The impact of senior management involvement, organisational commitment and group efficacy on ITIL implementation benefits

Published version of an article from the journal: Information Systems and e-Business Management. Also available from Springerlink: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10257-014-0253-4Senior management involvement, organisational commitment and group efficacy are expected to have a positive impact on Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) implementation benefits. Specifically, more involvement, commitment and efficacy should produce greater achievement. Analysing data from a survey of 446 Nordic ITIL experts, this paper examines the relationships between these predictor factors and benefits, and investigates which is most critical. This study verifies the importance of all factors, but contrary to previous research, which has especially emphasised the role of senior management, in this research, group efficacy has proved to be the strongest predictor, indicating that the capabilities of those involved in the ITIL implementation are more important for realising the potential benefits than is senior management involvement. This work contributes to theorising in an important area of practice by testing and validating measurements and instruments for an empirical-based model of ITIL implementation

The Analysis of Information Technology Best Practice Adoption in Saudi Arabia

Drawing on Critical Success Factors (CSFs) and Organisational Learning (OL) theories, the present study examined the CSFs of Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) implementations. Organisations evaluated their manners of managing Information Technology (IT) and decided to move from technology management toward service management that is called Information Technology Service Management (ITSM). ITIL represents one of the most famous ITSM best practices. However, with the absence of a practical ITIL implementation approach based on a theoretical solid ground, many organisations faced unpredictable obstacles and waste valuable resources. The present research aimed to identify a theoretical basis that allows understanding the success of ITIL implementations. Therefore, I first reviewed and analysed the literature of ITIL implementation CSFs to identify appropriate theoretical basis. The analysis led to proposing 4i framework as an OL model to interpret the successful and failed ITIL implementations. I then investigated empirically three case studies: successful, failed and partially successful ITIL implementations. Interviews were used to collect retrospective data from essential people involved in ITIL implementations. The present research applied method triangulation as it also used documents as another data source to understand the longitudinal aspects of the case studies. Collected data was thoroughly analysed qualitatively using two analytical methods. First, to analyse the case studies, I used a thematic analysis approach, namely Framework analysis method. While the Framework analysis findings implied the existence of interrelations among ITIL implementation CSFs, it also exposed the influential roles of the time element and the order of events on learning. Therefore, I then reanalysed the case studies using the event narrative method that concentrated on the events of ITIL implementations and their sequences. The findings of the event narrative analysis proposed a network of CSFs of ITIL implementations. Accordingly, the present research introduce four conceptual terms related to CSFs: contextual CSF, dynamic CSF, supreme CSF and network of CSFs. Finally, through the discussion of research findings in light of related literature of ITSM, CSFs and OL, I extended the network of CSFs to propose the Model of Implementing ITIL Successfully (MIIS) as an extension of 4i framework to understand success and failure of ITIL implementations

Implementation of IT service management in Australia: case studies focusing on organisational change strategies

In order to provide better Information Technology (IT) services to their customers, organisations are increasingly implementing the IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL). ITIL describes processes, procedures, tasks, and checklists that can be applied by an organisation for establishing integration with its own strategies, delivering value, and maintaining a minimum level of competency. It allows the organisation to establish a baseline from which it can plan, implement, and measure improvements as well as compliance. Whilst the promise of ITIL implementation is compelling, many implementations do not achieve the anticipated outcomes. The extant literature provides very little information as to how ITIL is implemented or the organisational change strategies that organisations use to implement it. To find a point of comparison, study of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and Business Process Reengineering (BPR) projects have found that there are similarities in this change processes with those observed during ITIL implementations. Research into the implementation of ERP and BPR has found that applying a formal change management strategy, incorporating a Socio-Technical Systems (STS) approach, can assist in the likelihood of a successful implementation. This exploratory research was conducted using a multiple case study approach to investigate the organisational change strategies that organisations have applied to ITIL implementation. This research also sought to identify if using STS as an approach to organisational change can influence the success of ITIL implementations. In this research, one particular STS model, the Leavitt Diamond, was applied in order to investigate the inter-relationships between the STS components and how they are affected during the implementation of ITIL. This research found that organisations were not deliberately selecting and applying an organisational change strategy during implementation. Interestingly though, without knowing it or doing so consciously, the organisations adopted similar organisational change approaches and types for their ITIL implementations. All eight of the organisations studied adopted a planned change approach with a phased ITIL implementation. The research found that although none of the organisations deliberately applied an STS approach to their ITIL implementations, they did without realising, apply an STS approach. The ITIL implementation was found to require greater effort to be applied to the people component of the STS; followed by process, technology and structure. The research also found that an appropriate amount of effort was necessary for each of the individual STS components; rather than an equal effort per component. This research has developed new insights into organisational change strategies and ITIL implementations that had not previously been explored. Through this research, an ITIL STS Model of Organisational Change has been produced that provides a plan and overview of the primary decisions to be made, with the resultant actions, in response to changes to the STS components. This research provides ITIL practitioners, for the first time, information about organisational change strategies as they have been applied to successful ITIL implementations; as well as a model that may assist with developing their own organisational change strategies

