Reaping the benefits: How corporate governance enhances ICT governance in the South African public sector – Insights for developing nations

Corporate governance structures are progressively acknowledged as fundamental facilitators of ICT governance within the public sector. However, within the context of developing nations, the operationalisation of governance principles into tangible ICT outcomes frequently remains an area warranting further scholarly inquiry. This article examines the practical advantages afforded by corporate governance mechanisms as applied within South African governmental ICT settings, drawing upon qualitative data derived from 55 comprehensive interviews conducted with Government Information Technology Officers (GITOs). Through the application of thematic analysis, four interconnected domains of benefit were identified: heightened regulatory adherence, enhanced transparency and accountability, optimised information system efficiency, and improved project accomplishment rates. Whilst established governance frameworks, such as COBIT and King IV, are demonstrably institutionalised, their efficacy is primarily evinced through their capacity to foster ethical stewardship, facilitate systematic strategic planning, and ensure coherence across diverse ICT functions. This investigation contributes to the extant literature by furnishing an empirically substantiated, practitioner-informed exposition of governance enactment within intricate administrative ecosystems. The resultant findings possess considerable practical utility for public sector organisations endeavouring to harness governance as a catalyst for digital transformation, particularly within the resource-constrained environments characteristic of many developing economies.

1. Ajam T., Fourie D.J. (2016). Public financial management reform in South African provincial basic education departments. Public Administration and Development, 36(4): 263-282. DOI: 10.1002/pad.1776.

2. Ako-Nai S.A. (2021). IT governance within corporate governance. Advances in Electronic Government, Digital Divide, and Regional Development: 172-211. DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-2983-6.ch007.

3. Azmi R., Tibben W., Win K.T. (2018). Review of cybersecurity frameworks: Context and shared concepts. Journal of Cyber Policy, 3(2): 258-283. DOI: 10.1080/23738871.(2018).1520271.

4. Bakare N.O.A., Ajani N.O.B. (2023). Corporate governance and legal compliance in Africa: A multi-stakeholder framework for transparency and accountability. Magna Scientia Advanced Research and Reviews, 8(1): 195-202. DOI: 10.30574/msarr.(2023).8.1.0061.

5. Bakare N.O.A., Aziza N.O.R., Uzougbo N.N.S., Oduro N.P. (2024). A governance and risk management framework for project management in the oil and gas industry. Open Access Research Journal of Science and Technology, 12(1): 121-130. DOI: 10.53022/oarjst.(2024).12.1.0119.

6. Bhuiyan M.B.U., Cheema M.A., Man Y. (2020). Risk committee, corporate risk-taking and firm value. Managerial Finance, 47(3): 285-309. DOI: 10.1108/mf-07-(2019)-0322.

7. Bogus A., Baiesu M. (2022). Corporate governance benefits for the public sector. Economica, 2(120): 7-20. DOI: 10.53486/econ.(2022).120.007.

8. Braun V., Clarke V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2): 77-101. DOI: 10.1191/1478088706qp063oa.

9. Chau D.C.K., Ngai E.W.T., Gerow J.E., Thatcher J.B. (2020). The effects of business-IT strategic alignment and IT governance on firm performance: A moderated polynomial regression analysis. MIS Quarterly, 44(4): 1679-1703. DOI: 10.25300/misq/(2020)/12165.

10. Couchoux O. (2023). Navigating knowledge and ignorance in the boardroom: A study of audit committee members’ oversight styles. Contemporary Accounting Research, 41(1): 459-497. DOI: 10.1111/1911-3846.12890.

11. Curtis S. (2019). Digital transformation - The silver bullet to public service improvement? Public Money & Management, 39(5): 322-324. DOI: 10.1080/09540962.(2019).1611233.

12. Erasmus W., Marnewick C. (2020). An IT governance framework for IS portfolio management. International Journal of Managing Projects in Business, 14(3): 721-742. DOI: 10.1108/ijmpb-04-(2020)-0110.

13. Ernstberger J., Pellens B., Schmidt A., Sellhorn T., Weiß K. (2024). Audit committee chairs’ objectives and risk perceptions: Implications for audit quality. SSRN Electronic Journal. DOI: 10.2139/ssrn.4695287.

14. Ferguson C.S. (2019). Assessing the KING IV Corporate Governance Report in relation to business continuity and resilience. Journal of Business Continuity & Emergency Planning, 13(2): 174-185. DOI: 10.69554/SWVZ5719.

15. Ferrer P.S.S., Galvão G.D.A., De Carvalho M.M. (2020). The missing link in project governance. Project Management Journal, 52(1): 45-60. DOI: 10.1177/8756972820941649.

16. Folorunso N.A., Mohammed N.V., Wada N.I., Samuel N.B. (2024). The impact of ISO security standards. World Journal of Advanced Research and Reviews, 24(1): 2582-2595. DOI: 10.30574/wjarr.(2024).24.1.3169.

