How IT Enabled Investments Bring Value To The Business

Proceedings of the 44th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences - 2011
How IT Enabled Investments Bring Value to the Business : A Literature Review

Kim Maes
Antwerp Management School
kim.maes@ua.ac.be
Steven De Haes
steven.dehaes@ua.ac.be
Abstract
Already in the nineties, studies discussed the IT
productivity paradox, where no clear correlation
could be found between IT spend and the bottom-line
impact. On the other hand, other research streams
emerged, revealing findings that do illustrate the
positive impact of IT enabled investments on firm
performance. Several studies concluded that the
necessary conditions to overcome the IT productivity
paradox are to be found in a better IT value
management approach. New IT value management
frameworks and models are emerging and promoted
by both academics and advisory entities, but while
organisations recognise its importance, they are still
struggling with getting such IT value management
practices implemented into their organisations. This
paper investigates prior research on IT value
management and the implementation of it using a
model of structures, processes and relational
mechanisms. By doing so, this paper wants to explore
future research opportunities for academics and
provide practitioners with an accurate overview of
proven governance and management practices
described in literature that can be used in their dayto-day operations.
1. Introduction
The study field regarding value creation out of
information technology (IT) enabled investments has
always been open to discussion as manifested by
inclusive and contesting results [53], [54], [56], [63].
Already in the nineties, studies discussed the IT
productivity paradox [7], [8], [32], [62], where no
clear correlation could be found between IT spend
and the bottom-line impact. In the early twenty-first
century, studies continued to challenge the value of
IT [9], [45]. According to Willcocks and Lester [79],
an important part of this vagueness is caused by
weaknesses in the measurement and evaluation
practices of IT performance. In this context
Brynjolfsson [7] omits in his research it appears that
the shortfall of IT productivity is as much due to
deficiencies in our measurement and methodological
Wim Van Grembergen

University of Antwerp
wim.vangrembergen@ua.ac.be
toolkit as to mismanagement by developers and users

of IT. On the other hand, other research streams
emerged, revealing findings that do illustrate the
positive impact of IT enabled investments on firm
performance [1], [10], [21]. For instance, Chari [10]
concludes that increasing IT investment to
accompany a firms overall diversification may be
justified by the greater performance impact of such
investments. Anderson [1] found positive evidence
on value creation out of IT enabled investments in
transform industries where IT takes the role of
redefining the business [11]. Chan [11] assigns these
IT value research streams to the question of what
value do IT enabled investments deliver. On this
topic much more research has been executed [14].
For instance on market level (e.g. the impact of IT
investments on stock prices) [23], on organisational
level (e.g. effect of IT investments on firm profit and
firm productivity) [69], and on individual level (e.g.
impact on business decision making) [3]. Also,
several models have been developed to measure and
evaluate business value from IT enabled investments
in an integrated way [14], [24], [68].
On the contrary, less literature is available on how
IT enabled investments should be managed and
organised in order to achieve the scheduled business
value, which is confirmed by Chans [11]
conclusions stating that more research is needed on
questions such as why, where, when, how, and to
whom do IT enabled investments provide value. In
this paper, we will focus on the how question
including various difficult issues to address. In the
first place, the transformation of IT enabled
investments into business value does not only include
IT, but involves also business people, business
processes and so on. Melville et. al. [50] states that
the achievement of business value leads to a
context-contingent set of synergistic combinations of
IT and other organisational resources, including
workplace
practices,
change
initiatives,
organisational structure, and financial condition.
Only by combining IT and non-IT resources a
sustained competitive advantage can be obtained
through IT enabled investments [50]. Secondly, there
is a need for superior managerial skills and
approaches [18]. Unlike technical skills, managerial
1530-1605/11 $26.00 2011 IEEE
skills are likely to be a source of sustained

