Governing IT in HEIs: Systematic mapping review

Background Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) are aware of the immense importance of achieving their strategic objectives to increase their impact on the society and to be competitive. As a board responsibility, information technology governance (ITG) plays an important role in the overall HEIs performance. Numerous HEIs are making great efforts to properly govern information technology (IT) by using ITG frameworks. Objectives This study investigates the overall adoption of ITG frameworks in different HEIs through a systematic mapping review. Method We analyzed forty relevant papers, filtered from 6 selected online libraries, and answered six research questions on ITG implementations at universities worldwide. Results The results show an increasing number of publications on ITG usage in HEIs in the last decade. The largest number of applications is described in Asian countries, while the most popular used frameworks are COBIT, ISO versions, and in-house developed frameworks. Finally, we describe the top challenges and benefits of ITG implementation mentioned in research papers. Conclusion This paper provides a deep insight into the level of integration of ITG in universities worldwide. The results will be presented to the involved stakeholders at our university to increase the awareness of ITG in HEIs and help its implementation process.