Abstract
In an increasingly business technology (BT) dependent world, the impact of the extraordinary changes brought about by the nexus of mobile and cloud technologies, social media and big data is increasingly being felt in the board room. As leaders of enterprises of every type and size, board directors can no longer afford to ignore, delegate or avoid BT-related decisions. Competitive, financial and reputational risk is increased if boards fail to recognize their role in governing technology as an asset and in removing barriers to improving enterprise business technology governance (EBTG). Directors’ awareness of the need for EBTG is increasing. However, industry research shows that board level willingness to rectify the gap between awareness and action is very low or non-existent. This literature review-based research identifies barriers to EBTG effectiveness. It provides a practical starting point for board analysis. We offer four outcomes that boards might focus on to ensure the organizations they govern are not left behind by those led by the upcoming new breed of technology-savvy leaders. Most extant research looks backward for examples, examining data pre-2010, the time when a tipping point in the personal and business use of multimedia and mobile internet devices significantly deepened the impacts of the identified nexus technology forces, and began rapidly changing the way in which many businesses engage with their customers, employees and stakeholders. We situate our work amidst these nexus forces, discuss the board's role in EBTG in this context and modernize current definitions of enterprise technology governance. The primary limitation faced is the lack of scholarly research relating to EBTG in the rapidly changing digital economy. Although we have used recent (2011–2013) industry surveys, the volume of these surveys and congruence across them is significant in terms of levels of increased awareness and calls for increased board attention and competency in EBTG and strategic information use. Where possible, we have used scholarly research to illustrate or discuss industry findings.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Ali, S. and Green, P. (2012) Effective information technology (IT) governance mechanisms: An IT outsourcing perspective. Information Systems Frontiers 142: 179–193.
Andriole, S.J. (2009) Boards of directors and technology governance: The surprising state of the practice. Communications of the Association for Information Systems 24 (1): 58.
Asch, S.E. (1951) Effects of group pressure upon the modification and distortion of judgement. In: H. Guetzkow (ed.) Groups, Leadership and Men. Pittsburgh, PA: Carnegie Press.
Barney, J.B. and Clark, D.N. (2007) Resource-Based Theory: Creating and Sustaining Competitive Advantage. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Bernoff, J. (2012) Social winners. Marketing News 46 (1): 12.
Buckby, S., Best, P. and Stewart, J. (2010) The current state of information technology governance literature. In: I.R.M.A. (ed.) Business Information Systems: Concepts, Methodologies, Tools and Applications. Hershey, PA: IGI Global, pp. 1657–1705.
Carter, C.B. and Lorsch, J.W. (2004) Back to the Drawing Board: Designing Corporate Boards for a Complex World. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press.
Carter, L.D., Phillips, B. and Millington, P. (2012) The impact of information technology internal controls on firm performance. Journal of Organizational and End User Computing 24 (2): 39–49.
Chait, R.P., Ryan, W.P. and Taylor, B.E. (2004) Governance as Leadership: Reframing the Work of Nonprofit Boards. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
Chew, E.K. and Gottschalk, P. (eds.) (2009) The CIO enabling IT governance. In: Information Technology Strategy and Management: Best Practices. Hershey, PA: IGI Global, pp. 315–355.
Cumps, B., Viaene, S. and Dedene, G. (2012) Linking the strategic importance of ICT with investment in business-ICT alignment: An explorative framework. In: W. Van Grembergen and S. De Haes (eds.) Business Strategy and Applications in Enterprise IT Governance. Hershey, PA: IGI Global, pp. 37–55.
Davis, Z. (2012) Social media, mobile technology, cloud converging: Gartner. In: eWeek. Princeton, NJ: Factiva.
Dearstyne, B.W.P. (2010) Groundbreaking trends: The foundation for meeting information challenges and opportunities. Information Management Journal 44 (2): 27–32, 43.
