WHY AND HOW DO MUNICIPAL AREAS GOVERN INTERORGANIZATIONAL ICT COOPERATION: INDEED, “THE EMPEROR HAS NO CLOTHES”

Information and communication technologies (ICT) are significant for the development and production of municipalities’ services and activities. Yet, municipalities typically operate their ICT independently with only limited resources. Limited resources are a key incentive for inter-municipal ICT cooperation. We investigated, how inter-municipal ICT cooperation was executed and governed in 20 Finnish municipal regions including 144 actual municipalities. As the theoretical background, we reviewed Transaction Cost Economics and the Resource Based View theories, and the literature on IT governance practices. These theories and literature were used to identify theory-proposed ICT cooperation benefits and governance practices. We then compared theory-proposed benefits and practices empirically to those perceived in the actual regions. Finally, we used Granovetter’s social network theory to understand the empirical findings on ICT cooperation benefits and IT governance practices. Our findings reveal distinct differences in perceived ICT cooperation benefits, in ICT cooperation, and in the governance of IT between Finnish municipal areas, and the lack of social ties helps to understand detected differences. Our findings also indicate that the emperor will not enjoy new clothes – ICT cooperation benefits – unless ICT cooperation is systematically organized and governed. The extension of the theory base in IT governance research is our main contribution

Adopting Emerging Technology in Public Sector: A Case of the Contactless Payment System for Pupils in Elementary Schools

Adopting emerging technologies drive the digital transformation of public sector organisations. This is often challenging because of slow and formal public procurement process and the need to collaborate among various actors. When adopting emerging technology, the requirements of the system aren’t always known in advance. The existing research has identified these barriers and presented singular solutions to them, but there is a gap in understanding what the process of adopting emerging technologies is. To fill this gap, this paper draws from the boundary spanning literature and explores the process and the boundary spanning activities between different actors in a case project of a large Finnish city, which was adopting contactless payment system for elementary schools. By examining the boundary spanning activities and actors, a framework was developed for understanding the process driving successful adoption of emerging technology in public sector organisation. The findings demonstrate the importance of iterative piloting process of the emerging technologies and the importance of the boundary spanning activities to coordinate the process. The paper contributes to the literature on the digital transformation and to the boundary spanning literature by providing a detailed understanding of the piloting process with boundary spanning activities in a specific organisational context

Volume, benefits and factors that influence inter-municipal ICT cooperation in relation to ICT-related social services and healthcare services

Information and communication technology (ICT) has become an integral part of the daily municipal administration, production and development of municipal services. Social services and health care account for ≥ 50% of municipal ICT expenditure. Municipalities operate and develop their ICT activities with limited ICT resources. This is an incentive for inter-municipal ICT cooperation. Four sets of secondary data are analysed in this article to evaluate how ICT cooperation is carried out in 20 Finnish municipal regions. Transaction cost economics (TCE), resource-based view (RBV), resource dependency theory (RDT) and the concepts of Granovetter’s social network theory are reviewed. The data are used to describe the expected and perceived economic and social benefits of inter-municipal ICT cooperation, and to understand the social connections that influence the execution of inter-municipal ICT cooperation. The data analysis revealed distinctive differences in the amount and forms of ICT cooperation, and regarding its governance. The results suggest that public organisations were able to benefit substantially from well-organised ICT cooperation. The characteristics of social networks were also found to relate to variations in the degree to which ICT cooperation was performed.</p

