IT Governance Framework Applied to SMEs

Abstract

The need to effectively manage IT resources such that they enhance the business value of firms makes IT governance (ITG) an important issue for both IS researchers and practitioners. The purpose of this paper is to build a conceptual framework for ITG in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The authors first analyze the main theories applied in ITG research, and confront them with the specificities of SMEs. The authors then highlight the limits of those theories in SMEs context and discuss adaptations needed or alternative theories in such context. The resulting framework is then applied to generate a set of six research propositions on ITG in SMEs.

Information Technology Governance in Small and Medium Enterprises - a Systematic Mapping

“…However, it is important to emphasize that, despite their specificities, SMEs are not homogeneous, characterizing patterns different uses of technological resources (Bergeron et al, 2015). This perception of specificities is shared by Devos, Van Landeghem and Deschoolmeester (2012) and Wilkin (2012).…”

“…Wilkin et al (2015) argue that the limitation of resources in the context of SMEs represents a significant challenge in management and that this restriction must be recognized in order to understand the phenomenon of IT management. Additionally, Bergeron et al (2015) argue that SMEs have financial and human limitations, have characteristics of simple organizational structures, operate in local markets and have IT use characteristics other than large companies.…”

“…IT Governance is as important for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) as it is for large companies (Huygh & De Haes, 2016). The need to effectively manage, and with expected returns, IT resources so that they can increase business value, make IT governance an important issue and still a difficult task (Weill & Ross, 2004;Van Grembergen & De Haes, 2010;Bergeron et al, 2015).…”

“…The approaches in the three articles are quite different, being the first one a framework directed to the human resource that manages and uses IT (Garbarino-Alberti, 2013), the another one from the Technology-Organization-Environment framework proposed by Tornatzky, Fleischer and Chakrabarti (1990) (Olutoyin & Flowerday, 2016), and, on the third article, the authors propose a framework based the Outsourced Information System Failure (Devos, Van Landeghem, & Deschoolmeestem, 2009). In addition, two of the articles selected (Bergeron et al, 2015;Bergeron et al, 2017) present the development of a framework for research on IT governance in SMEs and not, properly speaking, an IT governance framework.…”

“…All but one of the articles (Devos, Van Landeghem, & Deschoolmeestem, 2009) used COBIT as an example of good practices for IT governance in SMEs. However, several articles affirm that the framework, at least, requires adaptations to be applicable to the context (Ayat et al, 2011;Lin, Chou, and Wang, 2011;Vogt et al, 2011;Garbarino-Alberti, 2013;Bergeron et al, 2015;Aguillar et al, 2017).…”