Strategic role of IT and IT governance mechanisms for the context of small and medium enterprises

Humberto Caetano Cardoso da Silva; Jairo Simião Dornelas; Marcus Augusto Vasconcelos Araújo

doi:10.14211/ibjesb.e2051

Authors

Humberto Caetano Cardoso da Silva humberto.ccs@gmail.com
Federal University of Pernambuco (UFPE), Recife, PE, Brazil
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9584-4465
Jairo Simião Dornelas jerh57@gmail.com
Federal University of Pernambuco (UFPE), Recife, PE, Brazil
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2455-7124
Marcus Augusto Vasconcelos Araújo marcusaugusto77@hotmail.com
University of Pernambuco (UPE), Recife, PE, Brazil
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4559-0860

DOI:

10.14211/ibjesb.e2051

Keywords:

IT's strategic role, IT governance, Small and medium-sized companies, Agency theory

Abstract

The role of small and medium-sized enterprises in the economy is indisputable. However, these companies face major challenges to keep operating. Among them is the use of IT resources and the return on investments made. This article aims to survey the strategic role of IT in the organization and the IT governance mechanisms used in the context. It was possible to identify that relational IT governance mechanisms are more present in the context than structural or procedural mechanisms. It was also possible to identify that information technology, in the context, has a more operational use. Finally, through the use of Spearman's coefficient, it was found that higher strategic levels of IT use lead to greater use of governance mechanisms in the three dimensions, structural, procedural and relational

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Author Biographies

Humberto Caetano Cardoso da Silva, Federal University of Pernambuco (UFPE), Recife, PE, Brazil

is a Professor at the University of Pernambuco, at the Ser Educacional group, at UNIBRA and FACHO, working in IT management, systems analysis and computer networks. He holds a PhD in Administration from the Federal University of Pernambuco, a Master's in Business Management from Devry / FBV (MPGE / FBV) and a degree in Civil Engineering from the Federal University of Pernambuco and Administration from the Estácio de Sá University.

Jairo Simião Dornelas, Federal University of Pernambuco (UFPE), Recife, PE, Brazil

is Professor in the Department of Administration and the Postgraduate Program in Administration at the Federal University of Pernambuco. He holds a doctorate in administration from the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, a Master's in Computer Science from the Federal University of Pernambuco, a bachelor's degree in Administration from the Catholic University of Pernambuco and a bachelor's degree in Informatics from the Federal University of Pernambuco.

Marcus Augusto Vasconcelos Araújo, University of Pernambuco (UPE), Recife, PE, Brazil

is Adjunct Professor at the University of Pernambuco. He holds a PhD and a Master's degree in Business Administration from the Federal University of Pernambuco and a degree in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from the University of Pernambuco.

References

Abu‐Musa, A. (2009). Exploring the importance and implementation of COBIT processes in Saudi organizations. Information Management & Computer Security, 17(2), 73-95. https://doi.org/10.1108/09685220910963974

Albertin, A. L., & de Moura Albertin, R. M. (2008). Tecnologia de Informação e Desempenho Empresarial no Gerenciamento de seus Projetos: um Estudo de Caso de uma Indústria. Revista de Administração Contemporânea, 12(3), 599-629. https://doi.org/10.1590/S1415-65552008000300002

Alenzy, M. Z. (2018). Strategic Approach of Saudi Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises: More of Emergent or Deliberate? International Business Research, 11(3). https://doi.org/10.5539/ibr.v11n3p110

Ali, S., & Green, P. (2007). IT governance mechanisms in public sector organisations: An Australian context. Journal of Global Information Management (JGIM), 15(4), 41-63. http://doi.org/10.4018/jgim.2007100103

Baker, G., Gibbons, R., & Murphy, K. J. (2002). Relational Contracts and the Theory of the Firm. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 117(1), 39-84. https://doi.org/10.1162/003355302753399445

Baltzan, P., & Phillips, A. (2012). Sistemas de informação. AMGH Editora.

