134 Int. J. Business Information Systems, Vol. 5, No. 2, 2010
Copyright © 2010 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.
Does IT governance matter in e-HRM?
Miguel R. Olivas-Luján*
Administrative Sciences Department
College of Business Administration
Clarion University of Pennsylvania & Tecnológico de Monterrey
840 Wood St., Clarion, PA 16214, USA
E-mail: molivas@clarion.edu
*Corresponding author
Gary W. Florkowski
Katz Graduate School of Business
University of Pittsburgh
278c Mervis Hall, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA
E-mail: gwf@katz.pitt.edu
Abstract: Information Technology (IT) governance is the responsibility for
systematically making decisions that will impact the use of IT in a firm. It has
been touted as “the single most important predictor of the value an organization
generates from IT” (Weill and Ross, 2004, pp.3–4). In this paper, we present
the results of a survey-based study of US and Canadian firms that utilise IT for
electronic Human Resource Management (e-HRM) purposes. To investigate
whether the mode of HR-IT governance matters in terms of the intensity of
usage of HR technologies, we used the Diffusion of Innovations (DOI) theory
in a moderated mediation functional form (James and Brett, 1984). We find that
the way an organisation assigns responsibility for decision making for HR
Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) makes a difference in
terms of the user (HR) and technical (Information Systems or IS) department
factors that are statistically related to the intensity of HR technology usage.
Keywords: electronic human resource management; e-HRM; IT governance;
HR technologies; Canada; USA; HR technology intensity.
Reference to this paper should be made as follows: Olivas-Luján, M.R. and
Florkowski, G.W. (2010) ‘Does IT governance matter in e-HRM?’, Int. J.
Business Information Systems, Vol. 5, No. 2, pp.134–147.
Biographical notes: Miguel R. Olivas-Luján (PhD, University of Pittsburgh) is
a Professor of Management at Clarion University of Pennsylvania (USA) and
a Research Faculty member at Tecnológico de Monterrey (México). His
award-winning research deals with information technologies, human resources,
Hispanic business, evidence-based management, gender, business ethics and
culture. A member of Mexico’s National Researchers System, he serves
in several Editorial Boards, as well as expert groups like the Society for
Human Resource Management’s (SHRM) Global Expertise Panel. His
co-authored book, Successful Professional Women of the Americas (Elgar,
2006), earned perfect marks from the Brazilian Education Ministry’s Comitê
de Administração, Contabilidade e Turismo and was classified as Highly