Towards the development of a COBIT 5-driven IT audit framework

In recent years, given the increased investments in Information Technology (IT), and its pervasive usage in business environment, the need to ensure that IT decisions are in the interest of shareholders led practitioners and researchers to focus on Enterprise Governance of IT (EGIT). EGIT involves implementing mechanisms that ensure that IT risks are duly mitigated, and that the IT investments are yielding the expected returns for enterprise owners. For the mechanisms to work as intended, there is the need for regular auditing; however, past literature and practitioner reports have confirmed that auditors do not audit governance mechanisms to the expectation of shareholders. Within the Ghanaian Financial services sector, failures in EGIT resulted in the collapse of several organisations which made stakeholders question the role played by auditors. The purpose of this study was to examine EGIT from the perspective of the auditor, develop an audit framework based on COBIT 5 and understand how auditors can be 'critical partners’ to ensure EGIT effectiveness. To provide a better understanding of the EGIT phenomenon, a theoretical framework based on the integration of six theoretical perspectives was presented to provide a holistic view of EGIT and how auditors can add value. The theoretical framework argued in line with organisational theorists that to achieve positive outcomes, governance mechanisms must be implemented in a coherent whole and analysed as a configuration. As such the study adopted the configurational theory to analyse the coherence of the governance mechanisms. Based on the theoretical framework and the configurational theory, a conceptual framework was developed to guide the research. The thesis proposed that the greater the level of coherence among the governance mechanisms, the higher the level of EGIT effectiveness, and that the audit of EGIT will improve the maturity of the governance mechanisms and its coherence. The pragmatic philosophic stance was adopted, utilising qualitative and quantitative methods to answer the research question. The Peffers, Tuunanen, Rothenberger, & Chatterjee, (2008) design science research methodology guided the identification of the problem and the development of an artefact that can aid IT auditors by providing them with an adequate scope for EGIT audits and reduce the audit detection risks. An Exploratory Focus Group (EFG) and a Confirmatory Focus Group (CFG) were employed in the development of the artefact. In addition, a survey instrument was utilised to gather data about the governance maturity of the case organisations prior to and after the usage of the artefact. Cluster analysis based on the concept of 'coherence as a gestalt’ produced cluster solutions revealing the nature of the configuration that resulted in positive outcomes. Post-Hoc analysis was used in the summative evaluation of the artefact to measure the statistically significant changes that occurred in the governance maturity after the use of the artefact. The findings revealed that regular auditing of EGIT mechanisms can lead to significant improvement in several governance mechanisms as postulated. It also revealed that to attain positive outcomes, there is the need for a coherent implementation of governance mechanisms with emphasis on technology which can be the driving force in a fast-changing environment. This result was contrary to existing literature about EGIT that suggested the overarching importance of leadership to drive change in the attainment of EGIT objectives. The findings show that with the right systems and technologies, IT can provide decision makers with timely information that would increase the utility of the decisions. The study makes significant contributions to knowledge by providing insights into EGIT and IT auditing which is an under-researched area. One key theoretical contribution was the integrative theoretical framework that provides theoretical underpinnings to EGIT, which has previously been studied descriptively and provides a holistic view of the complex phenomenon. The study also confirms the configurational theory and advances knowledge by proving that in the context of EGIT, the combination of the various mechanisms does influence the whole and the outcomes. Concerning the contribution to practice, the study resulted in the development of an IT auditing artefact that is based on COBIT 5, a widely accepted industry framework for EGIT, and contextualised with the regulatory needs of the Ghanaian Financial Services sector. With this tool, IT auditors can develop an audit plan that provides assurance of key governance areas and so reduce the audit risk of not detecting a non-existence or weak control in an organisation’s EGIT practices. The tool can be used by regulatory auditors who were complicit in the EGIT failures that occurred in the sector to provide adequate supervision. Further discussion on the theoretical, practical and methodological contributions are set out in this thesis along with the limitations of the study and recommendations for future research