Beraldi, L. C., & Escrivão Filho, E. (2000). Impacto da tecnologia de informação na gestão de pequenas empresas. Ciência da Informação, 29(1), 46-50. https://doi.org/10.18225/ci.inf..v29i1.898

Bergeron, F., Croteau, A. M., Uwizeyemungu, S., & Raymond, L. (2020). A framework for research on information technology governance in SMEs. In Start-Ups and SMEs: Concepts, Methodologies, Tools, and Applications (pp. 1567-1588). IGI Global.

Bergeron, F., Croteau, A. M., Uwizeyemungu, S., & Raymond, L. (2015). IT governance framework applied to SMEs. International Journal of IT/Business Alignment and Governance (IJITBAG), 6(1), 33-49. https://doi.org/10.4018/IJITBAG.2015010103

Bozkurt, Ö. Ç., & Kalkan, A. (2013). Strategic focus in Turkish SMEs: emergent or deliberate strategies?. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 99, 929-937. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2013.10.566

Bradley, R. V., Byrd, T. A., Pridmore, J. L., Thrasher, E., Pratt, R. M., & Mbarika, V. W. (2012). An empirical examination of antecedents and consequences of IT governance in US hospitals. Journal of Information Technology, 27(2), 156-177. https://doi.org/10.1057/jit.2012.3

César, Cristina Freitas César (2009). Um estudo sobre as relações entre preferências por atividades técnicas e perfis de comportamento de engenheiros de software (Master's thesis, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco).

Chege, S. M., & Wang, D. (2020). Information technology innovation and its impact on job creation by SMEs in developing countries: an analysis of the literature review. Technology Analysis & Strategic Management, 32(3), 256-271. https://doi.org/10.1080/09537325.2019.1651263

Croteau, A. M., & Bergeron, F. (2001). An information technology trilogy: business strategy, technological deployment and organizational performance. The journal of strategic information systems, 10(2), 77-99. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0963-8687(01)00044-0

De Haes, S., & Van Grembergen, W. (2009). An exploratory study into IT governance implementations and its impact on business/IT alignment. Information Systems Management, 26(2), 123-137. https://doi.org/10.1080/10580530902794786

Eisenhardt, K. M. (1989). Agency theory: An assessment and review. Academy of Management Review, 14(1), 57-74. https://doi.org/10.2307/258191

Frigotto, M. L., Coller, G., & Collini, P. (2013). The Strategy and Management Control Systems relationship as emerging dynamic process. Journal of Management & Governance, 17(3), 631-656. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10997-011-9198-x

Coller, G., Frigotto, M. L., & Costa, E. (2018). Management control system and strategy: the transforming role of implementation. Journal of Applied Accounting Research. https://doi.org/10.1108/JAAR-01-2016-0002

Gil, A. C. (2008). Métodos e técnicas de pesquisa social. 6. ed. Ediitora Atlas SA.

Guldentops, E (2012). What do you do if the CEO tells you to get it done?. CIONET Newsletter, Belgium, June.

Guldentops, E. (2014). Governance of IT in small and medium sized enterprises. In Information Systems for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (pp. 3-24). Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg.

Hair, J. F., Black, W. C., Babin, B. J., Anderson, R. E., & Tatham, R. L. (2009). Análise multivariada de dados (6th ed.). Bookman.

Hauke, J., & Kossowski, T. (2011). Comparison of values of Pearson's and Spearman's correlation coefficients on the same sets of data. Quaestiones geographicae, 30(2), 87-93. https://doi.org/10.2478/v10117-011-0021-1

Hosmer Jr, D. W., Lemeshow, S., & Sturdivant, R. X. (2013). Applied logistic regression (Vol. 398). John Wiley & Sons.

