Exploring the Influence of Executive Management Diversity on IT Governance

Sylvie Héroux, Anne Fortin

Abstract


As all organizations are attaching more strategic importance to information technology (IT), IT governance has gained researchers’ interest. In fact, a large body of literature focuses on firm-specific or executive management attributes such as leadership as determinants of IT governance. However, it is still relevant to identify other factors influencing IT governance. Since executive management demographics and demographic diversity have an impact on strategic decisions, we explore the influence of executive management diversity on IT governance. Results suggest that IT governance for a high educational-high tenure diversity profile differs significantly from that for a low industry-moderate tenure diversity profile and a high industry-low tenure diversity profile. Furthermore, IT governance structures differ according to executive management diversity profile more than IT governance processes and relational mechanisms.

Keywords


IT governance, executive management diversity, educational background, functional background, industry background, tenure

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References


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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.4301/S1807-17752017000300007

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