Information Technology Governance Institutionalization and the Behavior of Individuals in the Context of Public Organizations

Abstract

This study aims to verify the effects of IT governance (ITG) institutionalization on civil servants' behavior. The general assumption is that ITG institutionalization exerts a positive effect on behavior, provided the ITG legitimation process enhances the perception of organizational justice since transparency and equity increases. Organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) was used to understand individuals' behavior, which describes individuals' voluntary commitment in organizations that is not necessarily part of their contractual tasks but is essential to reach the organizational goals. In order to achieve the objective, a multi-method study was developed and operationalized in the context of a diverse range of public organizations in Rio Grande do Sul State Government in Brazil. A theoretical-empirical model was created based on literature, focus group, and interviews. A descriptive-confirmative study was operationalized through a survey with 173 Brazilian civil servants. A questionnaire was developed and validated. All hypotheses were confirmed through a partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) data analysis. The main theoretical contribution is the development of an ITG framework and the demonstration of a positive and significant relationship with the OCB construct. The main finding is that individual behavioral changes are encouraged by ITG institutionalization.

Going the Extra Mile: Impact of Individuals’ Behavior on Information Technology Governance

“…Other three papers, after a set of studies in the Brazilian government subnational level, claim that ITG institutionalization exerts a positive effect on behavior since the ITG legitimation process enhances the perception of organizational justice through transparency and equity increase (Wiedenhöft, Luciano, & Macadar, 2016;Wiedenhöft, Luciano, & Pereira, 2019;Wiedenhöft, Luciano, & Porto, 2019). A more recent research showed that when OCB levels are higher, ITG is more easily perceived as effective (Wiedenhöft, Luciano, & Pereira, 2019). The authors claim that a reason for it is the probability that the predisposition to adopt ITG mechanisms increases the governance process' changes, which the organization understood as significant.…”

“…ITG institutionalization model exerts a positive effect on the consciousness behavior since the relationship mechanisms can make employees aware of the importance of the correct use and preservation of IT resources (Wiedenhöft, Luciano, & Pereira, 2019). Consequently, individuals can more spontaneously contribute to the increase of ITG maturity, since ITG control and feedback mechanisms lead them to be more disciplined and sensitive to organizational issues (Teo, Manaf, & Choong, 2013).…”

“…ITG model institutionalization can change the individuals' perception of how intrinsically satisfactory their tasks are, since ITG mechanisms are seen as promoting fairer environments, as clear definitions of responsibilities reduce the ambiguity and the conflict of individuals in understanding their roles in the organization (Wiedenhöft, Luciano, & Pereira, 2019). When the organizational practices converge to role clarity, the organizational fairness increases, leading individuals to proactivity solve problems and to find alternative solution to them, and to spontaneously suggest improvements to the organization .…”

“…ITG model institutionalization can exert a positive impact on the interpersonal harmony, since the more institutionalized the governance model, the higher the individuals' willingness to solve issues and to find alternative solutions to them (Wiedenhöft, Luciano, & Pereira, 2019). Consequently, interpersonal harmony behavior contributes to shared understating of conjoint business and IT necessities, reducing conflicts on teams and favoring IT mechanisms adoption and maturity.…”

“…Connections between government and citizens are changing, and this process generates new demands for data, information, and fast and reliable services whose operationalization depends, involves, or is made possible by information technology (IT) solutions (Wiedenhöft, Luciano, & Pereira, 2019). A formalized and structured process of governance is necessary to avoid the uncontrolled development of solutions and to reduce the amount of ad hoc solutions (Nfuka & Rusu, 2011), as well as the conflict generated by the divergent interests among stakeholders (Collares, 2020).…”