Huygh, T., & De Haes, S. (2016). Exploring the research domain of IT governance in the SME context. International Journal of IT/Business Alignment and Governance (IJITBAG), 7(1), 20-35. https://doi.org/10.4018/IJITBAG.2016010102

Joshi, A., Bollen, L., Hassink, H., De Haes, S., & Van Grembergen, W. (2018). Explaining IT governance disclosure through the constructs of IT governance maturity and IT strategic role. Information & Management, 55(3), 368-380. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.im.2017.09.003

Kline, R. B. (2011). Convergence of structural equation modeling and multilevel modeling. In M. Williams (Ed.), Handbook of methodological innovation. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage

Kiran, T. S., & Reddy, A. V. D. Evaluating Critical Success Factors of ERP Implementation in SMEs. Journal of Project Management, 4, 267-280. https://doi.org/10.35940/ijrte.B1716.078219

Kumar, N., Stern, L. W., & Anderson, J. C. (1993). Conducting interorganizational research using key informants. Academy of Management Journal, 36(6), 1633-1651. https://doi.org/10.5465/256824

Langfield-Smith, K. (1997). Management control systems and strategy: a critical review. Accounting, Organizations and Society, 22(2), 207-232. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0361-3682(95)00040-2

Lucian, R., & Dornelas, J. S. (2015). Mensuração de atitude: proposição de um protocolo de elaboração de escalas. Revista de Administração Contemporânea, 19(SPE2), 157-177. https://doi.org/10.1590/1982-7849rac20151559

Lunardi, G. L., Becker, J. L., Maçada, A. C. G., & Dolci, P. C. (2014a). The impact of adopting IT governance on financial performance: An empirical analysis among Brazilian firms. International Journal of Accounting Information Systems, 15(1), 66-81. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.accinf.2013.02.001

Lunardi, G. L., Dolci, P. C., Maçada, A. C. G., & Becker, J. L. (2014b). Análise dos mecanismos de governança de TI mais difundidos entre as empresas brasileiras. Revista Alcance (Online), 21(1), 46. https://doi.org/10.14210/alcance.v21n1.p046-076

Lunardi, G. L. (2008). Um estudo empírico e analítico do impacto da governança de TI no desempenho organizacional. Doctoral Thesis.

Lunardi, G. L., Becker, J. L., & Maçada, A. C. G. (2010). Impacto da adoção de mecanismos de governança de tecnologia de informação (TI) no desempenho da gestão da TI: uma análise baseada na percepção dos executivos. Ciências da Administração, 12(28), 11-39. https://doi.org/10.5007/2175-8077.2010v12n28p11

Lunardi, G. L., Dolci, D. B., & Dolci, P. C. (2017). Adoção de Tecnologia da informação e sua relação com A gestão de negócios em micro e pequenas empresas (MPEs). Revista de Administração da Universidade Federal de Santa Maria, 10(5), 929-948. https://doi.org/10.5902/19834659 13012

Mahaney, R. C., & Lederer, A. L. (2011). An agency theory explanation of project success. Journal of Computer Information Systems, 51(4), 102-113. https://doi.org/10.1080/08874417.2011.11645506

Mahaney, R. C., & Lederer, A. L. (2003). Information systems project management: an agency theory interpretation. Journal of Systems and Software, 68(1), 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0164-1212(02)00132-2

Maidin, S. S., & Arshad, N. H. (2010, June). Information Technology governance practices in Malaysian public sector. In 2010 International Conference on Financial Theory and Engineering (pp. 281-285). IEEE.

Maula, Markku & STAM, Wouter (2019). Enhancing rigor in quantitative entrepreneurship research. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 44(6). https://doi.org/10.1177/1042258719891388

Mintzberg, H., & Waters, J. A. (1985). Of strategies, deliberate and emergent. Strategic Management Journal, 6(3), 257-272. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.4250060306

Morgan, L., & Finnegan, P. (2014). Beyond free software: An exploration of the business value of strategic open source. The Journal of Strategic Information Systems, 23(3), 226-238. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsis.2014.07.001

Mouzas, S., & Blois, K. (2008). Relational contract theory: confirmations and contradictions. In the Proceedings of 24th IMP Conference.

