An Exploration into IT Programs and Their Management: Findings From Multiple Case Study Research

ABSTRACT

The use of IT to drive organizational change has gained momentum in today’s organizations. In response to the practical demand for guidance on managing such change, professional institutions have issued industry standards for Program Management (PgM). However, research on the applicability of PgM to manage IT-based change is scant. The present article adds to research and practice by giving insight into five IT programs that ran into difficulties and the management challenges involved.

KEYWORDS:

• Information technology (IT)
• IT-based infrastructure
• IT-based change
• Technochange
• IT project management
• IT programs
• IT program management
• digital transformation

Acknowledgments

The author owes great thanks to Stefan Diederich, who was strongly involved in collecting the case study data, documenting them, and in analyzing them independently from the author. The author also wants to thank the unnamed IT management consultancy for giving access to the documentation of the programs studied and for making interview partners available for this research.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Rolf Alexander Teubner

Rolf Alexander Teubner heads the Research Group on Strategic Information Management (RG SIM) at the European Research Center for Information Systems (ERCIS) in Münster/Germany. His research focus is on the concept and contents of IT/IS strategies, on IT/IS strategy development as well as on strategy implementation including the management of IT/IS investments, portfolios, and programs. He also does research on the future of the IT/IS function with an emphasis on sourcing, organizational design, and governance. Alexander has published his research in renowned academic journals and on international conferences as well as in textbook chapters, monographs, and in applied journals.