The Viable Governance Model - A Theoretical Model for the Governance of IT

Abstract

The academic and professional literature offer many different definitions and models of IT governance (ITG). Considerable advancements have been made in identifying the components and mechanisms of ITG. However, much of the research to date has followed an empirical approach, using case studies to examine how contemporary organizations are implementing effective governance arrangements. This paper seeks to propose a theoretical model of the corporate governance of IT using the principles of cybernetics as embodied in Stafford Beer's Viable System Model (VSM). As this paper is primarily concerned with corporate governance of IT, only System 5 of the VSM is examined in detail.