Configurations and Coordination for Global Information Technology Governance: Complex Designs in a Transnational European Context

This paper describes an exploratory study of configurations and coordination mechanisms for IT governance in European-based transnational companies. IT governance is traditionally defined as the formal allocation of IT decision-making authority. Rooted in organisation design theory, a research framework is proposed and comparative case study research is conducted in three large financial service companies. The findings indicate that financial institutions adopt distinct hybrid configurations and coordination mechanisms contingent on their strategic context. The results suggest that whatever formal configuration is chosen for IT governance, mechanisms for lateral coordination need to be addressed, if performance targets are to be achieved. Effective mechanisms for lateral coordination move beyond the level of structure, and focus on the different stakeholders involved in the IT governance process. An organisation’s capability to deal with globalisation and IT is dependent on the complexity of both the configuration and coordination for IT governance.