Implementering af ITIL® IT-governance: Når best practice konflikter med kulturen. Løsning af implementeringsproblemer gennem anvendelse af kendte CSF i et aktionsforskningsforløb

The IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL) is often referred to as an IT governance best practice framework but apparently, it is difficult to implement ITIL. ”Many organizations that decide to implement ITIL fail completely [...]” (Pereira and da Silva 2010). This constitutes, in my opinion, an important IS research problem.
According to the ITIL literature, Critical Success Factors (CSF) has been recommended as an approach to solve the ITIL implementation problem. Based on an identified literature gap, it was examined whether CSF in the literature could mitigate this problem. In order to understand the fundamental nature of the problem, it was decided to study the implementation problem in an action research project using known CSF.
An adequate case organization was found and it was decided to focus on the specific ITIL ‘Change Management’ process. In this organization, increasing pressure for compliance from the auditors had led to a demand for successful ITIL-implementation, and the IT management was committed to solve this problem ‘once and for all’. Early results were positive and guidelines for improved operationalization of CSF could be presented. However, later in the action research process, problems started to appear. It became clear that even the best possible CSF did not solve the problem.
A wider literature search revealed that organizational culture could be an explaining factor and a related gap in the literature was identified. Accordingly, this possible relationship, between organizational culture and the ITIL implementation problem, was investigated in the second part of the action research project. The results show that the cultural barriers, at least partly, explains the implementation problem. Subsequently guidelines, for cultural diagnosis and change, could be presented.
The ITIL implementation was only partly successful, but the action research did contribute to the case organisation through the establishment of a suite of sustainable routines, still in use years later. They deviate from what is considered ITIL best practice, but they provided substantial IT governance benefits and the auditors were satisfied. Employees as well as management also expressed their satisfaction. On this basis, alternative guidelines are presented for organizations that pursue IT governance benefits
without changing a conflicting culture.
These results contribute to an improved ITIL CSF-theory, and to the ITIL framework in general, by incorporating cultural theory for better ITIL implementation and improved ITSM and IT governance.