and mitigate operation-
in strategic IT decision making, evaluation, and IT monitoring al risks related to the use of IT in the organization (De
processes, in alignment with the organization’s overall enter- Haes and Van Grembergen 2009);
prise governance (ISACA 2012b; Peterson 2004). Following & ITP_M6. IT service level management: The organization’s
this definition, we measured the maturity of IT governance capability to define and implement service levels accord-
processes based on the following items: ing to the organization’s priority (De Haes and Van
Grembergen 2009; ISACA 2012b; Weill and Ross 2004).
& ITG_P1. Organizational strategic planning: The organiza-
tion’s capability to provide a process to create organiza-
tional strategic plans in line with the organization’s strate- Relational mechanisms (REM) This construct was measured
gic directions (De Haes and Van Grembergen 2009); based on the organization’s maturity in a set of IT governance
& ITG_P2. IT strategic planning: The organization’s capa- relational mechanisms previously addressed in the literature.
bility to provide a process to create IT strategic plans in In alignment with De Haes and Van Grembergen (2009), we
line with organizational priorities and IT strategic direc- measured the organization’s maturity to design, implement,
tions (Abu-musa 2009; De Haes and Van Grembergen and conduct practices associated to promote:
2009);
& ITG_P3. Enterprise governance framework: The organi- & REM1. CIO involvement in top management agenda
zation’s capability to provide a process to provide strategic (Nfuka and Rusu 2011);
directions to the organization (ISACA 2012b); & REM2. Top management involvement with IT initiatives
& ITG_P4. IT governance framework: The organization’s (Ali and Green 2007; Nfuka and Rusu 2011);
capability to provide a process to provide strategic direc- & REM3. Job rotation of staff in IT and other organizational
tions to IT in line with organizational priorities (ISACA units (De Haes and Van Grembergen 2009);
2012b); & REM4. Organizational communication systems (Ali and
& ITG_P5. Performance measurement system: The organi- Green 2007; Nfuka and Rusu 2011);
zation’s capability to provide a process to monitor both & REM5. Cross-training (De Haes and Van Grembergen
business and IT performance (Ali and Green 2007; 2009).
Maidin and Arshad 2010; Srimai et al. 2011).