De Haes, S. and Van Grembergen, W. (eds.) (2012a) Analysing the impact of enterprise governance of IT practices on business performance. In: Business Strategy and Applications in Enterprise IT Governance. Hershey, PA: IGI Global, pp. 14–36.
De Haes, S. and Van Grembergen, W. (2012b) Prioritising and linking business goals and IT goals in the financial sector. In: W. Van Grembergen and S. De Haes (eds.) Business Strategy and Applications in Enterprise IT Governance. Hershey, PA, USA: IGI Global, pp. 123–144.
Dignan, L. (2012) Gartner: ‘Every budget is an IT budget’. In: ZDNet (ed.) Between the Lines. San Francisco, CA: CBS Interactive.
Eisener-Ampler. (2012) Concerns about Risks Confronting Boards: Third Annual Board of Directors Survey 2012. In: M. Breit and S. Kreit (eds.), New York: Eisener Ampler.
Feather, F. (2012) Execs not using social media at board level strategy. In: R. LeBlanc (ed.) Boards and Advisors Forum. Mountain View, CA: LinkedIn.
Ferguson, F., Green, P., Vaswani, R. and Wu, G. (2013) Determinants of effective information technology governance. International Journal of Auditing.
French, W.L., Bell, C. and Zawacki, R.A. (2005) Organization Development and Transformation: Managing Effective Change. New York: McGraw-Hill/Irwin.
Gartner. (2011) CIO Advisory: The Board Needs the ‘I’ in ‘IT’: Gartner interviews Ken Daly, CEO of the NACD. In: J. Lopez (ed.), Stamford, CT: Gartner.
Gartner. (2012a) Top 10 Findings from Gartner's Financial Executives International CFO Technology Study. In: J.E. Van Decker (ed.), Stamford, CT: Gartner.
Gladwell, M. (2000) The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference. 1st edn. Boston: Little Brown.
Griffey, J. (2012) The rise of the tablet. Library Technology Reports 48 (3): 7–13.
Groysberg, B. and Bell, D. (2012) 2012 Board of Directors Survey. USA: Heidrick & Struggles International and Women Corporate Directors (WCD).
Hausman, K. (2011) Sustainable Enterprise Architecture. Hoboken, MJ: CRC Press.
Helfat, C.E. and Peteraf, M.A. (2003) The dynamic resource-based view: Capability lifecycles. Strategic Management Journal 24 (10): 997–1010.
Ho, J.L.Y., Wu, A. and Xu, S.X. (2011) Corporate governance and returns on information technology investment: Evidence from emerging market. Strategic Management Journal 32 (6): 595–623.
Huff, S.L., Maher, M.P. and Munro, M.C. (2006) Information technology and the Board of Directors: Is there an IT attention deficit? MIS Quarterly Executive 5 (2): 55–68.
ITGI. (2003) Board Briefing on IT Governance, 2nd edn. Rolling Meadows, IT Governance Institute (ITGI), http://www.itgi.org, accessed 11 October 2012.
ITGI. (2011) Global Status Report on the Governance of Enterprise IT (GEIT) – 2011. Rolling Meadows, IL: IT Governance Institute.
Jeanjean, T. and Stolowy, H. (2009) Determinants of board members’ financial expertise – Empirical evidence from France. The International Journal of Accounting 44 (4): 378–402.
Jewer, J. and McKay, K.N. (2012) Antecedents and consequences of board IT governance: Institutional and strategic choice perspectives. Journal of the Association for Information Systems 13 (7): 581–617.
Johnson, G., Scholes, K. and Whittington, R. (2011) Exploring Strategy. Harlow, UK: Financial Times, Prentice Hall.
Jorna, R.J. and Faber, N.R. (2012) Innovation and knowledge management for sustainability: Theoretical perspectives. In: F.S. Nobre, D. Walker and R.J. Harris (eds.) Technological, Managerial and Organizational Core Competencies: Dynamic Innovation and Sustainable Development. IGI Global, pp. 365–383.