competitive advantage [49] and therefore important
in managing and organising IT enabled investments.
According to Peppard and Ward [59] this should be
more emphasised than IT itself. In addition, such
management involvement can be achieved through
well integrated IT governance practices in IT
investment decision making. [78], [79] Many authors
[31], [40], [44], [58], [65] have therefore developed
frameworks, models and mechanisms to create an
integrated approach for the creation and capturing of
business value out of IT enabled investments.
Moreover, a more practice oriented approach has
been developed by the IT Governance Institute [36],
called Val IT, to support business executives in
achieving return from the large amounts of money
they spend on IT [35], [70], [75]. Despite of these
approaches, Keyes-Pearce [39] signals room for
further development of theoretical considerations and
frameworks targeting IT value management.
The aim of this paper is to give a comprehensive
overview on IT value management theories, models
and practices based on literature. Starting from this
literature review, we want to further explore this
challenging research domain and define research
questions and new approaches. This way, the
literature review attempts to guide future thinking
and research on IT value management, such as the
role of non-IT resources and managerial approaches
in achieving business value from IT enabled
investments. Also, our objective is to provide
practitioners with a list of both proven and emerging
practices for implementing IT value management.
The structure of this paper is as following. First, a
deeper understanding will be provided on IT value
management through literature review. Next, several
existing approaches will be proposed that can help
with the implementation of IT value management,
based on a model consisting of structures, processes
and relational mechanisms [16], [60]. Finally, a
literature synthesis identifies important gaps in IT
value management literature which nurtures
propositions for future research opportunities.
2. Understanding IT value management:

theories and concepts from literature
By addressing the denomination and explanation
of projects, programs and portfolios, we first want to
clarify our interpretation of an IT enabled investment.
Afterwards, a deeper understanding of the IT value
management concept is provided via a literature
review on the basis of which a definition is derived
incorporating the most important commonalities.
2.1. Projects, programs and portfolio

The focus of IT value management may lie in
different spaces. It may target the entire IT
department [52] or individual IT enabled projects and
programs [48], as well as the overall IT enabled
investment portfolio [13], [14], [65]. Moreover, the
focus can be put on discretionary or mandatory
investments [37]. Our attention is focused on a
discretionary IT enabled business investment
program consisting of one or more (business and IT)
projects and that is part of an overall IT enabled
business investment portfolio. This three-layered
focus is consistent with Thorp [70] as well as with
Val IT [36]. The latter defines the three components
as following: 1) a project is a structured set of
activities concerned with delivering a defined
capability (that is necessary but not sufficient to
achieve a required business outcome) to the
enterprise based on an agreed schedule and budget,
2) a program is a structured grouping of
interdependent projects that are both necessary and
sufficient to achieve a desired business outcome and
create value, and 3) a portfolio is a groupings of
objects of interest (investment programs, IT
services, IT projects, other IT assets) managed and
monitored to optimise business value. [36]
It is clear that programs and projects differ
seriously from each other [4]. They may be different
in scope and reach of objectives. Projects are part of a
program and only by the combination of the right
business and IT projects the necessary business value
can be created from the IT enabled business
investment program. The compulsory oversight of all
projects is provided by a (business) program, the
overview of all programs together with the required
resources is managed in a portfolio [36]. A portfolio
manages the programs according to attributes such as
risk management, strategic business/IT alignment,
benefits realisation, costs and interdependencies
between programs. [41] In addition, it is important
that the programs are managed through their full
economic life-cycle, as stated by ITGI [36]. De
Reyck et. al. [19] consider IT portfolio management
as the entire portfolio of programs a company is
engaged in, in order to make decisions in terms of
which programs are to be given priority, and which
programs are to be added to or removed from the
portfolio. According to ITGI [36], all three
components; projects, programs and portfolio, are
crucial in the delivery of business value out of IT
enabled investments.
The reason that we stress on both business and IT
projects and introduce the concept of IT enabled
business investment program, is that authors such as
Peppard and Ward [58], Thorp [70] and Van

Grembergen and De Haes [76] emphasise that
technology and IT investments itself will not create
business value, but that complementary investments
on the business side are necessary in order to derive
business value from IT enabled investments. Peppard
and Ward [58] list these additional business
investments as business changes and innovations,
whether they are product/service innovation, new
business models, or process changes, whereby
organisations must be able to assimilate this change if
value is to be ultimately realised.
2.2. What is IT value management?