4.2 Data
Processes for IT management (ITP_M) In essence, process-
es for IT management should operationalize decisions, rules, The study was conducted using a population of 408 Brazilian
and policies directed by IT governance (Peterson 2004). public organizations. Data were collected by structured ques-
Therefore, in line with recommendations created by the tionnaire (Appendix Table 6) between June 2012 and
Brazilian government for ITG in public organizations, IT July 2012. Respondents were directly involved with IT gov-
management concerns involve the management of risks and ernance initiatives in organizations. Specifically, those in-
resources related to: outsourcing of IT solutions, IT projects, volved in IT governance initiatives were CIOs and Board
and IT services. Directors of the studied organizations.
For purposes of improvement, the questions were devel-
& ITP_M1. IT outsourcing management: The organization’s oped and pretested based on evaluation by academic gover-
capability to provide an approach to manage IT nance IT experts, with assistance from 20 professionals who
outsourcing initiatives (ISACA 2012b); hold leadership roles in public IT organizations. After the
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pretest, we selected Brazilian public organizations that hired 5.1 Measurement model
training services in IT governance. These organizations
were accessed through the database of educational ser- In order to validate the consistency and validity of the con-
vices offered by the Federal University of Lavras. Through structs in the proposed conceptual model, two main aspects
this database, we selected 408 Brazilian public organizations have been tested: convergent validity and discriminant
to send the questionnaire to via online survey. The question- validity.
naire was sent to the CIOs and Board Directors of the selected Convergent validity is evaluated by the internal reliability
organizations. (composite reliability, or CR) of each item provided in the
We obtained a sample containing 311 cases. Following the construct. According to Hair et al. (2009), it is recommended
recommendations of Hair et al. (2009), we discarded all cases that the CR be greater than 0.5. The lowest load for internal
in which data was incomplete for items related to the con- reliability was found to be 0.8726 (Table 2), suggesting that
structs of the proposed model, resulting in a sample of 146 the scale used has internal consistency. Cronbach’s alpha, a
cases: 127 were answered by CIOs and 19 by the Board traditional measure of internal consistency, ranged from
Director. This sample was used to test the proposed concep- 0.8165 to 0.9365 (Table 2), which according to Gefen and
tual model. Straub (2005), is appropriate to the extent that it is greater than
As stated above, the questionnaire used a six-point scale, or equal to 0.7. The internal consistency of the constructs was
since a scale with six points has more convergent validity and also evaluated by AVE, which according to Fornell and
reliability than scales with fewer points, according to Chang Bookstein (1982), should be above 0.5; the minimum value
(1994). for AVE was approximately 0.57 (Table 2) and was thus
suitable.
The discriminant validity was assessed using two steps.
5 Results First, the loads (Table 3, in bold) should be higher than the
other values presented on the same line. Table 3 shows that
A structural equation model (SEM) was applied to test the this criterion was met, indicating that the variables are more
hypotheses outlined in the conceptual models. Among the strongly correlated in their respective constructs than others.
different methods available for SEM, partial least squares Second, following Fornell and Bookstein (1982), it was veri-
(PLS) was selected because the sample data did not fit a nor- fied that the AVE square root for each construct (in bold) is
mal distribution (p < 0.01, based on the Kolmogorov-Smirnov greater than the correlation between the constructs. Table 4,
test). In addition, the conceptual model proposed in this work shows that the criterion has been met.
is at an early stage of development and has not been tested Therefore, the measurement model has good internal con-
previously in the literature, which, according to Chin (1998), sistency, reliability indicators, and convergent and discrimi-
makes the PLS method more suitable. nant validity. Thus, the factors that have been developed for
Additionally, PLS requires a sample size equal to the larg- this measurement model can be used to test the structural
est of the following: (1) ten times the number of indicators of model.
the scale with the largest number of formative indicators According to Fig. 2, the t-values were between 0.03 and
or (2) ten times the largest number of structural paths 18.64, with high chances of significant and insignificant
directed at a particular construct in the model (Chin measurements.
1998; Gefen and Straub 2005). As our study used re-
flective indicators, only the second rule was adequate. 5.2 Structural model
In our conceptual model, the largest number of structural paths
directed at a particular construct was four, which meant that Based on the measurement model, the significance of all paths
the minimum size required was 40. These characteristics also of the structural model were tested using bootstrapping in
make them suitable for PLS analysis, as a sample ten times SmartPLS. Figure 2 (coefficients of paths and t-values) pre-
larger than the largest number of paths to a construct is rec- sents the path coefficients and t-values (in parentheses) for the
ommended for this model (Chin 1998; Gefen and Straub hypotheses.
2005). To conduct the PLS analysis, we used the SmartPLS Notes: significance of path coefficients (Hair et al. 2009):
software. significant at * 0.05 (t > 1.96) ** and 0.001 (t > 2.58); strength
Next, we present the results of the application of of path coefficients (Cohen 1988): at ≥0.1 small, moderate
partial least squares in the measurement model, in ≥0.3, and ≥0.5 strong.
which we evaluated the internal consistency, reliability, In order to assess the predictive ability of the structural
and the convergent validity of the constructs and the model, we used the criteria proposed by Chin (1998): the
structural model. Following, the tests of the hypotheses variance of the dependent constructs as explained by the in-
are presented. dependent constructs (R2) should be above 0.2. From Fig. 2, it
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Table 2 Validity of factors


AVE Composite Reliability (CR) R2 Cronbachs Alpha

Decision-making structures 0.7975 0.9517 0.5719 0.9365


IT Management processes 0.677 0.9263 0.633 0.9045
IT performance 0.6952 0.9187 0.5599 0.8871
ITG processes 0.7369 0.9331 0.5937 0.9096
Organizational performance 0.7227 0.9124 0.4101 0.8717
Relational mechanisms 0.5801 0.8726 0 0.8165

can be seen that the lowest value for R2 was 0.41, indicating Regarding the maturity of the decision-making structures,
that the structural model has a predictive ability, accounting the results show no significant correlation with the perfor-
for approximately 41 % of organizational performance, 56 % mance of IT or business performance. Therefore, hypothesis
of IT performance, 57 % of decision-making structure matu- H1 (−0.091, 0.839) was rejected.
rity, 59 % of governance process maturity, and 63 % of IT Contrary to the decision-making structures and processes, the
management process maturity. results indicate that there is a significant and positive correlation
Of the eight hypotheses proposed in the conceptual model, between maturity in relational mechanisms and IT performance
five were accepted and three were rejected (Table 5). (β = 0.595, p < 0.001). Thus, hypothesis H4 was accepted.

