Exploring Information Technology Governance (ITG) in Developing Countries: AN Empirical Study

The objective of this study is to explore the current performance of informationtechnology governance (ITG) in Saudi organizations using the balanced scorecard modelintroduced by the ITG Institute (ITGI, 2005). An empirical survey was carried out to achieve thispurpose. Five hundred questionnaires were randomly distributed to a representative sample ofSaudi organizations and the response rate was 29.5%. The results of the study reveal that the vastmajority of respondents reported the importance of ITG performance measures. A majority ofthem reported it had been measured, but a smaller number believe that such measures haveactually been used in evaluating the ITG performance in their organizations. The results of thisstudy suggest that Saudi organizations should achieve better governance of their IT in order toensure that an organization’s IT strategy is aligned with and supports the overall organization’sstrategy-- that IT supports the organization’s ability to exploit opportunities and maximizebenefits. The results also suggest that Saudi organizations should use their IT resources moreresponsibly and manage their IT-related risks appropriately in order to champion the ITdevelopment for the success of their businesses.