IT value management is one of these concepts
that emerged suddenly during the nineties, largely in
response to the business value delivery question from
IT enabled investments. Unfortunately, the subject is
less investigated by researchers. To come to a clear
definition and understanding of the concept of IT
value management, Table 1 presents nine references
targeting the concept of IT value management
regarding IT enabled investments. During this
literature review, we have found many commonalities
among the definitions on the concept of IT value
management. These will be discussed below.
As the definitions in Table 1 show, all authors but
one [58] present their concept of IT value
management through a process theory, a system or a
framework involving many different processes such
as the Val IT framework including 22 processes [36].
The IT capability proposed by Peppard and Ward
[58], indicates that the creation of business value
from IT enabled investments is an organisational
capacity that is effected via IT competencies.
Bharadwaj [5] defines an IT capability as not so
much a specific set of sophisticated technological
functionalities as it is an enterprise-wide capability to
leverage
technology
to
differentiate
from
competition. The combination of an IT value
management capability prompted by four processes
(formulation of initiative value principles,
measurement system design, strategic control system
deployment, learning about IT-performance linkages)
is highlighted by Lentz et. al. [44]. Further research
on this combination and the relationship between
capabilities and processes seems necessary and might
examine the exact role a capability is playing in the
execution of IT value management processes.
Apart from organising and managing IT enabled
investments, the IT value management process starts
prior to the investment and also includes an
evaluation at the end. Previously, the potential value
of all proposed projects and programs should be
evaluated before approval and initiation [13], [64],

which can be accomplished by an initial business
case [40]. Once the IT enabled investment is
completed, it is suggested to perform an assessment
of the realised business value. [40], [64] Connecting
the end back to the start, it is vital that one can learn
from his actions. Therefore, several authors [30],
[36], [44], [64] suggest a learning reaction or
feedback loop in order to understand the relationship
between the investment performed and the business
value delivered. The references in Table 1 lack
general application of these three concepts (assessing
potential value, evaluating realised value and
establishing a feedback learning process), so we
identify them as interesting subjects for further
investigation, such as the suggestion of an explicit
management process to foster and communicate
innovations as part of IT value management [30].
The operation of IT value management and
execution of IT investments is a joint effort by
business and IT. Involvement of the business side is
demonstrated in two ways. First, by integrating IT
enabled investments into business change programs
[36], [70] requiring the use of IT and non-IT or
complementary resources such as human capital and
business process redesign [13], [40], [64]. Second, as
IT value cannot be separated from the business [64],
it is the responsibility of the entire organisation to
achieve IT payoffs [40] whereby senior executives
are specifically addressed to take up a leading role in
IT strategic planning [44] and the management of
value from IT enabled investments [30].
Finally, we wish to highlight some extra aspects
that has drawn our attention and might need further
investigation. IT value management in itself helps the
organisation to understand, define and communicate
its view on the concept of IT business value [30],
[36], [44]. Also, the role of people seems to be very
important in the execution of IT enabled investments
[64]. Next, we see that the use of structures,
processes, roles, formal and actual routines is
necessary in the execution of IT enabled investments
[30], [36], [58]. Last, the concept of IT value
management should also undertake risk management,
cost control, the selection and execution of
investments [36].
Based on these insights, we want to put forward a
working definition for IT value management as
follows: IT value management is about the
organisational processes, structures and relational
mechanisms that enable business and IT to
understand, initiate, prioritise, execute, organise,
manage and evaluate IT enabled investments and
their outcomes, to secure optimal value in the entire
IT enabled investment portfolio for the organisation.
How potential value of an IT investment

can be identified and measured.
Describing conversion contingencies
across multiple levels of analysis.
The importance of the locus of value.
Is the IT value management capability