Table 3 PLS loadings and cross-


loadings Constructs Items OP ITP DMS REM ITM IPR

Organizational performance OP1 0.87619 0.52422 0.48458 0.58919 0.49059 0.43865


(OP) OP2 0.87068 0.45988 0.47445 0.53654 0.46536 0.40089
OP3 0.78686 0.53335 0.36343 0.49529 0.40435 0.38499
OP4 0.86480 0.56961 0.47252 0.56528 0.53838 0.48597
IT performance (ITP) ITP1 0.52029 0.83830 0.53354 0.68997 0.64330 0.57599
ITP2 0.57100 0.92673 0.41642 0.61590 0.52438 0.47596
ITP3 0.52653 0.86651 0.41116 0.54568 0.45709 0.44235
ITP4 0.56008 0.91416 0.43323 0.60625 0.50765 0.46899
Decision-making structures DMS1 0.48365 0.47648 0.88792 0.72007 0.69119 0.74483
(DMS) DMS2 0.45026 0.43530 0.87892 0.66974 0.73034 0.76242
DMS3 0.47400 0.44467 0.91175 0.64857 0.75302 0.70948
DMS4 0.46463 0.45531 0.89501 0.62529 0.73489 0.72388
DMS5 0.48982 0.45478 0.89137 0.70636 0.72055 0.73161
Relational mechanisms REM1 0.51889 0.58922 0.48669 0.66447 0.47737 0.50213
(REM) REM2 0.54141 0.61094 0.63523 0.83091 0.65733 0.62220
REM3 0.33508 0.41889 0.46558 0.68755 0.51362 0.46172
REM4 0.52212 0.48881 0.62660 0.79068 0.66171 0.65020
REM5 0.51126 0.53402 0.63673 0.81844 0.70730 0.66823
IT management processes ITP_M1 0.44132 0.54323 0.58029 0.63799 0.80463 0.69539
(ITP_M) ITP_M2 0.44643 0.46640 0.69386 0.62106 0.83092 0.72088
ITP_M3 0.50735 0.43983 0.59425 0.61988 0.80183 0.65857
ITP_M4 0.41711 0.48334 0.65971 0.68803 0.81721 0.70461
ITP_M5 0.44248 0.51073 0.77870 0.72125 0.84626 0.82841
ITP_M6 0.44317 0.45419 0.68373 0.62958 0.79190 0.70161
ITG processes (ITG_P) ITG_P1 0.44649 0.44815 0.67511 0.62382 0.65620 0.85614
ITG_P2 0.34951 0.46099 0.57683 0.59620 0.71763 0.80548
ITG_P3 0.44352 0.45790 0.81833 0.69251 0.80534 0.91232
ITG_P4 0.43122 0.49161 0.76076 0.69705 0.82145 0.91763
ITG_P5 0.48239 0.52027 0.68026 0.68541 0.73778 0.79247
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Table 4 Correlation and AVE


OP ITP DMS REM ITM IPT

Organizational performance (OP) 1.0000


IT performance (ITP) 0.6145 1.0000
Decision-making structures (DMS) 0.5296 0.5081 1.0000
Relational mechanisms (REM) 0.6443 0.6961 0.7563 1.0000
IT management processes (ITP_M) 0.5606 0.6049 0.8124 0.8006 1.0000
ITG processes (ITG_P) 0.5048 0.5561 0.8227 0.7711 0.8740 1.0000

