Purpose-The purpose of this paper is to report on the results of research into the precedence of the maturity factors, or key turning points in business process maturity (BPM) implementation efforts. A key turning point is a component of BPM that stabilizes within an organization and leads to the next maturity level. Design/methodology/approach-Several years of data from over 1,000 companies in the USA, Europe, China, and Brazil that have completed a BPM assessment are analyzed to identify which components of BPM stabilize, when and in what order. Different analysis methods are employed in order to identify global commonalities and differences. Findings-The paper identifies key turning points from several different perspectives using several different approaches and develops some conclusions common to all methods used in this research. Research limitations/implications-The relationship between the components (dependencies) is only suggested but not statistically analyzed. Several data sets are also on the low end of sample size for the methods used and some parts of the research used ad hoc selection of companies of arbitrarily distributed companies into different groups. Practical implications-The results can be useful for leaders and teams that are attempting the journey to process maturity. The guide-posts, milestones, and measures can help answer the question "Where am I on this journey and what is next?" Originality/value-A plethora of maturity models has emerged that claim to guide an organization through the process of building levels of maturity that lead to competitive advantage. To date, there has been a lack of quantitative studies documenting these road-maps. The paper provides global, quantitative evidence of the critical maturity components associated at each level of maturity.

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Rudy Moenaert, William Souder, Arnoud De Meyer, and Dirk Deschoolmeester report the results of their study of forty technologically innovative Belgian companies to examine the interaction between marketing and R&D. They studied one commercially successful and one commercially unsuccessful technological product innovation project in each participating company and collected data from one marketing and one R&D respondent per project. Communication flows between marketing and R&D are increased under conditions involving formalization of projects, decentralization, positive interfunctional climate, and role flexibility.

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Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to critically rethink the concepts and the theoretical foundations of IT governance in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).Design/methodology/approach -The paper is based on multiple case studies. Eight cases of outsourced information system projects where failures occurred were selected. An outsourced information system failure (OISF) is suggested as a failure of governance of the IT in a SME environment. A structure for stating propositions derived from two competing theories is proposed (Agency Theory and Theory of Trust). Findings -The results reveal that trust is slightly more important than control issues like output-based contracts and structured controls in the governance of IT in SMEs.Practical implications -The world of SMEs is significantly different from that of large companies, and therefore, the concept of IT governance in SMEs needs reconsideration. For researchers and practitioners, it would be more meaningful to focus on actual, working SMEs instead of on a version of their activities derived from those of large companies.Originality/value -The paper offers two contributions. First, it elaborates the limited research on IT in SMEs and second, it brings theoretical foundations for their IT governance. The value of IT governance in SMEs is explained.Keywords: small and medium-sized enterprise (SME), IS failures, IT governance, Agency Theory, trust, case study Paper type: Research paper RETHINKING IT GOVERNANCE FOR SMES IntroductionSmall and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) play a significant role as engines of economic and social development all over the world. Many scholars argue that a small and medium-sized enterprise cannot be seen through the lens of a large firm (Ballantine et al., 1998). Therefore, the limited theories explaining IT (Information Technology) governance in large organizations cannot be linearly extrapolated to SMEs, since we are dealing with a completely different economic, cultural and managerial environment. Notwithstanding the efforts to develop guidelines for governing IT in SMEs, such as the Cobit QuickStart method, the results of applying these frameworks in SMEs are rather disappointing (IT Governance Institute, 2007). Scholars and practitioners are too grounded in their way of thinking, and maintain a simple vision of a SME as a scale model of a large firm (Raymond, 1985). There is also a lack of genuine SME-centred theories that can lead to general inferences about how SMEs should govern their IT. Riemenschneider et al. stated that, "...organizational theories and practices, such as bureaucratic structure and organizational behaviour applicable to large organizations, may not be valid in small ones" (Riemenschneider et al., 2003: 269). SMEs seldom have a dedicated IT staff or a well-defined and formal IS (Information Systems) function (Adam and O'Doherty, 2000). Due to their small scale, and hence a lack of in house IT skills, SMEs depend more on IT vendors than large companies (Thong, 2001;Thong et al., 1997). Howev...