essential to effective IT planning?
"How companies achieve business value
from IT-intensive business initiatives over
time through a series of adaptive, ongoing
processes."
"How organisations are attempting to

determine and develop effective IT value
propositions."
Research on the four phases (alignment,

involvement, analysis, communication) of
the AIAC framework.
Application and validation of the AIAC
framework in a case study
Application of resource based theory on IT
strategy and management.
Organisational IS capability and impact on
business performance.
A model to meet the practitioners need in

implementing IT value management.
Presentation of new enterprise value

management theory
Davern and
Kauffman [13]
Lentz et. al. [44]
Smith and
McKeen [64]
Kohli and
Devaraj [40]
ITGI [36]
Thorp [70]
Peppard and
Ward [58]
IT value management capability consists of four constituent processes:

- formulation of initiative value principles,
- measurement system design,
- strategic control system deployment,
- learning about IT-performance linkages.
Development of process theory to improve

organisational performance via IT
investments.
Soh and Markus

[65]
Table 1: Literature overview on IT value management
"Enterprise value management goes beyond the challenge of realising IT value - the benefits
management approach. It builds on and extends benefits realisation with a value-driven strategy
process."
Enterprise value management is about more than IT investments, it handles IT enabled
investments that are incorporated into business change programs.
"Technology is being used as a catalyst to drive many different types of organisational

transformation and strategy. Therefore, IT value can no longer be viewed in isolation from the
other parts of business, namely people and information.
The IT value proposition should be implemented by means of five principles; "to use a clearly
defined portfolio value management process, to aim for chunks of value, to adopt a holistic
orientation to technology value, to aim for joint ownership of technology initiatives, and to
experiment more often."
Three recommendations:
- "IT payoffs are the responsibility of the entire organisation, not just the IT department."
- "Management of IT payoffs begins prior to the investment (business case) and continues
through post implementation."
- "IT payoffs are contingent upon creating and exploiting complementary assets."
IS capability is present on three levels:
- resource level: resources (e.g. skills, knowledge) "are the key ingredients of IS competencies",
- organising level: how resources are "mobilised and marshalled via structures, processes / roles",
- enterprise level: manifestation of IS capability with outcome in organisational performance.
Organisations "with a strong IS capability can both leverage IS/IT enabled change for business
advantage and respond rapidly to changes in the business environment."
"The extent to which IS competencies contribute towards the IS capability is dependent on the
organisations strategy and investment decisions. Both determine whether the IS capability is a
source of competitive (dis)advantage or merely a necessity for competitive parity."
Three domains to support the IT value management principles:
- value governance: "to ensure that value management practices are embedded in the enterprise",
- portfolio management: "to secure optimal value across the portfolio of IT-enabled investments",
- investment management: "to ensure individual IT-enabled investments deliver optimal value."
Results
Formal and actual routines (roles, responsibilities and committees) are necessary "for designing
and deploying strategic initiatives."
"Learning the relationship between IT investments and firm performance is critical to increase
this performance and to improve operational effectiveness."
Organisational learning processes and innovations are part of value management system.
A three-step process theory on when, how and why IT investments deliver firm performance:
- the transformation of IT expenditure in IT assets,
- the appropriate use of quality IT assets yielding IT impacts,
- the improvement in organisational performance caused by IT impacts.
The measurement of potential value is feasible and useful.
Conversion of potential to realised value is impacted through presence of appropriate
complementary assets, such as managerial controls.
IT investments have great potential for business value.
Issues examined
Relationship of three topics (working - roles
and responsibilities, learning and
innovation) relative to IT investments and
organisational performance.
Study
Henderson and
Lentz [30]
"The goal of IT value management is enabling the