The relational mechanisms also have significant pos- 6 Discussion


itive correlations with the maturity of decision-making
structures, IT governance processes, and IT management Based on the importance of information technology to the
processes. The results indicate that there is a significant public sector and the central role of IT governance to
positive correlation between the maturity of relational providing conditions to achieve results through IT, this
mechanisms and the maturity of decision-making struc- work investigated the relationship between the maturity of IT
tures (β = 0.756, p < 0.001), IT governance processes governance mechanisms and performance in Brazilian public
(β = 0.771, p < 0.001), and IT management processes organizations.
(β = 0.796, p < 0.001). Thus, hypotheses H5a, H5b, and H5c By addressing, in a single model, decision-making struc-
are accepted. tures, ITG processes, ITM processes and relational mecha-
The relationship between relational mechanisms and nisms, the results show that relational mechanisms are the
IT management processes, IT governance processes, and only ITG component that can contribute to better IT perfor-
decision-making structures has a strong path coefficient mance. Relational mechanisms are positively correlated to IT
(0.796, 0.771, and 0.756) and is highly significant performance, described by alignment with organizational ob-
(18.424, 17.592, and 16.092) (Fig. 2). The high signif- jectives, cost-benefit of IT initiatives, flexibility, and resource
icance indicates that the hypotheses are confirmed, and optimization. IT performance, in turn, is positively correlated
relational mechanisms are positively correlated with the to organizational performance in public organizations in
other three IT governance mechanisms included in the the areas of operations, efficiency, innovation, transpar-
model. ency, and improvement in public services. Therefore,
Finally, the results also indicate a positive and signif- our findings highlight that the maturity in relational mecha-
icant correlation between IT performance and business nisms influences IT performance. Better IT performance
performance (β = 0.323110, p < 0.001) and support positively influences the achievement of organizational
hypothesis H6. performance.

