IT Governance and Corporate Sustainability: Decision Frameworks for Digital Transformation Aligned with GRI Standards
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.19153/cleiej.29.4.5Keywords:
sustainable development, digital transformation, Decision-making, IT governance, Management frameworksAbstract
Digital transformation represents a fundamental opportunity for organizations to incorporate sustainability criteria into their strategic decisions. In this context, IT governance and management frameworks—such as COBIT, ITIL, CMMI, and Six Sigma—provide structures to guide technology projects aligned with economic, environmental, and social objectives. This article presents a Systematic Literature Review (SLR) that analyzed 61 primary studies selected from 126 initial records. The research work was based on the Kitchenham methodology and the PRISMA 2020 statement; to identify how these technological governance and management frameworks act as facilitators in the adoption of sustainability indicators under GRI Standards. The results reveal a clear association between cost reduction and increased productivity within the economic dimension; waste reduction reflects progress in the environmental dimension; and the improvement of quality and value delivered to stakeholders aligns with the social dimension. In conclusion, sustainability is not an abstract concept, but a measurable result of mature process management; which allows organizations to make informed strategic decisions and communicate their performance in a comprehensive manner.
References
Global Reporting Initiative, “GRI 1_Fundamentos.” GRI, 2020. [Online]. Available: https://www.globalreporting.org/pdf.ashx?id=12361
Organización de Naciones Unidas ONU, “Informe de Objetivos de Desarrollo Sostenible 2023,” 2024. [Online]. Available: https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/report/2023/The-Sustainable-Development-Goals-Report-2023_Spanish.pdf
Junta de Andalucia, “Indicadores de Sostenibilidad y Medio Ambiente,” España, 2006. [Online]. Available: https://www.juntadeandalucia.es/medioambiente/portal/web/rediam/indicadores-de-sostenibilidad-y-medioambiente
ISACA, “Marco de Referencia COBIT 2019, Introducción y Metodología.” ISACA, 2014. [Online]. Available: https://www.isaca.org/resources/it-governance-framework-isaca-cobit
R. Almeida, R. Lourinho, M. M. da Silva, and R. Pereira, “A model for assessing COBIT 5 and ISO 27001 simultaneously,” presented at the 2018 IEEE 20th Conference on Business Informatics (CBI), IEEE, 2018, pp 60–69. doi: 10.1109/CBI.2018.00018
ITIL Foundation, “ITIL 4.” 2014. [Online]. Available: https://www.axelos.com/certifications/itil-servicemanagement
R. Morales-Fernández, J. A. Brito-Rojas, and J. A. V. Marcial, “CAPABILITY MATURITY MODEL INTEGRATION (CMMI),” vol. 2, 2014, doi: 10.1201/9781420052848.ch3.
J. Antony, “Readiness factors for the Lean Six Sigma journey in the higher education sector,” Int. J. Product. Perform. Manag., vol. 63, no. 2, pp. 257–264, 2014. doi: 10.1108/IJPPM-01-2013-0006
S. Arcos, H. Roa, and S. Alvaro, “Global Implementation of IT Governance and Management Frameworks:
Success Cases, Challenges, and Key Factors,” In Proc. Conferencia Latinoamericana de Informática (CLEI
, p. In press, 2025.
R. Hernández, “Metodología de la Investigación,” Primera edición., México: McGraw Hill Education, 2014.[ Online]. Available: https://www.uca.ac.cr/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Investigacion.pdf
Kitchenham Barbara, “Guidelines for performing Systematic Literature Reviews in Software Engineering,” Department of Computer Science University of Durham, UK, EBSE Technical Report EBSE-2007-01, Jul. 2007. [Online]. Available: https://www.elsevier.com/__data/promis_misc/525444systematicreviewsguide.pdf
FAIR Institute, “FAIR, Análisis de Factores de Riesgo de Información,” Washington, DC, USA, 2024. [Online]. Available: https://www.fairinstitute.org/what-is-fair
Cohn M, Agile Estimating and Planning. Prentice Hall, 2006. [Online]. Available: https://spawnqueue.acm.org/doi/10.1145/1142031.1142049
M. J. Page, J. E. McKenzie, P. M. Bossuyt, I. Boutron, T. C. Hoffmann, C. D. Mulrow, L. Shamseer, J. M. Tetzlaff, E. Akl, S. E. Brennan, R. Chou, J. Glanville, J. M. Grimshaw, A. Hróbjartsson, A. Lalu, T. Li, E. W. Loder, E. Mayo-Wilson, S. McDonald, L. A. McGuinness, L. A. Stewart, J. Thomas, A. C. Tricco, A. C. Welch, P. Whiting, and J. E. Moher, "The PRISMA 2020 statement: an updated guideline for reporting systematic reviews," BMJ, vol. 372, p. n71, Mar. 2021.
A. Brun, “Critical success factors of Six Sigma implementations in Italian companies,” Int. J. Prod. Econ., vol. 131, no. 1, pp. 158–164, 2011.