enterprise to realise optimal value at an affordable cost with
an acceptable level of risk from IT enabled investments, to
clearly define and communicate its view of what constitutes
value, and to whom, and to select and execute investments."
"Enterprise Value Management helps organisations manage
the complexities of the interaction of their strategies, their
resources of value creation, and the ever-changing business
environment in which they operate. It provides an
understanding of all the sources of value, and how they
interact, not as a simple chain, but as a network - a value
network."
"IS capability is embedded within the fabric of the

organisation. It can be tacit and difficult to identify but the
presence and effectiveness of the capability is reflected in
business performance."
"The AIAC framework helps to conceive and implement IT

investment's payoffs, to ensure creation of appropriate
assets needed to achieve the payoffs, and to measure the
actual outcomes."
"A process theory of improved organisational performance

due to IT investment shows what happens when the desired
outcomes occur, but it does not necessarily describe or
explain why the outcomes fail to occur."
"The value creation process starts with the potential offered
by a project, which precedes the expenditure or investment
in IT. Conversion contingencies, some controllable by
management, influence how the expenditures made impact
firm activities, and consequently the amount of value
potential realised and the return on investment."
"IT value management links IT investment decisions with
specific, ongoing investment management processes such as
measurement, strategic control, and organisational learning
and knowledge management. [...] Managed cohesively, IT
value management processes enable senior executives to
focus on those IT planning routines and activities which
will add business value."
"Developing and delivering the IT value proposition
involves a three stage process addressing the identification
of potential opportunities for adding value [where after
these should be] converted into effective applications of
technology [which eventually] leads to the realisation of IT
value by the organisation".
Definition
IT value management is "a system for actively engaging
executives in the creation and adaptation of processes by
which the firm understands and manages the value of IT
investments."
3. Implementing IT value management:

practices from literature
Now the significance of IT value management is
delineated, we want to investigate possible practices
that can help with the implementation of IT value
management. This discussion will be guided through
the use of a framework that has been previously
applied in IT governance research by Peterson [60]
and De Haes and Van Grembergen [16], consisting of
structures, processes and relational mechanisms, as
depicted in Figure 1. We employ this framework
because of the great reciprocity between IT
governance and IT value management [39].
Peterson [60] formulates structures as structural
(formal) devices and mechanisms for connecting and
enabling horizontal, or liaison, contacts between
business and IT management (decision making)
functions. Also hierarchical/vertical structures exist,
(e.g. CIO/CEO), but have a less effective role in IT
governance [60]. Processes refer to the formalisation
and institutionalisation of strategic IT decision
making or IT monitoring procedures [60]. More
procedures,
generally,
processes
include
arrangements and routines which have a direct impact
on the work behaviour of people and units in an
organisation [20]. The relational mechanisms
construct addresses the people aspect within the
structures and processes, and focuses on realising
various dimensions such as trust, respect,
communication amongst all involved business and IT
actors. [60] After their implementation, these
practices should also be continuously improved [36].
Several practices found in literature that can be
used to implement IT value management are depicted
in Table 2 and will be discussed hereafter using the
three components of the model.
Figure 1: IT Value Management

based on Peterson [60], De Haes and Van Grembergen [16]
3.1. IT value management structures

Structural mechanisms are necessary to support
communication and organise activities among
different groups of people [5], and can take place in
various formal and informal forms such as integrating