Fig. 2 Path coefficients and t-


values
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Table 5 Synthesis of hypotheses testing Although relational mechanisms have a positive correlation
Hypothesis Accepted with the maturity of decision-making structures and processes,
the results do not show a significant correlation between IT
H1:Decision-making structures → IT performance No performance and both structures and processes. Previous re-
H2: ITG processes v IT performance No search tested individual ITG practices related to decision-
H3: ITM processes v IT performance No making structures (e.g., IT committees) (Pang 2014) and
H4: Relational mechanisms v IT performance Yes ITG processes (e.g., performance measurement) (Ali and
H5a: Relational mechanisms v ITM processes Yes Green 2007; 2012) and found no significant results for effec-
H5b: Relational mechanisms → ITG processes Yes tive IT governance (Ali and Green 2007; 2012) and for IT cost
H5c: Relational mechanisms → Decision-making structures Yes effectiveness (Pang 2014). The same occurs with performance
H6: IT performance → Organizational performance Yes measurement systems that, according to Ali and Green (2007),
have no significant effect on effective IT governance. A
broader operationalization of constructs related to IT
Information technology has a great potential to improve performance, decision-making structures, ITG processes,
public service delivery and transparency in the public sector. and ITM processes, as proposed in this work, corrobo-
Initiatives such as e-government can enhance engagement rates and extends previous contributions that did not find
of and empower citizens (Weerakkody et al. 2015). contributions from specific ITG practices (De Haes and Van
More information delivered timely can increase transpar- Grembergen 2009).
ency and give citizens conditions to monitor govern- A probable explanation for non-significant results of pro-
ment performance (Wong and Welch 2004). In this context, cesses and decision-making structures can be found in previ-
IT governance can play a central role in providing managerial ous studies focusing on bureaucratization and adoption of the
conditions—through relational mechanism—to effectively Capability Maturity Model (CMM). The CMM led to an
apply IT resources, such as software, hardware, people, and increase in standardization, formalization, specialization,
information. hierarchical differentiation, and the creation of special-
Additionally, this finding extends previous contributions to ized staff. At high levels of maturity, a bureaucratic
the literature (Ali and Green 2007; Nfuka and Rusu 2011) that rationalization can be achieved based on discipline and
found a positive correlation between practices associated with predictability of results. However, applying IT resources
these mechanisms and the effectiveness of IT governance in effectively and in an innovative manner may require a
the public organization sector. The positive correlation be- great amount of creativity and experimentation that is
tween relational mechanisms and IT performance further sup- essentially non-routine (Adler 2005). Additionally, in IT im-
ports the notion that information technology should also per- plementation, no set of injunctions will apply every time, so
form well in public sector organizations, which would require that the organizational context and adaptation play a central
sharing of knowledge and synergy between IT staff and other role (Dwivedi et al. 2015).
members of public organizations (Van Grembergen and De Works conducted in public organizations have demonstrat-
Haes 2009). In addition, this result is consistent with Swar ed the difficulties faced by these organizations in trying to
et al. (2012), who found that the success of outsourcing pro- properly adopt innovations brought by information technolo-
cesses is greatly determined by relationship quality between gy. In public organizations, bureaucracy can lead to a tenden-
those involved in the process. Therefore, the results indicate cy to centralize information (Wiredu 2012), which can result
that the promotion of mechanisms that enable synergy and in reduced transparency. In addition, bureaucratization can
mutual understanding between the IT function and senior lead to a lack of attention to the way the work actually is
management is of key importance to the performance of orga- performed by people and the excessive focus on norms
nizations and IT. (Wastell and White 2013). Similar difficulties can occur in
Relational mechanisms also demonstrate significant impor- IT governance. Studies found that the partnership between
tance in promoting decision-making structures and processes IT and other organizational units can become complicated
of IT governance and IT management. This result is consistent when technology committees proliferate with several formal
with the idea that the development of relational mechanisms rules (Kooper et al. 2011). Committees can create additional
can promote proper levels of synergy and collaboration be- layers of bureaucracy. In this context, returns from IT invest-
tween people within processes and decision-making structures ments diminish (Pang 2014). Our results corroborate these
(De Haes and Van Grembergen 2009). Therefore, the previous discoveries and add that formal committees, in addi-
development of relational mechanisms may be the first tion to formal processes to govern and manage IT, are not
step to developing adequate IT governance, providing the significant to bring positive results in terms of IT performance.
basis for subsequent initiatives to implement processes and Being mature in terms of decision-making structures and pro-
decision-making structures. cesses for ITG and ITM, that is, with standardized practices
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that are documented and assessed, is not the same as delivery IT governance is defined by decision-making structures,
of satisfactory results. The side effect of bureaucratization processes, and relational mechanisms (Peterson 2004).
may arise and neutralize the positive effects brought by IT Considerable effort in the ITG literature (e.g., Brown and
governance. Grant 2005; Cumbie and Sankar 2012; Sambamurthy and
Furthermore, this rigidity imposed by IT governance is in Zmud 1999; Weill and Ross 2004) has been undertaken based
conflict with the argument that—in the face of increasingly on the structural view, considering the distribution of decision-
uncertain and unstable environments—the achievement of making authority regarding IT. However, this work takes a
