Towards a Deeper Understanding of Information Technology Governance Effectiveness : A Capabilities-Based Approach

We examine the relationship between the effectiveness of IT steering committee-driven IT governance initiatives and firm’s IT management and IT infrastructure related capabilities. We test these relationships empirically by a field survey of 216 firms. Results of this study suggest that a firms’ effectiveness of IT steering committee-driven IT governance initiatives positively relate to the level of their IT-related capabilities. We also found positive relationships between IT-related capabilities and internal process-level performance, which positively relate to improvement in customer service and firm-level performance. For researchers, we demonstrate that the resourcebased theory provides a more robust explanation of the determinants of firms IT governance initiatives. This would be ideal in evaluating other IT governance initiatives effectiveness in relation to how they contribute to building performance-differentiating IT-related capabilities. For decision makers, we hope our study has reiterated the notion that IT governance is truly a coordinated effort, embracing all levels of human resources.

IT governance adoption in Malaysia : a preliminary investigation

IT Governance (ITG) adoption remains a relevant topic of study. While extensive research has been done looking into the drivers and critical success factors of ITG practice, there seems to be a lack of interest in identifying the barriers to its adoption. This study reports on a survey conducted to first: provide some primary data that suggest ITG adoption and maturity levels are still low, especially in a developing country like Malaysia; and second: to provide initial empirical support for model development. Results obtained supported our assumptions that: (1) ITG adoption and maturity levels are still relatively low in Malaysia, therefore justifying Malaysia as a suitable case; (2) organizational factors, environmental factors and characteristics of the innovation as identified from the literature may serve as possible barriers to adoption.

Health Workforce Governance: Improved Access, Good Regulatory Practice, Safer Patients

With increasing recognition of the international market in health professionals and the impact of globalism on regulation, the governance of the health workforce is moving towards greater public engagement and increased transparency. This book discusses the challenges posed by these processes, such as improved access to health services and how structures can be reformed so that good practice is upheld and quality of service and patient safety are ensured.

Towards an effective IT governance structure for organizations in developing economies

The pervasive use of IT is prominent amongst organizations in developing economies. However, there is growing evidence that these economies fail to capitalize on their IT investment to transform their organizations to be competitive both locally and globally. IT-related benefits are possible with appropriate governance of the IT-related resources, and we need to broaden our understanding on the IT governance mechanics suitable for organizations in the developing economies. In this study, we adopted an initial interpretive design to obtain a deeper understanding of the IT governance (ITG) environment and conceptions of the stakeholders on effective IT governance structures for the developing economies. We found that the presence of an IT Strategic Planning Committee, Multiple level of authority, and a Forum for informal discussions as the crucial components of an ITG structure in developing economies.

Corporate governance and misappropriation

This study examines the occurrence of misappropriation-type fraud within Australian listed firms and the relation between the incidence of this type of fraud and a firm's governance strength. We measure governance strength using factors relating to traditional corporate governance, such as board composition, CEO duality, and audit committee composition, as well as factors relating to information technology governance. In our study, we use actual dollar amount of fraud reported by listed companies responding to the 2004 KPMG Fraud Survey as one of three different misappropriation measures and publicly available firm-specific data to measure the other variables in the model. Our study found that where the chief executive officer (CEO) also holds the position of chairperson of the board of directors, the likelihood of fraud increases. We also find that the greater the number of independent directors on the audit committee, the lower the level of fraud. Taken together, these results are particularly encouraging as they provide support for regulatory bodies such as the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) and the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC), which place considerable emphasis on the importance of establishing good corporate governance practices. The study provides empirical evidence that employing good corporate governance reduces the risk of the misappropriation of assets.

Territorial strategies and regions

The notion of territorial strategy emerged in the 1990s and has become more and more popular since. It refers to that combination of factors purposely assembled by governments, private and public companies, universities, and industrial associations to exploit a specific geographic competitive advantage in order to boost economic growth through the development of entrepreneurial activity and innovation. Three factors are generally considered to be the building blocks of a territorial strategy: natural resources, human capital, and industrial capabilities. Natural resources derive from environ­ mental conditions and represent raw materials or land available in a region. The presence of natural resources characterizes the typology of an industry (related to tourism, oil, wood, fish, and so forth) that exists or could exist in a certain area. Human capital refers to the stock of competences available in a certain region resulting from education and work experience. Industrial capabilities relate to complex constructs of specialized expertise, the confidence to apply knowledge and skills in various contexts and under changing conditions, and an ability repeatedly to improve methods and processes in a specific industry.