Kaplan, S. (2012) Leading disruptive innovation. Ivey Business Journal Online. (July/August 2012) Online, http://www.iveybusinessjournal.com.
Kazi, R. and Deters, R. (eds.) (2012) Mobile event-oriented digital ecosystem. Digital Ecosystems Technologies (DEST), 2012 6th IEEE International Conference; 18–20 June.
King, R. (2012) How smart CIOs can communicate with Luddite boards. In: WSJ (ed.), CIO, New York: Wall Street Journal Blogs, WSJ.Com.
Knecht, P.R. and Bass, K. (2012) Why board culture matters. Trustee 65 (5): 21–24.
Ko, D. and Fink, D. (2010) Information technology governance: An evaluation of the theory-practice gap. Corporate Governance 10 (5): 662–674.
Kurzweil, R. (2005) The Singularity Is Near. New York: Penguin Group.
Larcker, D.F., Larcker, S.M. and Tayan, B. (2012) What Do Corporate Directors and Senior Managers Know about Social Media? Canada: Conference Board/Stanford University.
Leblanc, R. (2012) PwC survey: Boardroom dynamics are changing, but still too much time spent on monitoring and control (vs. strategy). In: P.R. LeBlanc (ed.) Boards & Advisors. Canada: LinkedIn.
Leblanc, R. and Gillies, J. (2003) The coming revolution in corporate governance. Ivey Business Journal Online. September/October (online): 1–1.
Leblanc, R. and Gillies, J. (2005) Inside the Boardroom. Ontario, Canada: Wiley & Sons.
Lim, J.-H., Stratopoulos, T.C. and Wirjanto, T.S. (2012) Role of IT executives in the firm's ability to achieve competitive advantage through IT capability. International Journal of Accounting Information Systems 13 (1): 21–40.
Luftman, J.N., Ben-Zvi, T., Dwivedi, R. and Rigoni, E.H. (2012) IT governance: An alignment maturity perspective. In: W. Van Grembergen and S. De Haes (eds.) Business Strategy and Applications in Enterprise IT Governance. IGI Global, pp. 87–101.
Magnusson, J. (2012) Professional analysts and the ongoing construction of IT governance. In: W. Van Grembergen and S. De Haes (eds.) Business Strategy and Applications in Enterprise IT Governance. Hershey, PA: IGI Global, pp. 74–86.
Manu, A. (2010) Disruptive Business: Desire, Innovation and the Re-Design of Business. Farnham, Surrey, GBR: Ashgate Publishing Group.
Manyika, J. et al (2011) Big data: The Next Frontier for Innovation, Competition & Productivity. In: M.G.R. Institute (ed.), USA: McKinsey & Co.
Marchand, D.A. (2005) Reaping the business value of IT. Business and Economic Review 51 (4): 21–24.
Marchand, D.A. (2007) Realizing IT value: A shared responsibility between senior managers and the CIO. Perspectives for Managers 147: 1–4.
Marchand, D.A. (2008) The chief information office: Achieving credibility, relevance and business impact. Perspectives for Managers 164: 1–4.
Marchand, D.A. (2012) No more hiding for CIOs. Financial Express, New Delhi, 23 April.
Marchand, D.A. and Hykes, A. (2006) Designed to fail: Why IT-enabled business projects underachieve. Perspectives for Managers 138: 1–4.
Marchand, D.A., Kettinger, W. and Rollins, J. (2001) Making the Invisible Visible: How Companies Win with the Right Information, People and IT. UK: John Wiley & Sons.
Marchand, D.A. and Peppard, J. (2013) Why IT fumbles analytics. Harvard Business Review 91 (January–February): 104–112.
Markus, L.H., Cooper-Thomas, H.D. and Allpress, K.N. (2005) Confounded by competencies? An evaluation of the evolution and use of competency models. New Zealand Journal of Psychology 34 (2): 117–126.