competitive advantage is dependent on the ability of organi- different perspective, considering how mature decision-
zations to promote flexibility and creativity (Teece 2007). making structures, processes, and relational mechanisms are,
Formal structures and processes for decision making may and the effects of these three components on IT performance.
not be appropriate for flexibility and success. IT actions are In doing so, the results provide support for a conception of IT
primarily dependent on the ability of the people involved and governance based on relationships, such as interactions be-
the synergy they maintain. Along with the positive results tween IT staff and other organizational units.
obtained for the relational mechanisms in the proposed
model, this finding is consistent with the Marnewick and 6.2 Managerial implications
Labuschagne (2011) conclusion, which suggests that the lack
of effective IT governance does not affect organizational The results of this study support practitioners who seek to
outcomes. improve the results generated by IT resources for businesses,
The results also provide empirical support to confirm the especially in terms of IT governance and IT management of
existence of a positive correlation between IT performance these resources in the Brazilian public sector.
and business performance in Brazilian public organizations. The results obtained in this study were significant for
This result corroborates a view in which, when properly ap- practice, as they point to mechanisms that effectively
plied, information technology can effectively promote better contribute to positive results from information technology
transparency, operational efficiency, innovation and better governance.
public services. Governments become large consumers of in- In order to improve IT and organizational performance, it is
formation technology (Pang 2014). However, how to convert recommended that relational mechanisms must be the primary
such large IT investments into a better organizational perfor- components to be further developed.
mance remains a question. Our findings suggest that the Although they did not show significant effects, decision-
achievement of better organizational performance is linked making structures and processes are still relevant for organi-
to the promotion of mature relational mechanisms that, via zations in meeting regulatory requirements. Representative
IT performance, will influence the performance of the examples include the judgments of the Court of Audit, which
organization. guides public Brazilian organizations to develop IT commit-
tees and processes for managing different forms of IT (Brasil
6.1 Theoretical implications 2008). Thus, the results of the research recommend that—in
order to achieve greater maturity in decision-making struc-
Unlike previous work that focused on the relationship be- tures and processes—organizations must concentrate primar-
tween specific practices, and effectiveness and performance ily on the development of appropriate practices that create
of IT governance (Ali and Green 2007; Nfuka and Rusu synergy between the IT staff and senior management. As seen
2011), this study considers a broader conceptual approach in the literature (De Haes and Van Grembergen 2009), the
for IT governance (Van Grembergen and De Haes 2008; development of relational mechanisms requires less effort
Weill and Ross 2004). The study extends previous research by organizations. Thus, enhancing relational mechanisms
in the literature in that it helps to explain the effects of (communication between IT leaders and senior manage-
maturity in decision-making structures and processes on ment, involving directors with IT issues, establishing an
the performance of IT and business performance in appropriate communication system, implementing mech-
Brazilian public organizations. The results suggest that anisms of job rotation, and training and development) can
the relational dimension of IT governance plays a cen- strengthen the foundation for formal decision-making struc-
tral role in enhancing IT performance in public organi- tures and processes.
zations. Therefore, the promotion of synergies between
those involved in the provision and use of information
technology services and resources is a condition for the 7 Conclusion
achievement of alignment between IT and organizational
demands, flexibility, optimization of IT resources, and cost This paper presented and tested an explanatory model for the
effectiveness. effects of IT governance in the Brazilian public sector.
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Specifically, we considered the effects of decision-making the results obtained here. First, we used a single informant
structures, IT governance processes, IT management process- strategy in each organization and the sample considered only
es, and relational mechanisms on the performance of IT and includes Brazilian organizations in the public sector. Also, we
business. The results support the ideas that: (i) IT performance did not apply random sampling procedures for the selection of
is positively correlated with organizational performance, organizations. This limits the generalization of the study,
which confirms the strategic role that IT plays in organiza- which leaves room for further studies to test the model
tions; (ii) the relational mechanisms between IT and other using other samples. Second, the study did not take into
organizational units are, in the IT governance context, account the possible effects of restraint in relation to
the determining factors for IT performance, and are also variables such as size and public sector organizations.
positively correlated with organizational performance; Future studies may consider these moderating effects in
and (iii) although it is propagated as essential in IT order to improve the model proposed here. Finally, re-
governance literature and in best practice models, matu- sults of processes and decision-making structures can be
rity in decision-making structures and processes does not further explored by future research. In this work, we
have a significant correlation with the performance of raise bureaucratization as a probable explanation for
business and IT. non-significant results of processes and decision-making
Although this study has advanced the knowledge base in structures. Future research can investigate the relationship
terms of IT governance, it is necessary to highlight some lim- between maturity in processes and decision-making, and
itations that should be taken into account when interpreting bureaucratization.

