Structural power imbalances in global organisations: analysing IT governance from a postcolonial perspective

Figures & data

Table 1. Manifestations of ITG structure.

ITG manifestations	Definition
Relational Mechanisms	The exchange between IT and business, dialogues, shared knowledge, and communication (Haes & van Grembergen, 2005; Weill & Ross, 2010)
Formal Processes	IT’s alignment with organisational policies through the definition of formal processes such as IT investments and evaluation (van Grembergen, 2004; Weill & Ross, 2010)
Structural Arrangements	Defined roles and responsibilities concerning ITG, manifested in the degree of decision-making centralisation van (Grembergen, 2004; Weill & Ross, 2010)

Table 2. Studies using PCT in core is journals.

Source	Titel	Focus and gap regarding our research question
Lin et al. (2015)	Extending ICT4D Studies: The Value of Critical Research	Ethnographic study and critical reflection using a PCT perspective on a single ICT4D project intended to improve the education and social welfare of the aboriginal people in Taiwan. Does not cover organisational structures in their postcolonial perspective.
Ravishankar et al. (2013)	Information technology offshoring in India: A postcolonial perspective	Explores the experiences and responses of an Indian vendor organisation to asymmetries of power in an international business context using postcolonial theory concepts as a theory lens. No specific focus on ITG.
King & Torkzadeh (2008)	Information technology offshoring: Research status and issues	Assessment of 43 papers dealing with IT offshoring – theoretical lenses identified include postcolonial theory. No detailed study of mechanisms and effects due to the meta-level of the publication.
Chughtai et al. (2020)	Demarginalizing interdisciplinarity in IS research: inter-disciplinary research in marginalization	Reports from a workshop that explored how interdisciplinary collaboration can help study the use and shaping of digital technologies by marginalised Indigenous communities on a general level. No focus on IT decision mechanisms but on research methods.
Myers et al. (2020)	Studying the other or becoming the other: Engaging with indigenous peoples in IS research	Reports from a panel discussion that explored the ethics and politics of the engagement with Indigenous peoples in information systems (IS) research. No focus on IT decision mechanisms but on research ethics.
Kane et al. (2021)	Avoiding an oppressive future of machine learn-ing: A design theory for emancipatory assistants	Uses emancipatory pedagogy developed to overcome postcolonial structures in Brazil to develop four design principles for emancipatory assistants. No focus on ITG but on machine learning and related oppressive futures.
Myers & Klein (2011)	A set of principles for conducting critical research in information systems	Proposes a set of six principles for conducting critical research, including using postcolonial theory in information systems based on the three main critical research streams by Bourdieu, Foucault and Habermas. No focus on IT decision mechanisms but on critical research in general.
Ortiz et al. (2019)	Giving voice to the voiceless: The use of digital technologies by marginalised groups	Reports on a workshop that explored cyberactivism and research methods for examining how marginalised groups use digital technologies. Marginalisation is hereby theoretically rooted in postcolonialism. No focus on IT decision mechanisms but on research methods.
Romano et al. (2023)	Indigenising the IT Curriculum by Design	Case study on how to indigenise the syllabus of an Information Technology (IT) unit as a part of a university-wide project at an Australian university in answer to postcolonial structures. No focus on ITG but on IT/IS curricula.

Table 3. Core concepts of PCT relevant to this research effort.

Aspect	Definition	Example from PCT	Example from IS
Main-stream	Individuals at the centre of culture, knowledge, and civilisation have the most power and resources Ashcroft et al., (1998); McLeod, (2000); Said, (1978).	Said (1978) analysed how painters and writers shaped a specific narrative of the Orient.	Lin et al. (2009) examined how a non-aboriginal school principal and the media controlled the narrative of an ICT educational project deployed in an elementary school in an aboriginal village in Taiwan.
Subaltern	Individuals who are removed from all lines of social mobility or, in other words, outside of the mainstream at the margin of culture, power, and civilisation Ashcroft et al., (1998); Spivak, (2005).	In her famous essay “can the subaltern speak”, Spivak (1988) concentrated on the perspective of Indian women and how their perspectives were marginalised within historical narratives.	In a study on Indian call centre workers, Pal and Buzzanell (2013) examine the reactions of the subaltern to systematic power imbalances.
Pater-nalism	The mainstream assumes they have the right and obligation to assimilate (help) those at the margin, often without consultation with the subaltern Fanon, (1963).	In the Algerian political struggles, Fanon highlighted paternalism when oppressed communities needed to acknowledge the west’s sense of moral before the legitimacy of their struggle was recognised (Fanon, 2008; Slisli, 2012).	In the ICT project in Taiwan, Lin et al. (2015) found a strong paternalistic view that the aboriginal community needed connectivity to further their development.
Mimicry, Ambiva-lence and Hybridity	The subaltern can exhibit a range of reactions to the culture, values and beliefs of the mainstream, which range from imitating or mimicking them (mimicry), over having positive and negative reactions simultaneously (ambivalence), to the emergence of a mixed culture or third space (hybridity) Bhabha, (1984).	Bhabha (1984) outlined how the Indian people reacted with a range of behaviours to the oppression during the English colonial rule. With this perspective, he challenged the historical narrative of the Indian people as the passive subject of their colonial rulers.	Looking at technology offshoring in India, Ravishankar et al. (2013) examined the hybridity in work practices that emerged in a knowledge management project. They highlight the impressive resourcefulness and strategic capabilities of the subaltern.
De-voiced	The subaltern is devoiced by denying them an opportunity to be listened to (1988).	Spivak (1988) highlighted how, on the subject of the Indian widow burnings, only the Brahmans and the English colonialists spoke – nobody ever asked the widows.	In the abovementioned project, Lin et al. (2015) also found that the notion of “helping” the marginalised ignored the actual local needs, and voices raising reasoned criticism were deliberately not heard.