Martyn, K. (2006) Decision-making in a corporate boardroom: Inside the black box. Massey University, Wellington, New Zealand.
Masli, A., Richardson, V.J., Sanchez, J.M. and Smith, R.E. (2011) The business value of IT: A synthesis and framework of archival research. Journal of Information Systems 25 (2): 81–116.
McAfee, A. and Brynjolfsson, E. (2008) Investing in the IT that makes a competitive difference. Harvard Business Review 86 (7/8): 98–107.
McAfee, A. and Brynjolfsson, E. (2012) Big data: The management revolution. Harvard Business Review 90 (10): 60–68.
Mithas, S., Tafti, A., Bardhan, I. and Mein Goh, J. 2012 Information technology and firm profitability: Mechanisms and empirical evidence. MIS Quarterly 36 (1): 205–224.
Moore, J.F. (1993) Predators and prey: A new ecology of competition. Harvard Business Review 71 (3): 75–86.
Muhanna, W.A. and Stoel, M.D. (2010) How do investors value IT? An empirical investigation of the value relevance of IT capability and IT spending across industries. Journal of Information Systems 24 (1): 43–66.
Musson, D. and Jordan, E. (2005) The broken link: Corporate governance and information technology. Australian Accounting Review 15 (3): 11–19.
Nash, K.S. (2012) CIOs say corporate directors are clueless about IT. In: CIO Online, http://www.cio.com/article/721456/CIOs_Say_Corporate_Directors_Are_Clueless_About_IT, accessed 8 December 2012.
Nicholson, G.J. and Kiel, G.C. (2004) Breakthrough board performance: How to harness your board's intellectual. The International Journal of Business in Society 4 (1): 5–23.
Nicholson, G.J. and Newton, C.J. (2010) The role of the Board of Directors: Perceptions of managerial elites. Journal of Management and Organization 16 (2): 201–218.
Nobre, F.S., Walker, D. and Harris, R.J. (2012) Technological, Managerial and Organizational Core Competencies: Dynamic Innovation and Sustainable Development. Hershey, PA: IGI Global.
Othman, R. and Sheehan, N.T. (2011) Value creation logics and resource management: A review. Journal of Strategy and Management 4 (1): 5–24.
Parent, M. and Reich, B.H. (2009) Governing information technology risk. California Management Review 51 (3): 134–152.
Peslak, A.R. (2008) Organizational information systems. Industrial Management & Data Systems 108 (1): 43–59.
Porter, M.E. (1985) Competitive Strategy: Creating and Sustaining Superior Performance. New York: Free Press.
PwC. (2012a) Annual Corporate Director Survey. New York: PriceWaterhouseCoopers.
PwC. (2012b) Bridging the IT Confidence Gap (abridged version). New York: PriceWaterhouseCoopers.
Ragowsky, A. and Gefen, D. (2008) What makes the competitive contribution of ERP strategic? Database for Advances in Information Systems 39 (2): 33–49.
Rao, B., Angelov, B. and Nov, O. (2006) Fusion of disruptive technologies: Lessons from the Skype case. European Management Journal 24 (2–3): 174–188.
Rheingold, H. (2012) Net Smart: How to Thrive Online. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Ross, J.W. and Feeny, D.F. (2003) The evolving role of the CIO. Cambridge, MA: Manachuseths Institute of Technology (MIT), Sloan School of Management.
Schein, E.H. (1991) What is Culture? In: P.J. Frost (ed.) Reframing Organizational Culture, 1st edn. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
Scott, P.R. and Jacka, J.M. (2011) Auditing Social Media: A Governance and Risk Guide Hoboken. New Jersey: Wiley.
Sien, S.K., Soh, C. and Weill, P. (2012) Global IT Management: Structuring for Scale, Responsiveness, and Innovation. Rochester, NY.
Siew, S.K., Soh, C. and Weill, P. (2010) Global IT management: Structuring for scale, responsiveness, and innovation. Communications of the ACM 53 (3): 59–64.
