Explaining IT Governance Disclosure through the Constructs of IT Governance Maturity and IT Strategic Role

This study investigates the relation between the maturity of IT governance processes and the IT governance disclosure of firms. Furthermore, it examines whether the strategic role of IT in an industry induces systematic variation in IT governance disclosure. Based on a content analysis of annual reports and a field survey on the maturity of the implementation of COBIT processes, the results demonstrate a role of IT governance frameworks in stimulating accountability and transparency via enhanced external reporting of relevant IT information to external stakeholders, in particular in settings where the strategic role of IT is high.