IT Governance, Decision-Making and IT Capabilities

Organizations are increasingly dependent upon IT for competitive advantage through extensive use of information, effective operational control, rapid innovation, speed to market, and increased customer satisfaction. In order to succeed in planning, organizing, controlling, and directing the IT organization, top management needs to have an understanding of individual business and IT capabilities for current and future business needs. As IT has become crucial in supporting, sustaining and enabling business models, there is a need for better governance of related IT assets, competencies and capabilities. From an IT governance perspective, the multifaceted, cross-organizational nature of IT capabilities increases the contingency factors to be considered when designing and implementing respective governance structures and arrangements. By recognizing the complexity of IT capabilities and their relationship to organizational performance, academics and practitioners alike can better understand the implications of different IT governance practices on IT capabilities and their development.