managers, liaison positions, task forces, or
committees. [51] Regarding IT enabled investments,
the communication between business and IT people
should be stimulated. Moreover IT enabled
investments differ in many characteristics (e.g.
complexity, functional scope, boundary span
requirements and business impact) involving
different organisational actors in the decision
processes [79]. Therefore, multiple structural
mechanisms on various levels in the organisation are
desirable in order to make balanced and reasonable
decisions about IT enabled investments. Distinct
terminology is used in many publications making it
arduous to understand and implement these practices.
An exploration on what structures as well as
processes and relational mechanisms are used in
contemporary firms might be very interesting, as
suggested by other papers [13], [30], [44], [65].
Examples are legion and discussed below.
Board involvement is a crucial aspect in IT
decision making although contemporary boards often
have relatively little involvement in the planning and
oversight of IT enabled investments. [2] Therefore at
board level, a committee should help to motivate the
consideration of IT as a regular board agenda point
and to advise the board on strategic IT related topics,
whether it is named IT governance committee [55], IT
oversight committee [61], IT strategy committee [34]
or IT leadership forum [36]. Regarding IT value
management, this board committee has the
responsibility to support two levels. To the
management level, it provides direction on the IT
strategy and reviews the risk, return, progress and
competitiveness of major IT enabled investments in
comparison with the budget. To the board, it reports
on the findings of the previous activities. [34], [61]
Furthermore, the committee should also continuously
be seeking for investment opportunities with
potential value [55], [36].
The IT steering committee is another high level
committee that has to play an important role
regarding IT value management issues as its presence
demonstrates a positive influence on the management
of IT enabled investments [37]. An IT steering
committee is positioned at executive management
level, and is responsible for the implementation of the
broad IT strategy boundaries delineated by the board.
The committee oversees major IT enabled programs
and manages priorities, costs and resource allocation
among them. It suggests changes to the program
strategy and communicates the (changed) strategic
goals to the project teams. [34] Moreover, the roles of
an IT steering committee may change along with
different organisational goals [71]. Looking at the
Practices
Authors
Structures
IT strategy committee
IT governance committee
IT oversight committee
ITGI [34]
Nolan and McFarlan [55]
Posthumusa and von Solms
[61]
IT leadership forum
ITGI [36]
IT steering committee
ITGI [34], Torkzadeh and
Xia [71], Karimi et. al. [37]
Investment and services board ITGI [36]
Portfolio mgmt committee
Kumar et. al. [41]
Portfolio review group
Lockett et. al. [46]
Project portfolio committee
De Reyck et. al. [19]
Multi-project planning
Hans et. al. [28]
Value management office
ITGI [36], Thorp [70]
Program management office ITGI [36]
Project management office
Martin et. al. [48], Lechler
and Cohen [42]
Processes
IT Balanced Scorecard
Van Grembergen [72], Van

Grembergen and De Haes
[74], van der Zee and De
Jong [72]
Strategic Information Systems Earl [22], Gottschalk [25],
Planning
Grover and Segars [27],
Galliers [25]
Portfolio management
ITGI [36], Kumar et. al. [41]
Project portfolio management De Reyck et. al. [19]
Program management
Haughey [29], ITGI [36],
Lycett et. al. [47], OGC [56]
Project management
Martin et. al. [48],
Srivannaboon [67]
Benefits management
Peppard and Ward [59],
Ward and Daniel [77]
Understand candidate program
ITGI [36]
and implementation options
Develop, update and evaluate
ITGI [36], Kohli and Devaraj
the initial/detailed business
[40]
case
Relational Mechanisms
IT leadership
Knowledge management or
Learning processes
ITGI [36]
Henderson and Lentz [30],
ITGI [36],Lentz et. al. [44],
Smith and Mckeen [64]
Active engagement of (senior) Henderson and Lentz [30],
executive management
Lentz et. al. [44]
Table 2: Literature overview on potential IT value

management structures, processes and relational
mechanisms.
characteristics and responsibilities of an IT portfolio
committee, such as the investments and services
board [36], portfolio management committee [41],
portfolio review group [46] or project portfolio
committee [19], we found many commonalities
between these committees and the IT steering
committee which makes us belief that both bodies
might have the same purpose. Certainly, further
research is necessary for confirmation.
Within the portfolio of IT enabled investments,