17. Gamlath G.R.M., Nanthagopan Y., Williams N.L., Kengatharan L. (2024). Optimizing organisational value. Sri Lanka Journal of Social Sciences, 46(2): 145-158. DOI: 10.4038/sljss.v46i02.8771

18. Halik H., Suhendrayatna S., Yurni I., Halimah H. (2020). Effect of administrative principles on effectiveness. BIRCI-Journal, 3(1): 255-261. DOI: 10.33258/birci.v3i1.714.

19. Hartatik E.N., Sitio V.S.S., Prayoga D., Rusliandy (2021). The relationship between best practices of human resource management and the operational effectiveness of MSMEs. Webology, 18(2): 675-686. DOI: 10.14704/WEB/V18I2/WEB18346.

20. Human C.J. (2023). Governance structures: Enabling social entrepreneurial organizations in South Africa to operate sustainably. International Journal of Management Research and Economics, 3(1). DOI: 10.51483/ijmre.3.1.(2023).1-17.

21. Huygh T., Steuperaert D., De Haes S., Joshi A. (2022). The role of compliance requirements in IT governance implementation: An empirical study based on COBIT (2019). In: Proceedings of the Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences. DOI: 10.24251/hicss.(2022).806.

22. Jonathan E.C., Mafini C., Bhadury J. (2019). Supply chain risk mitigation in South Africa: A case study of Eskom. Benchmarking: An International Journal, 27(3): 1105-1125. DOI: 10.1108/bij-06-(2019)-0261.

23. Khumalo M., Mazenda A. (2021). Corporate governance implementation in SOEs. Journal of Governance and Regulation, 10(4): 59-69. DOI: 10.22495/jgrv10i4art5.

24. Lankton N., Price J.B., Karim M. (2020). Cybersecurity breaches and IT governance. Journal of Information Systems, 35(1): 101-119. DOI: 10.2308/isys-18-071.

25. Latchu A. (2022). Exploration of corporate governance challenges in public sector information systems: An Auditor General perspective. Deleted Journal, 18(1): 465-473. DOI: 10.34190/ecmlg.18.1.828.

26. Mathase E., Phahlane D., Muganda N. (2019). Review of IT governance frameworks implementation in the context of the South African public sector. In: Proceedings of the IEEE Open Innovations Conference (OI): 351-355. DOI: 10.1109/OI.(2019).8908178.

27. Ndzendze B. (2024). Special issue - Digitalisation and governance, legislative oversight, and service delivery in Africa. Digital Policy Studies, 3(1): i-iii. DOI: 10.36615/ys88qk94.

28. Pangaribuan A.A. (2019). The challenges of e-government implementation in developing countries. Journal of Public Administration Studies, 4(1). jpas.ub.ac.id/index.php/jpas/article/view/5.

29. Poniatowicz M., Dziemianowicz R., Kargol-Wasiluk A. (2020). Good governance and institutional quality of public sector: Theoretical and empirical implications. European Research Studies Journal, 23(2): 529-556. DOI: 10.35808/ersj/1608.

30. Ranzatti M.A., Rosini A.M., Da Silva O.R., Palmisano A., Guevara A.J.H. (2019). A quantitative perspective of the implementation of best practices on ITIL: Information technology infrastructure library in a Brazilian public company under people and processes overview. Journal on Innovation and Sustainability RISUS, 10(1): 13-11. DOI: 10.24212/2179-3565.(2019)v10i1p3-11.

31. Santos Castellanos W. (2021). Impact of IT governance on Business-IT alignment. Cuadernos de Gestión: 83-96. DOI: 10.5295/cdg.180995ws.

32. Schillemans T., Bovens M. (2019). Governance, accountability and public sector boards. Policy & Politics, 47(1): 187-206. DOI: 10.1332/030557318x15296526490810.

33. Smith R., Marx B. (2022). Corporate governance practices in auditing firms. International Journal of Management and Sustainability, 11(4): 202-220. DOI: 10.18488/11.v11i4.3209.

34. Suresh N.M.N., Varalakshmi N.D.T., Chand N.M.S. (2024). IT governance framework ensuring effective management and compliance. Deleted Journal, 2(5): 1627-1632. DOI: 10.47392/irjaem.(2024).0227.

35. Valencia P.L.V. (2023). Establishment of a centralized policy framework for IT/IS governance based on a PDCA method. In: (2021) IEEE 13th International Conference on Humanoid, Nanotechnology, Information Technology, Communication and Control, Environment, and Management (HNICEM): 1-6. DOI: 10.1109/hnicem60674.(2023).10589150.

36. Viana L.B.F. (2025). Redefining collaborative governance in the digital age: Insights from an integrative systematic review on the role of ICT in collaboration. Technium Social Sciences Journal, 67: 303-325. DOI: 10.47577/tssj.v67i1.12358.

37. Walt V.T., Von Solms S.H., Coetsee D.W.A. (2014). The institutionalisation of political and corporate governance of information and communication technology in the public service of South Africa. In: IST-Africa Conference Proceedings. DOI: 10.1109/istafrica.(2014).6880596.