Nfuka, E. N., & Rusu, L. (2011). The effect of critical success factors on IT governance performance. Industrial Management & Data Systems, 111(9), 1418-1448. https://doi.org/10.1108/02635571111182773

OECD. U. S. D. OECD SME and Entrepreneurship Outlook 2019.

Oliveira, T. D. (2001). Amostragem não probabilística: adequação de situações para uso e limitações de amostras por conveniência, julgamento e quotas. Administração on line, 2(3), 01-10. Retrieved from https://pesquisa-eaesp.fgv.br/sites/gvpesquisa.fgv.br/files/arquivos/veludo_-_amostra¬gem_nao_probabilisti¬ca_adequa-cao_de_situacoes_para_uso_e_limitacoes_de_amostras_por_conveniencia.pdf

Petersen, B., & Østergaard, K. (2018). Reconciling contracts and relational governance through strategic contracting. Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing. https://doi.org/10.1108/JBIM-09-2016-0223

Peterson, R. (2004). Crafting information technology governance. Information systems management, 21(4), 7-22. https://doi.org/10.1201/1078/44705.21.4.20040901/84183.2

Philip, G., & Booth, M. E. (2001). A new six ‘S’framework on the relationship between the role of information systems (IS) and competencies in ‘IS’management. Journal of Business Research, 51(3), 233-247. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0148-2963(99)00051-X

Prates, G. A., & Ospina, M. T. (2004). Tecnologia da informação em pequenas empresas: fatores de êxito, restrições e benefícios. Revista de Administração Contemporânea, 8(2), 9-26. https://doi.org/10.1590/S1415-65552004000200002

Raymond, L., Croteau, A. M., & Bergeron, F. (2011). The strategic role of IT as an antecedent to the IT sophistication and IT performance of manufacturing SMEs. International Journal on Advances in Systems and Measurements, 4(3-4), 203-211. https://r-libre.teluq.ca/720/1/IJASM-7212%5B1%5D-2012-Post-Print.pdf

Santini, S., de Vasconcellos Favarin, E., Nogueira, M. A., de Oliveira, M. L., & Ruppenthal, J. E. (2015). Fatores de mortalidade em micro e pequenas empresas: um estudo na região central do Rio Grande do Sul. Revista Eletrônica de Estratégia & Negócios, 8(1), 145-169. Retrieved from http://www.spell.org.br/documentos/ver/35173/fatores-de-mortalidade-em-micro-e-pequenas-empresas--um-estudo-na-regiao-central-do-rio-grande-do-sul-/i/pt-br

Sarfati, G. (2013). Estágios de desenvolvimento econômico e políticas públicas de empreendedorismo e de micro, pequenas e médias empresas (MPMEs) em perspectiva comparada: os casos do Brasil, do Canadá, do Chile, da Irlanda e da Itália. Revista de Administração Pública, 47(1), 25-48. https://bibliotecadigital.fgv.br/ojs/index.php/rap/article/view/7302

Silva, H. C. C. (2019). Proposição de um framework de governança de tecnologia da informação para pequenas e médias empresas: a busca pelo aumento do valor da tecnologia da informação para o negócio. Tese. Recife, UFPE.