Inter-Organisational IT Governance: A Case Study of Municipal ICT Cooperation

ABSTRACT Changes in society and organisations’ business environments have increased the useof operating models, which favour inter-organisational cooperation and networking. The evolution of operating models also has a significant impact on organisations’ IT departments and ICT activities. Inter-organisational ICT cooperation and networking offer excellent opportunities to public organisations to develop and improve their operations. This study clarifies how public organisations in Finland have implemented interorganisational ICT cooperation. Especially the inter-organisational ICT cooperation between Finnish municipalities has been the target of the current study. The study clarifies why municipalities plan ICT cooperation and how they have implemented it. The study also reviews the benefits that municipalities have received or are seeking to obtain through ICT cooperation. In addition, the study clarifies how intermunicipal IT governance has been implemented and investigates the applicability of currently used theories explaining intra-organisational IT governance to describe inter- organisational IT governance. The study examines various inter-municipal ICT cooperation groups in Finland. The study reveals that even though municipality groups use many types of ICT cooperation, joint IT governance model-based decisions and clear goals often shine in their absence. The dominant form of collaboration in inter-municipal ICT cooperation is voluntary cooperation without any joint IT governance. The study reveals that without a joint IT governance, municipalities lose much of the benefits they could achieve through a joint IT governance model. The study also confirms the applicability of currently used theories describing the intra-organisational IT governance to describe inter-organisational IT governance. KEYWORDS: information technology, IT, IT governance, ITG, information and communication technology, ICT, inter-organisational, public organisations, municipal, ICT cooperationTIIVISTELMÄ Muutokset yhteiskunnassa ja organisaatioiden toimintaympäristöissä ovat lisänneet sellaisten toimintamallien käyttöä, jotka suosivat organisaatioiden yhteistyötä ja verkottumista. Näillä muutoksilla on myös voimakas vaikutus organisaatioiden ITosastoihin ja ICT-toimintoihin. Uudenlaiset yhteistyön toimintamallit ovat luoneet tarpeen myös eri organisaatioiden yhteiselle IT-hallinnolle. Myös julkishallinnon organisaatioille tällainen yhteistyö tarjoaa hyvät mahdollisuudet kehittää ja tehostaa toimintaansa. Tässä tutkimuksessa selvitetään, kuinka Suomen julkishallinnossa toteutetaan organisaatioiden välistä ICT-yhteistyötä. Tutkimuskohteena on erityisesti kuntien välinen ICT-yhteistyö. Tutkimuksessa selvitetään, miksi kunnat suunnittelevat ICTyhteistyötä, miten ne toteuttavat sitä sekä miten tätä yhteistyötä hallitaan. Tutkimuksessa tarkastellaan myös niitä hyötyjä, joita kunnat ovat ICT-yhteistyön avulla saaneet tai pyrkineet saamaan. Lisäksi selvitetään, voidaanko nykyisin käytössä olevia, organisaatioiden sisäistä IT-hallintoa kuvaavia teorioita käyttää kuvaamaan organisaatioiden välistä IT-hallintoa. Tutkimuksessa on kartoitettu suomalaisten kuntien välisiä ICT-yhteistyöryhmiä. Tutkimuksessa selviää, että vaikka kuntaryhmät tekevät monenlaista ICTyhteistyötä, niin yhteiseen IT-hallintomalliin perustuvat päätökset ja yhteiset, selkeät tavoitteet loistavat usein poissaolollaan. Kuntien välisessä ICT-yhteistyössä hallitseva yhteistyömalli on vapaaehtoinen yhteistyö ilman yhteistä IT-hallintomallia. Tutkimuksen perusteella voi todeta, että kunnat menettävät suuren osan niistä hyödyistä, jotka ne voisivat saavuttaa yhteisen IT-hallintomallin avulla. Tutkimus vahvistaa nykyisin käytössä olevien, organisaatioiden sisäistä IThallintoa kuvaavien teorioiden käyttökelpoisuuden kuvaamaan organisaatioiden välistä IT-hallintoa. ASIASANAT: tietotekniikka, IT, IT-hallinto, tieto- ja viestintätekniikka, ICT, organisaatioiden välinen, julkinen sektori, kunta, ICT-yhteisty

