Title: The role of the board in IT governance: current and desired oversight practices

Authors: Chris Bart, Ofir Turel

Addresses: DeGroote School of Business, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario L8S 4M4, Canada. ' Steven G. Mihaylo College of Business and Economics, California State University, Fullerton, P.O. Box 6848, Fullerton, CA 92834-6848, USA

Abstract: The purpose of this study was to investigate the questions that boards of directors ask as they go about fulfilling their governance responsibilities regarding their organisation|s IT operations. The research uses the 27 IT governance questions proposed by the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants and investigates their deployment and perceived importance by directors representing 107 Canadian boards. The research finds that not all IT governance questions are considered equal. Moreover, the relationship between the frequency with which the various questions are asked and their perceived importance is not perfect. However, there appears to be a significantly positive relationship between the number of IT questions asked and the authors| measures of firm performance. The paper speculates on the possible reasons for these findings and proposes additional avenues for research.

Keywords: information technology; IT governance; board of directors; strategic use; information technologies; survey; firm performance; Canada.

DOI: 10.1504/IJBGE.2009.023786

International Journal of Business Governance and Ethics, 2009 Vol.4 No.4, pp.316 - 329

Published online: 11 Mar 2009 *

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