business and IT programs and projects should be
executed successfully. Three secretariat functions
may help the organisational actors in doing so. On
program/portfolio level, a value management office
(VMO) is presented to support the portfolio
committee in the organisation and management of
programs including assessing and advising on
investment opportunities, business cases, methods
and controls, and reporting on the value progress of
investment programs [36]. Thorp [70] adds that the
VMO facilitates the opportunity where specialists can
give advice to business people in the set-up and
formulation of programs. Also on program level, Val
IT [36] recommends a program management office
(PgMO) that is responsible for supporting program
managers, and gathering, assessing and reporting
information about the conduct of their programs and
constituent projects [36]. On project level, the
project management office (PMO) supplies the
project managers with structures, systems, tools,
education and training, and controls upon them. By
this means, consistent and reliable project
management methods are provided and project
performance
should
improve
impacting
organisational profitability. [48] Eventually, this will
also result in project management standards [42].
Both the VMO and PgMO are representative for the
same (program) level and perform activities that
might be perceived as closely related to each other.
So, we suggest additional examination on the precise
role and responsibilities of each body.
3.2. IT value management processes

The second construct depicted in the IT value
management model (Figure 1) is processes.
According to De Wit and Meyer [20], these include
arrangements, procedures and routines used to
control and coordinate the various people and units
within the organisation. Peterson [60] relates
processes more to IT, by referring to the
formalisation and institutionalisation of strategic IT
decision making or IT monitoring procedures. The
processes portrayed in Table 2 and delineated below
should be imbedded in the committees and offices
described above.
On a strategic level, the (IT) balanced scorecard
(BSC) is helpful in capturing the business value of IT
enabled investments through its business perspective
[72]. Cause-and-effect relationships together with the
appropriate measures should be integrated into the
BSC in order to function as a real management tool
[72], [74]. Also, strategic information systems
planning or SISP is proposed as a multi-dimensional
method [27] and is expedient in the planning and

alignment of IT enabled investments with business
goals to achieve a competitive advantage together
with efficient and effective IT resource management
[22], [25], [26].
On management level, three processes are used to
help with the delivery of value from IT enabled
investments. First, portfolio management [36], [41]
or project portfolio management [19] certifies
optimal value across the organisational portfolio of
IT enabled investments [36] by prioritising, selecting
and reviewing all investment programs [19] with a
focus on risk management, cost control, benefits
realisation, strategic alignment of business and IT
objectives and interdependencies between the
programs [41]. Multi-project planning on the other
hand, focuses more on the tactical and operational
decision making of multiple project organisation.
[28] Second, program management facilitates the
integration of multiple related projects to achieve
benefits that would not be realised when managed
independently [47] and provides help to program
managers with the identification, planning, delivery
and closure of programs [29], [56] on topics such as
risk, quality, resource, utilisation, communication,
roles and responsibilities [29], [47]. In this process, a
continuous focus on the business objectives and
constituent activities of the program are
indispensible. [36] Third, project management
supplies the project manager with formal practices
rules, standards and procedures on establishing the
strategic objectives, structure, planning and execution
process, tools and metrics, and on the setting of an
appropriate project culture. [48], [67] From the
literature on processes and structures, we could
ascertain a consistent view on the stratified approach
of programs consisting of multiple projects that are
managed in an overall portfolio of IT enabled
investments [29], [41]. However, an examination in
contemporary organisations seems useful to confirm
the success of this approach.
The realisation of benefits from an IT enabled
investment program will not just be realised, but
needs to be carefully planned and managed. Benefits
management is a process of organising and
managing IT enabled investments so the potential
benefits are actually realised [77] including a
benefits realisation plan with the benefit sources,
responsibilities and timescales for delivery [59].
Val IT [36] specifies two more processes to
implement IT value management. First, to understand
the candidate program and implementation options.
Second, to develop, update and evaluate the initial
and detailed program business case [36].
3.3. IT value
mechanisms
management
relational
The relational mechanisms construct addresses the