Marco de trabajo de Gobierno de Tecnologías de la Información sostenible

Programa Oficial de Doutoramento en Tecnoloxías da Información e as Comunicacións. 5032V01[Resumen] En la actualidad, muchos factores de riesgo afectan la continuidad de un negocio. Sin embargo, esta situación produce una atmósfera propicia para abordar alternativas que alivian esta situación para las organizaciones. Dentro de estas alternativas destacan la Sostenibilidad Ambiental (SMA) y el Gobierno de Tecnologías de la Información (Gobierno de TI o GTI). Ambas alternativas permiten a las organizaciones abordar cuestiones intrínsecamente comunes, como la alineación estratégica, la generación de valor, los mecanismos para mejora del rendimiento, gestión de riesgos y gestión de recursos. Esta Tesis Doctoral se centra en la fusión de ambas alternativas, determinando un Marco de Gobierno de Tecnologías de la Información Sostenible (GTIs) alineado a los marcos/modelos/estándares internacionales y mejores prácticas tanto en SMA como en GTI. Se adopta una perspectiva orientada a procesos definiendo las actividades y sub-actividades que permita evaluar, dirigir y monitorizar las prácticas de TI Sostenible. Con este propósito, la estrategia seguida fue identificar los factores relevantes de SMA presentes en los principales enfoques del dominio (ISO14001, GRI G4, EMAS, SGE21 e ISO26000). Así también, identificar los factores específicos (i.e., no generales) de GTI contenidos en las principales aproximaciones de dicho dominio (COBIT5, ISO38500 y Weill & Ross) y, finalmente, se determinó en qué medida los factores relevantes de SMA están ya presentes en los factores relevantes de GTI. Como resultado, se identificaron las deficiencias en aspectos de SMA detectadas en los factores relevantes de GTI, información que contribuirá para desarrollar el marco propuesto. La última actividad de esta Tesis Doctoral se basa en una validación empírica del marco propuesto a través de su implantación en un caso de estudio. Además, se llevó a cabo el contraste estadístico de las hipótesis del caso de estudio mediante una evaluación antes y después de la implantación aplicando encuestas. La evidencia obtenida de dicha validación indica que el marco de GTIs contribuye, en las organizaciones que lo adopten a: evaluar, dirigir y monitorizar las prácticas de TI Sostenible, que permiten una mejora de sus procesos basada en el cumplimiento de niveles de capacidad. Estos resultados también evidenciaron que las partes interesadas perciben un cambio positivo a la implantación del marco de GTIs propuesto que incluye características de otros estándares relacionados con SMA y GTI y está estructurado en procesos, actividades y sub-actividades.[Abstract] Nowadays, many risk factors affect the continuity of a business. However, this situation produces a favourable atmosphere to approach alternatives that lighten this situation for organizations. Among these alternatives, Environmental Sustainability (ES) and Information Technologies Governance (IT Governance or ITG) stand out. Both alternatives allow organizations to address intrinsically common issues, such as strategic alignment, value generation, mechanisms for performance improvement, risk management and resource management. This Dissertation focuses on the fusion of both alternatives, presenting a Sustainable Information Technologies Governance (sITG) Framework aligned to international frameworks/models/standards and best practices in both ES and ITG. A process-oriented perspective is adopted by defining the activities and sub-activities to assess, manage and monitor Sustainable IT practices. With the above-mentioned purpose in mind, the strategy followed was firstly to identify the ES relevant factors present in the main domain approaches (ISO14001, GRI G4, EMAS, SGE21 and ISO26000). Secondly, the specific (i.e., non-general) ITG factors contained in the main domain approaches (COBIT5, ISO38500 and Weill & Ross) were identified. Finally, it was determined to what extent the relevant ES factors are already present in the relevant ITG factors. As a result, the deficiencies regarding ES in ITG factors were identified, and this information is a key aspect for developing the proposed framework. The last activity of this Dissertation is based on an empirical validation of the proposed framework through its deployment in a case study. In addition, the statistical contrast of the hypotheses of the case study was carried out through an evaluation before and after the deployment by applying surveys. The evidence obtained from this validation indicates that the sITG framework contributes, in organizations that adopt it, to: assess, manage and monitor Sustainable IT practices, which allow an improvement of their processes based on compliance with capacity levels. These results also showed that the stakeholders perceive a positive change to the deployment of the proposed framework, which includes characteristics of other standards related to ES and ITG, and is structured in processes, activities and sub-activities[Resumo] Na actualidade, moitos factores de risco afectan a continuidade dun negocio. Con todo, esta situación produce unha atmosfera propicia para abordar alternativas que alivian esta situación para as organizacións. Dentro destas alternativas destacan a Sustentabilidade Ambiental (SMA) e o Goberno de Tecnoloxías da Información (Goberno de TI ou GTI). Ambas as alternativas permiten ás organizacións abordar cuestións intrinsecamente comúns, como a aliñación estratéxica, a xeración de valor, os mecanismos para mellora do rendemento, xestión de riscos e xestión de recursos. Esta Tese Doutoral céntrase na fusión de ambas as alternativas, determinando un Marco de Goberno de Tecnoloxías da Información Sustentable (GTIs) aliñado aos marcos/modelos/estándares internacionais e mellores prácticas tanto en SMA como en GTI. Adóptase unha perspectiva orientada a procesos definindo as actividades e sub-actividades que permita avaliar, dirixir e monitorar as prácticas de TI Sustentable. Con este propósito, a estratexia seguida foi identificar os factores relevantes de SMA presentes nos principais enfoques do dominio (ISO14001, GRI G4, EMAS, SGE21 e ISO26000). Así tamén, identificar os factores específicos (i.e., non xerais) de GTI contidos nas principais aproximacións do devandito dominio (COBIT5, ISO38500 e Weill & Ross) e, finalmente, determinouse en que medida os factores relevantes de SMA están xa presentes nos factores relevantes de GTI. Como resultado, identificáronse as deficiencias en aspectos de SMA detectadas nos factores relevantes de GTI, información que contribuirá para desenvolver o marco proposto. A última actividade desta Tese Doutoral baséase nunha validación empírica do marco proposto a través da súa implantación nun caso de estudo. Ademais, levouse a cabo o contraste estatístico das hipóteses do caso de estudo mediante unha avaliación antes e despois da implantación aplicando enquisas. A evidencia obtida da devandita validación indica que o marco de GTIs contribúe, nas organizacións que o adopten, a: avaliar, dirixir e monitorar as prácticas de TI Sustentable, que permiten unha mellora dos seus procesos baseada no cumprimento de niveis de capacidade. Estes resultados tamén evidenciaron que as partes interesadas perciben un cambio positivo á implantación do marco de GTIs proposto que inclúe características doutros estándares relacionados con SMA e GTI e está estruturado en procesos, actividades e sub-actividade