How boards of directors can contribute to governing IT

Abstract

Digital transformation is becoming ubiquitous as organizations increasingly rely on IT to create business value. As a result, IT strategy is increasingly intertwined with organizational strategy, with risks as IT becomes progressively more important, requiring both management and governance. Given boards of directors are ultimately accountable for strategic decision-making and control, these changes charge boards with accountability for governing digital assets. Whilst board-level IT governance should enable better organizational performance, research suggests that the value created by the board in governing IT depends on the roles they play. In exploring these roles, we use the more mature research domain of corporate governance to develop improved understanding of the type of board roles and the importance assigned by a board to governing IT.