people aspect within the structures and processes, and
focuses on realising various dimensions such as trust,
respect and communication, amongst all involved
business and IT actors. Peterson [60] defines it as
the active participation of, and collaborative
relationship among, corporate executives, IT
management, and business management (e.g.,
training). The issue of relational mechanisms has
previously been examined in IT governance research
[15], [16], [17], [75], [76], which comprises close
interactions with the IT value management domain
[39], and may serve as a guidance in the exploration
of adequate relational mechanisms for IT value
management (Table 2).
Val IT [36] advises the foundation of an informed
and committed leadership culture propagated by the
IT leadership forum (structure). This forum institutes
the CIO with an effective reporting line creating the
opportunity for the CIO to engage the board of
directors in understanding and communicating the
meaning of business value through IT enabled
investments. Like IT governance awareness
campaigns [15], [16], [17], it might be worth
investigating whether specific awareness campaigns
on the significance of IT value management are
effective. Next, the use of knowledge management or
learning opportunities is perceived as an integral part
of IT value management (lessons learned). On the
one hand, an organisation has to employ the results
from the evaluation of IT enabled investments [30],
[44], [64]. On the other hand, the IT value
management processes itself should be assessed as
well to learn from organisation and management
issues [36]. Third, executives are specifically
addressed to be actively engaged in the management
and organisation of IT value management and IT
enabled investments [30], [44]. This argument is
closely related to the relational mechanism that
senior business and IT management should give the
good example by acting as partners, as identified by
De Haes and Van Grembergen [17]. The relevance of
this mechanism in IT value management earns more
attention in further research. So does the impact of an
appropriate value driven culture that enables the
organisational actors in delivering business value
from IT enabled investments. Despite of its
importance for organisational performance [66], to
date very little research has been executed on the role
an organisational culture plays in the process of IT
planning nor in its relationship towards IT
investments and prioritisation [43].
4. Contributions and future research

This literature review addresses issues on IT value
management, IT enabled investments and IT business
value creation. Herein, we found several
commonalities and proposed a working definition of
IT value management. By using a model that has
been successfully applied in IT research, we have
tried to investigate various potential practices that
might help with the implementation of IT value
management.
This literature review has led to the identification
of future research directions on IT value
management. In the first part, we proposed further
examination on three topics. First, on the
combination and relationship between organisational
capabilities and IT value management processes.
Second, on the function of IT value management
prior to and after IT enabled investments with regard
to estimating the potential value and assessing the
realised value. Also, the feedback through a learning
process should be further explored. Third, we
stipulated extra aspects that should be given more
attention in research such as the people facet,
structures, routines, responsibilities and committees.
Regarding these research gaps, this paper attempted
to offer a first contribution by investigating possible
practices that can help with the implementation of IT
value management. By using the model consisting of
structures, processes and relational mechanisms, we
have found more specific research topics for the
future. As regard to structures, one should check the
difference between a value management office and a
program management office operating both on
program level, and the variation in the
responsibilities of an IT steering committee and an IT
portfolio committee. For processes, it is interesting to
investigate the stratified approach of portfolios,
programs and projects and how organisations are
using this in their day-to-day operations. On the topic
of relational mechanisms, a lot of work is awaiting to
study practices such as IT value management
awareness campaigns, the role of executives in IT
value management, the effect of a value driven
culture and so on. Concerning all three constructs
(structures, processes and relational mechanisms),
further investigation is necessary to clarify the use of
distinct terminology on similar practices and to
perform empirical assessment on how these practices
are employed in contemporary organisations
struggling with the creation of business value from IT
enabled investments and the implementation of IT
value management.
As a starting point for future research, an
interesting research question could be how are
contemporary organisations implementing IT value

management to achieve business value from IT
enabled investments? First, this could start with an
exploratory part in these contemporary organisations
and perform qualitative case study research on how
they employ IT value management practices.
Together with the literature review, this results in a
list of practices that could be challenged by a Delphi
study carried out with field experts or through expert
interviews to deal with the topics broadness and
complexity. Besides completeness of the list, the field
experts could verify various quality dimensions such
as the effectiveness, importance and ease of
implementation of all practices where from a
minimum baseline could be distracted. Such results
could be useful for academics to help filling the
terminology gap on structures, processes and
relational mechanisms as well as for practitioners to
facilitate the implementation of IT value management
in their day-to-day operations.
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