Improving ITIL compliance using change management practices: a finance sector case study

Purpose – Although various practices to facilitate organizational change are proposed in the literature, very little is known about how these practices impact on ITIL adoptions. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to address this gap in the literature by offering insights on how change management practices impact on levels of ITIL compliance. Design/methodology/approach – This exploratory research reports on four case studies of completed implementations of IT service management using the process – based ITILv2 framework. The firms studied are from the Peruvian financial sector. Data were gained primarily through semi‐structured in‐depth interviews with managers involved in the implementation process. Compliance was measured using the itSMF self assessment questionnaire, which assesses the overall process capability. Findings – This study finds that not all of the case firms took full advantage of change management practices while implementing the ITIL framework. The results show that the firms with a higher use of change management practices achieved higher levels of ITIL compliance. Additionally, change practices related to change preparation were used more frequently and fewer practices related to the implementation and consolidation stages were reported. Originality/value – Few studies have examined change management practices in the context of ITIL implementation projects. This study also uses the levels of ITIL compliance as an outcome measure.