IT Governance and Green IT Model for Large Mauritian Organisations

This study explores IT governance and Green IT in large companies from the five main pillars of the Mauritian economy. An IT Governance and Green IT model comprising of IT Governance and Green IT decision archetypes, mechanisms and influencers is developed from company executive interviews, analysis of organisation and government documents as well as a survey of firms. Recommendations are then provided to improve the governance of IT and Green IT in large Mauritian enterprises

Selective Outsourcing in Global IT Services : Operational Level Challenges and Opportunities

Companies need to answer and react timely and efficiently to their customers’ perception in order to stay in business. Companies are finding ways to control and reduce costs. Increasingly, internal IT development and service delivery activities are outsourced to external suppliers. The most common outsourcing forms are total and selective outsourcing, which are produced in nearshore and/or offshore mode. In this dissertation, the case units are two global units in Nokia Devices: IT unit and Delivery Quality and Corrective Action Preventive Action (DQ and CAPA) unit. This dissertation consists of five publications and five research questions. The motives for the research questions originate from the case units’ real-life needs and challenges. The research approach used is qualitative. Action research was conducted during years 2009-2013. This research gives focus on the global IT service delivery, although the case company’s core-competence was to produce end-consumer products. The target was to get operational level knowledge from the case units’ outsourcing operation and practices in a Global Selective Outsourcing Environment (GSOE). This dissertation addresses the opportunities and challenges of outsourcing faced by the operational level personnel. In the GSOE, the service purchasing company’s personnel and the supplier’s personnel jointly cooperate to produce the expected outcomes and IT services. This research found that the GSOE-based operation includes multi-level customer- and supplier-ships. In order to answer the customers’ perception, the operation included quality and customer-centric practices. This research found that defining and implementing customer centricity is challenging. Unclear definitions, requirements, roles, responsibilities, and activities can negatively affect the operational level implementation. The GSOEbased operation includes also contract negotiations among the GSOE parties. Successful IT outsourcing is not built only on formal contracts. Focus is needed also on building trust, commitment, communication, and mutual cooperation and dependence. This study found that retaining operational level progress and information visibility inside the service purchasing company made it possible to hold the ownership and avoid getting into a “supplier trap.” The operational level cooperation, interaction and quality management practices affected the service purchasing company’s trust and satisfaction. The trust in the case units was found to exist among people, and this trust was formed based on an individual’s knowledge, capabilities, behavior, and performance. Quality management practices played a significant role in building trust that added to the credibility of the operation

Baseline mechanisms for IT governance at universities

The pervasive use of technology has created a critical dependency on Information Technology (IT) that requires IT Governance (ITG). ITG calls for the definition and implementation of formal mechanisms at the highest level in the organization taking into account structures, processes and relational mechanisms for the creation of business value from IT investments. However, determining the right ITG mechanisms remains a complex endeavour. Previous studies have identified ITG mechanisms in use in the financial and health care industries. While universities also increasingly depend on IT for their success, ITG implementation in universities has not received much attention. As universities have many unique characteristics, it is highly unlikely that ITG experiences from the financial and health care industries can be directly applied to universities. Therefore, the purpose of this research is to identify an ITG mechanisms’ baseline for universities. Six case studies comprising of in-depth interviews three international universities in Brazil, Portugal and the Netherlands, led to the proposal of a minimum ITG baseline for universities that is compared with the financial and health care industries. This article concludes by presenting key contributions, limitations and future work.CAPES Foundation, Ministry of Education of Brazil Process n.º10415/13-0This work was supported by CAPES Foundation, Ministry of Education of Brazil Process n.º10415/13-0 and by COMPETE: POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007043 and FCT – Foundation for Science and Technology, project UID/CEC/00319/2013.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