Shi, Z., Kunnathur, A.S. and Ragu-Nathan, T.S. (2010) Exploring the impacts of interdependent relationships on IOS use: The roles of governance mechanisms. The Journal of Computer Information Systems 50 (3): 50–62.
Silvius, J.G 2012 A conceptual model for aligning IT valuation methods. In: W. Van Grembergen and S. De Haes (eds.) Business Strategy and Applications in Enterprise IT Governance. Hershey, PA, USA: IGI Global, pp. 182–201.
Smith, H.A., McKeen, J.D. and Street, C. (2004) Linking IT to business metrics. Journal of Information Science and Technology 1 (1): 13–26.
Standards-Australia. (2005) Corporate Governance of Information & Communication Technology-AS8015–2005. Sydney, Australia: Standards Australia.
Stenzel, J. et al (2010) CIO Best Practices: Enabling Strategic Value with Information Technology. Hoboken: Wiley.
Stoel, D.M. and Muhanna, W.A. (2009) IT capabilities and firm performance: A contingency analysis of the role of industry and IT capability type. Information & Amp; Management 46 (3): 181–189.
Tallon, P.P. (2008) Inside the adaptive enterprise: An information technology capabilities perspective on business process agility. Information Technology & Management 9 (1): 21–36.
Tambe, P. and Hitt, L.M. (2012) The productivity of information technology investments: New evidence from IT labor data. Information Systems Research 23 (3-Part-1): 599–617.
Van den Bergh, J. and Viaene, S. (2012) Promises from SOA: Reengineering a procurement process at Belgacom Mobile – A case study approach. Business Process Management Journal 18 (5): 815–828.
Van Grembergen, W. and De Haes, S. (2009a) Enterprise Governance of IT: Achieving Strategic Alignment and Value. New York: Springer.
Van Grembergen, W. and De Haes, S. (2009b) The IT balanced scorecard as a framework for enterprise governance of IT. In: W. Van Grembergen and S. De Haes (eds.) Enterprise Governance of Information Technology: Achieving Strategic Alignment and Value. Boston, MA, USA: Springer, pp. 111–136.
Van Grembergen, W. and De Haes, S. (eds.) (2012) A research journey into enterprise governance of IT, business/IT alignment and value creation. In: Business Strategy and Applications in Enterprise IT Governance. Hershey, PA: IGI Global, pp. 1–13.
Vaughan, J. (2012) Gartner Sees Cloud Computing, Mobile Development Putting IT on Edge. In: Solution Spotlight. Newton, MA: SearchSOA/TechTarget.
Wang, K. (2011) Australian corporates weak on scenario analysis and strategic risk management, survey finds. AsiaRisk (Online): 8.
Weill, P. and Ross, J.W. (2004) IT Governance: How Top Performers Manage IT Decision Rights for Superior Results. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Business School Press.
Willcocks, L., Feeny, D. and Islei, G. (1997) Managing IT as a Strategic Resource. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Willcocks, L., Feeny, D. and Olson, N. (2006) Implementing core IS capabilities: Feeny–Willcocks IT governance and management framework revisited. European Management Journal 24 (1): 28–37.
Willis, D.A. (2012) Mobile and the Nexus of Forces: Creating the New Experience. Hershey, PA: Gartner.
Yusoff, W.F.W. and Armstrong, A. (2012) What competencies should directors possess? Malaysia perspective. International Journal of Business and Management 7 (2): 142–149.
Zukis, B. (ed.) (2012) IT governance in a mad, mad and social world. In: Bob Zukis: The Magellan of Social Technology. Los Angeles, CA: Social Inc Blog.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Valentine, E., Stewart, G. The emerging role of the Board of Directors in enterprise business technology governance. Int J Discl Gov 10, 346–362 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1057/jdg.2013.11
Received:
Revised:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/jdg.2013.11