Table 4. Overview of interviewees, including organisational details.

#	Group	Country	Organisation cause	Job Title	Employees
1	Group 1: Representatives from local NGOs	Germany	Dance lessons for young people	Volunteer	7
2			Community work	Volunteer	10
3			Climate activism	Project manager	46
4			Community work and school	Senior manager	50
5			Charity	Administrative staff	51
6			Homeless care	Head of a local branch	70
7			Social care	IT representative	690
8			Peace movement	Head of IT	250
9	Group 2a: IT leads of international NGOs	US	Refugee/ Emergency relief	Head of IT	2,014
10		Ireland		Head of IT	3,900
11		US		Head of IT	5,000
12		Austria	Humanitarian/Development aid	Head of IT	39,000
13		Bolivia		Regional head of IT	10,000
14		Estonia Netherlands		Regional head of IT	10,000
15		US		Head of IT	37,000
16		Spain		ICT4D team lead	1,200
17		Ethiopia		Regional head of IT	100
18	Group 2b: Other managers involved in IT decisions of international NGOs	Austria		Head of Strategy	39,000
19		Ethiopia		Regional director	100
20		India		Country director	1,700
21		India		Regional strategy advisor	100
22		Sierra Leone		Country director	800
23		Nigeria		Country director	1,000
24		Germany	Wildlife preservation	Project manager	338,000
25		Malaysia US		Project Manager	7,000
26		Netherlands	Refugee relief	Specialist Programme Development and Support	1,000
27			N/A (interims manager)	Interims manager	N/A^2

Table 5. Observed ITG structures.

Element	Observed structures
Relational Mechanisms	While locally operating NGOs foster the participation of all stakeholders and appreciate their involvement, international NGOs use a more top-down approach, focusing on implementation mechanisms like organisational change management for decisions taken in the headquarters.
Formal Processes	Local NGOs run more participative processes, including field and operational staff such as regional managers in decision-making and requirements management. These are organised in network structures. International NGOs operate a more centralised relationship management, located mostly within the headquarters, only taking up local needs from an outside perspective.
Structural Arrangements	Local NGOs operate more decentral or hybrid ITG structures. Decision-making is divided between different authorities. In international NGOs, core IT and strategy are very centralised. Some have hybrid structures but only focus on project and programme levels.

Table 6. Updated influences on ITG structures.

Cate-gory	Original Description	Empirical Observation	Critical perspective	Updated Description
Organisational IT goals	(1) flexibility and innovation, (2) security, (3) standardisation, (4) efficiency or (5) IT synergy	NGOs pursue these organisational IT goals. The goals, in fact, influence the design of ITG mechanisms, processes, and structures. As an example, organisations that focus more on IT security have a more centralized ITG (I26).	Organisations should also pursue the goal of empowerment to avoid perpetuating colonial structures and to achieve higher degrees of social sustainability.	(1) flexibility and innovation, (2) security, (3) standardisation, (4) efficiency, (5) IT synergy or (6) empowerment
Internal context	(1) The overall organisational centralisation, reflected by decision-making rights, authorities and patterns of communication and collaboration, as well as the general organisational structure (2) The power of the IT function may influence the actual design of ITG, as a great power can lead to the IT department enforcing its own goals	Aspects of the internal context are influenced by prior colonial structures. As an example, organisations with headquarters situated in the global north also have central IT departments situated in the global north, where “the white person [coming] from Europe […] now explain[s] things” (I1).	Organisations need to acknowledge the way prior colonial structures might influence their internal context.	(1) The overall organisational centralisation, reflected by decision-making rights, authorities and patterns of communication and collaboration, as well as the general organisational structure. This general organisational structure and the corresponding degree of organisational centralisation might be influenced by post-colonialism. (2) The power of the IT function may influence the actual design of ITG, as a great power can lead to the IT department enforcing its own goals
External environment	(1) External (competitive) pressure forcing organisations to engage in increasing efficiency or standardisation (2) Mimetic pressure forcing organisations to adopt specific technologies/structures (3) Availability of external resources for actual users within the organisation, which would strengthen their power	NGOs are subject to external pressures to overcome post-colonial thinking and become more socially sustainable (e.g., Charity So White, (2022)		(1) External (competitive) pressure forcing organisations to engage in increasing efficiency or standardisation or to become more socially sustainable (2) Mimetic pressure forcing organisations to adopt specific technologies (3) Availability of external resources for actual users within the organisation, which would strengthen their power

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