Appendix

Table 6 Questionnaire

Organizational performance

Item Answer
[1] Totally disagree [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] Totally agree
The organization enjoys a good level of transparency in the management and
dissemination of costs and results.
The organization enjoys a good level of operational efficiency in its activities
The organization constantly innovates in its internal processes
I have noticed increased value-added services that my company provides to citizens
IT performance
Item Answer
[1] Totally disagree [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] Totally agree
IT actions are carried out in line with the objectives and guidelines of the senior
management of my company
IT initiatives are conducted with optimized IT resources to meet organizational
processes of other units
IT actions contribute effectively to the flexibility in the organization’s operations
The organization has properly trained staff in IT management and governance
Decision-making structures
Assess the organization’s maturity in operating formal committees to specify the decision authority and responsibilities for the following key topics in
governance and management of IT. Use the following maturity levels: (1) Non-existent; (2) Ad-hoc; (3) Intuitive and repeatable; (4) Implemented/
documented; (5) Measured with indicators; (6) Optimized with improvements
Item Answer
[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]
IT architecture
IT audit.
IT security and risk.
Governance and strategy.
IT projects and portfolio.
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Table 6 (continued)

Organizational performance

Processes for IT governance


Assess the organization’s maturity in the following processes. Use the following maturity levels: (1) Non-existent; (2) Ad-hoc; (3) Intuitive and
repeatable; (4) Implemented/documented; (5) Measured with indicators; (6) Optimized with improvements
Item Answer
[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]
IT strategic planning: the organization’s capability to provide a process to
create IT strategic plans in line with organizational priorities and IT strategic directions.
Organizational strategic planning: the organization’s capability to provide a process to
create organizational strategic plans in line with the organization’s strategic directions
Enterprise governance framework: the organization’s capability to provide a process to
provide strategic directions to the organization.
IT governance framework: the organization’s capability to provide a process to provide
strategic directions to IT in line with organizational priorities.
Performance measurement system: the organization’s capability to provide a process to
monitor both business and IT performance.
Processes for IT management
Assess the organization’s maturity in the following processes. Use the following maturity levels: (1) Non-existent; (2) Ad-hoc; (3) Intuitive and
repeatable; (4) Implemented/documented; (5) Measured with indicators; (6) Optimized with improvements
Item Answer
[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]
IT outsourcing management: the organization’s capability to provide an approach to
manage IT outsourcing initiatives
IT project management: the organization’s capability to manage IT projects in line with
budgets, deadlines, and quality constraints
IT budget control: the organization’s capability to control IT budgets in line with
organizational priorities
IT service portfolio management: the organization’s capability to manage the IT service
portfolio in line with organizational priorities
IT operational risk management: the organization’s capability to identify, assess and
mitigate operational risks related to the use of IT in the organization.
IT service level management: the organization’s capability to define and implement service
levels according to the organization’s priority.
Relational mechanisms
Assess the organization’s maturity in the following IT governance relational mechanisms. Use the following maturity levels: (1) Non-existent;
(2) Ad-hoc; (3) Intuitive and repeatable; (4) Implemented/documented; (5) Measured with indicators; (6) Optimized with improvements
;Item Answer
[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]
CIO involvement in top management agenda
Top management involvement with IT initiatives
Job rotation of staff in IT and other organizational units
Organizational communication systems
Cross-training

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Inf Syst Front

Adriano Olímpio Tonelli has a MSc in Business Administration from undergraduate research projects which shedevelops research activi-
the Universidade Federal de Lavras (UFLA). Currently he is PhD candi- ties in the area of Information Technology (IT) Governance and
date in Business Administration from UFLA and professor at the Instituto Open Innovation in Software. Shealso spoke at the National Forum
Federal de Educação, Ciência e Tecnologia de Minas Gerais (IFMG), of IT Governance, presenting results of a research project on IT
campus Formiga. Previously, professor at the Universidade Federal de Governance in Brazil.Along with these activities, she also involved
Lavras and Research Coordinator at the LabGTI/UFLA. His research with the local, student-led computing enterprise society for two
interests include innovation management, knowledge management, and years. In2015, Pamela started working in an international consulting
management information system. firm as business consultant.

Paulo Henrique de Souza Bermejo has a PhD in Knowledge Engineer- Larissa Avelino Zuppo recently obtained her bachelor's degree in Infor-
ing and Management from the Universidade Federalde Santa Catarina mation Systems from the Federal University ofLavras (Brazil). Under the
(Brazil) and has done post-doctoral work in innovation at Bentley Uni- supervision of Prof. Paulo Bermejo she developed research on Technol-
versity (USA). Currently, he isAdvisor of Strategy and Innovation at the ogy Governance andInnovation. Currently she focuses on Open Innova-
Ministry of Education in Brazil. He also teaches and advises in the tion and its implications for enterprises and has interest in
GraduateProgram of Administration and in the Graduate Program of ProjectManagement.
Public Administration at the Universidade Federal de Lavras(UFLA),
Brazil. His research interests include open innovation, knowledge tech- André Luiz Zambalde has a Phd in Systems and Computer Engineering
nology and innovation management,governance and strategic manage- from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro(COPPE-UFRJ-Brazil) and
ment, entrepreneurship, and education and public management. Over has done post-doctoral work in Information Systems at Nova University
his 25-year career,Bermejo has published more than 60 refereed papers (NOVA-IMS-Portugal).Currently, he is professor and researcher at Fed-
and book chapters and has developed over 25 technology-basedproducts eral University of Lavras (UFLA-Brazil). He teaches and advises in
in partnership with public and private institutions. From 2009–2011, he theGraduate Program of Management and teaches in the Undergraduate
worked as Associate Dean for GraduateStudies at the Universidade Fed- Programs of Computer Science and InformationSystems. His research
eral de Lavras. Dr. Bermejo conducted “productivity scholarship in re- interests include University, Innovation and Development; Knowledge
search” from 2013–2015, supported by the Foundation for Supporting Management and Innovation;Marketing of New Technologies and Inno-
Research in the state of Minas Gerais (Fapemig). vation; Strategic and Technology Forecasting, Technology
Roadmapping;Hypermedia Educational Systems and Rapid e-learning.
Pâmela Aparecida dos Santos holds a degree in Information Systems Over his 30-year carrer, Zambalde has published refereed papersand book
from the Universidade Federal de Lavras (Brazil). Inaddition to chapters and has developed researchs in partnership with public and pri-
mandatory academic activities for her degree, she was involved in vate instituitions.

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