ITILs effect on organizational culture, worklife and success from the employee perspective.

Existing academic research on ITIL provides insight on several success factors when implementing. Although this is a well-documented topic, the subjects for collecting data were often ITIL experts or IT executives, consultants or managers. This implies that academic research concerning ITIL is frequently presented from an expert point of view. This paper highlights this research gap and aims to add the employee perspective to existing academic research in Norway.publishedVersio

Baseline mechanisms for IT governance at universities

The pervasive use of technology has created a critical dependency on Information Technology (IT) that requires IT Governance (ITG). ITG calls for the definition and implementation of formal mechanisms at the highest level in the organization taking into account structures, processes and relational mechanisms for the creation of business value from IT investments. However, determining the right ITG mechanisms remains a complex endeavour. Previous studies have identified ITG mechanisms in use in the financial and health care industries. While universities also increasingly depend on IT for their success, ITG implementation in universities has not received much attention. As universities have many unique characteristics, it is highly unlikely that ITG experiences from the financial and health care industries can be directly applied to universities. Therefore, the purpose of this research is to identify an ITG mechanisms’ baseline for universities. Six case studies comprising of in-depth interviews three international universities in Brazil, Portugal and the Netherlands, led to the proposal of a minimum ITG baseline for universities that is comparared with the financial and health care industries. This article concludes by presenting key contributions, limitations and future work.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

Factors that Influence the Synergy between Development and IT Operations in a DevOps Environment

Software development processes have been associated with severe conflicts between the development and operations teams. The problems further worsened by the occasional performance of activities such as planning, testing, integration, and releases. Many developing software development concepts reveal attempts to address these challenges. For instance, continuous integration is a practice that has emerged to reduce disconnects between development and IT operational deployments. In a comparable thread, the current emphasis on DevOps acknowledges that the integration between software development and its operational deployment needs to be a continuous whole. Problems involving the integration of software development and operations require positive synergy within DevOps teams. Team synergy brings about team effectiveness and performance as well as creating opportunities for innovation. The purpose of this study is to identify the factors that influence team synergy between the development and operations teams in a DevOps environment. The researcher conducted a case study at one of South Africa's leading information and communication technology services providers. Thirteen participants were interviewed to provide insight into the research questions. Interviews were conducted at the premises of the participating organization in Cape Town. The participants in the study preferred pseudonyms instead of their actual names to preserve anonymity. Interviews were transcribed and analysed using thematic analysis. During the analysis of the transcribed data, themes and categories were identified. The themes and categories that emerged from the data sources were aligned to the theoretical framework. The findings from this study describe enabling and inhibiting factors that influence the synergy between development and operations teams in a DevOps environment. Recognizing that DevOps teams face several challenges, the factors identified in this study provide insights into how organizations can influence the build and motivate their DevOps teams to achieve team synergy. The contribution to DevOps research is the application of a theoretical framework that suggests the importance of team social capital dimensions in the formation of team synergy. Based on its findings, this study recommends that further investigation and improvement on strategies to mitigate the factors that inhibit the dimensions of team social capital and prevent team synergy in a DevOps environment. The study also recommends a more detailed and practical demonstration to validate the value of the theoretical framework and continue to improve or extend it. This study revealed that DevOps teams operate in a complex and dynamic environment with many stakeholders and complex technical infrastructure. Based on this outcome, the study also suggests that future studies can take a different approach to create a different perspective on the synergy between DevOps teams by focusing on the behavior of the actors and complex problematic situations involving social activities