Silva, H. C. C., Dornelas, J. S., da Silveira, D. S., & Lucena, R. B. (2019). A Governança da Tecnologia da Informação e Seus Mecanismos Formais e Informais: Proposição de Um Framework Para o Contexto de Empresas de Pequeno e Médio Porte. Revista de Empreendedorismo e Gestão de Pequenas Empresas, 8(3), 200-230. https://doi.org/10.14211/regepe.v8i3.1347

Silva, H. C. C. D., Silveira, D. S. D., Dornelas, J. S., & Ferreira, H. S. (2020). Information Technology Governance in Small and Medium Enterprises-a Systematic Mapping. JISTEM-Journal of Information Systems and Technology Management, 17. https://doi.org/10.4301/S1807-1775202017001

Silva, P. C. (2010). Uso de TI por pequenas empresas de TI: o caso de uma startup. Revista de Ciências Gerenciais, 14(19), 107-126. https://doi.org/10.17921/1415-6571.2010v14n19p107-126

Silva, R. C. D. C., & dos Reis, M. C. (2015). Pesquisa sobre a utilização das tecnologias da informação e dos recursos de internet: micro e pequenas empresas do comércio varejista de Londrina. Revista de Ciências Jurídicas e Empresariais, 9(1), 57-65. Retrieved from https://sumarios.org/artigo/pesquisa-sobre-utiliza%C3%A7%C3%A3o-das-tecnologias-da-informa%C3%A7%C3%A3o-e-dos-recursos-de-internet-micro-e

Siqueira, É. S., de Souza, C. A., & Viana, A. B. N. (2013). Uso da Tecnologia de Informação em Empresas de Pequeno e Médio Porte: uma análise a partir dos dados da pesquisa" TIC Empresas" de 2011. In CONF-IRM (p. 51).

Siqueira, É., & de Souza, C. A. (2016). Exclusão Digital das Pequenas e Médias Empresas Brasileiras-um olhar pela teoria de adoção das Tecnologias de Informação e Comunicação. In CONF-IRM (p. 47).

Srimai, S., Damsaman, N., & Bangchokdee, S. (2011). Performance measurement, organizational learning and strategic alignment: an exploratory study in Thai public sector. Measuring Business Excellence, 15(2), 57-69. https://doi.org/10.1108/13683041111131628

Tabachnick, B. G., Fidell, L. S., & Ullman, J. B. (2007). Using multivariate statistics (Vol. 5, pp. 481-498). Boston, MA: Pearson.

van Smeden, M., Moons, K. G., de Groot, J. A., Collins, G. S., Altman, D. G., Eijkemans, M. J., & Reitsma, J. B. (2019). Sample size for binary logistic prediction models: beyond events per variable criteria. Statistical methods in medical research, 28(8), 2455-2474. https://doi.org/10.1177/0962280218784726

Venkatraman, N. (1994). IT-enabled business transformation: from automation to business scope redefinition. Sloan Management Review, 35, 73-73. Retrieved from https://sloanreview.mit.edu/article/itenabled-business-transformation-from-automation-to-business-scope-redefinition/

Vithayathil, J. (2018). Will cloud computing make the Information Technology (IT) department obsolete? Information Systems Journal, 28(4), 634-649. https://doi.org/10.1111/isj.12151

Weill, P., & Ross, J. W. (2004). IT governance: How top performers manage IT decision rights for superior results. Harvard Business Press.

Weill, P., & Woodham, R. (2002). Don't just lead, govern: Implementing effective IT governance. MIT Sloan.

Wiesner, R., & Millett, B. (2012). Strategic approaches in Australian SMEs: deliberate or emergent?. Journal of Management and Organization, 18(1), 98-122. https://doi.org/10.5172/jmo.2012.18.1.98

Wilkin, C., Couchman, P., Sohal, A., & Zutshi, A. (2016). Exploring Differences between Large and Medium Organizations’ Corporate Governance of Information Technology, 22, 6-25. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.accinf.2016.07.002

Xu, Y., Tong, Y., Liao, S. S., & Yu, Y. (2015, July). Understanding the Impact of Indirect System Use on Task Performance in Hospital: An Agency Theory Perspective. In PACIS (p. 39).

Zhou, H., Uhlaner, L. M., & Jungst, M. (2021). Knowledge management practices and innovation: A deliberate innovation management model for SMEs. Journal of Small Business Management, 1-34. https://doi.org/10.1080/00472778.2021.1888383