L. G. Gutiérrez, O. F. Bustinza, and V. B. Molina, “Six sigma, absorptive capacity and organisational learning orientation,” Int. J. Prod. Res., vol. 50, no. 3, pp. 661–675, 2012. doi: 10.1080/00207543.2011.564667
C. A. Escobar, D. Macias, M. McGovern, M. Hernandez-de-Menendez, and R. Morales-Menendez, “Quality 4.0–an evolution of Six Sigma DMAIC,” Int. J. Lean Six Sigma, vol. 13, no. 6, pp. 1200–1238, 2022. doi: 10.1108/IJLSS-11-2020-0205
H. M. Alfaraj and S. Qin, “Operationalising CMMI: integrating CMMI and CoBIT perspective,” J. Eng. Des. Technol., vol. 9, no. 3, pp. 323–335, 2011. doi: 10.1108/17260531111175057
A. Cherrafi, S. Elfezazi, K. Govindan, J. A. Garza-Reyes, K. Benhida, and A. Mokhlis, “A framework for the integration of Green and Lean Six Sigma for superior sustainability performance,” Int. J. Prod. Res., vol. 55, no. 15, pp. 4481–4515, 2017. doi: 10.1080/00207543.2016.1266018
J. J. S. Peña, E. F. Vicente, and A. M. Ocaña, “ITIL, COBIT and EFQM: can they work together?,” Int. J.
Comb. Optim. Probl. Inform., vol. 4, no. 1, pp. 54–64, 2013. [Online]. Available:
http://ijcopi.org/ojs/index.php/ijcopi/article/view/72
R. Rohini and J. Mallikarjun, “Six Sigma: improving the quality of operation theatre,” Procedia-Soc. Behav. Sci., vol. 25, pp. 273–280, 2011. doi: 10.1016/j.sbspro.2011.10.547
A. Lahtela, M. Jäntti, and J. Kaukola, “Implementing an ITIL-based IT service management measurement system,” presented at the 2010 Fourth International Conference on Digital Society, IEEE, 2010, pp. 249–254. doi: 10.1109/ICDS.2010.49
A. A. Pantigozo, H. V. Huerta, E. O. T. Jiménez, K. V. R. Zevallos, and R. M. Solis, “Impacto Del Modelo De Madurez En La Sostenibilidad De La Gestión De Proyectos Impact Of The Maturity Model On The Sustainability Of Project Management,” vol. 12, no. 02, 2021, [Online]. Available: https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12952/3745
A. Chakraborty and T. K. Chuan, “An empirical analysis on Six Sigma implementation in service organisations,” Int. J. Lean Six Sigma, vol. 4, no. 2, pp. 141–170, 2013. doi: 10.1108/20401461311319329
K. Youssfi, J. Boutahar, and S. Elghazi, “A Tool Design of Cobit Roadmap Implementation,” Int. J. Adv. Comput. Sci. Appl., vol. 5, no. 7, 2014. doi: 10.14569/IJACSA.2014.050720
D. N. L. Armendáriz, “Modelo de gestión de los servicios de tecnología de información basado en COBIT, ITIL e ISO/IEC 27000,” Universidad de las Fuerzas Armadas ESPE, Sangolquí, Ecuador, 2020. [Online]. Available: http://repositorio.espe.edu.ec/handle/21000/22093
G. Manville, R. Greatbanks, R. Krishnasamy, and D. W. Parker, “Critical success factors for Lean Six Sigma programmes: a view from middle management,” Int. J. Qual. Reliab. Manag., vol. 29, no. 1, pp. 7–20, 2012. doi: 10.1108/02656711211190855
R. Yandri, D. N. Utama, and A. Zahra, “Evaluation model for the implementation of information technology service management using fuzzy ITIL,” Procedia Comput. Sci., vol. 157, pp. 290–297, 2019. doi:10.1016/j.procs.2019.08.169
A. N. Abdel-Hamid and A. E. Hamouda, “Lean CMMI: An iterative and incremental approach to CMMIbased process mprovement,” presented at the 2015 Agile Conference, IEEE, 2015, pp. 65–70. doi:
1109/Agile.2015.17
M. Talla, “An Implementation of ITIL Guidelines for IT Support Process in a Service Organization,” Int. J. Inf. Electron. Eng., 2013, doi: 10.7763/IJIEE.2013.V3.329.
M. Rubino and F. Vitolla, “Internal control over financial reporting: opportunities using the COBIT framework,” Manag. Audit. J., vol. 29, no. 8, pp. 736–771, 2014. doi: 10.1108/MAJ-03-2014-1016
L. Al Omari, P. Barnes, and G. Pitman, “Optimising COBIT 5 for IT governance: examples from the public sector,” presented at the Proceedings of the ATISR 2012: 2nd International Conference on Applied and Theoretical Information Systems Research, Academy of Taiwan Information Systems Research (ATISR),
, pp. 1–13. [Online]. Available: https://eprints.qut.edu.au/53544/
M. C. Machado, F. Hourneaux, and F. A. Sobral, “Sustainability in Information Technology: An analysis of the aspects considered in the model Cobit,” JISTEM-J. Inf. Syst. Technol. Manag., vol. 14, pp. 88–110, 2017. doi: 10.4301/S1807-17752017000100005
J. F. Andry and H. Hartono, “Performance Measurement of IT Based on COBIT Assessment: A Case Study,” J. Sist. Inf. Indones., vol. 2, no. 1, 2017. doi: 10.29003/jsii.v2i1.77
R. K. Padhy and S. Sahu, “A Real Option based Six Sigma project evaluation and selection model,” Int. J. Proj. Manag., vol. 29, no. 8, pp. 1091–1102, 2011. doi: 10.1016/j.ijproman.2011.02.006
R. Yanamandra and H. M. Alzoubi, “Empirical investigation of mediating role of six sigma approach in rationalizing the COQ in service organizations,” Oper. Supply Chain Manag. Int. J., vol. 15, no. 1, pp. 122–135, 2022. doi: 10.31387/oscm0480332
S. Karthi, S. Devadasan, and R. Murugesh, “Integration of Lean Six?Sigma with ISO 9001: 2008 standard,” Int. J. Lean Six Sigma, vol. 2, no. 4, pp. 309–331, 2011. doi: 10.1108/20401461111183724
M. Zhang, W. Wang, T. N. Goh, and Z. He, “Comprehensive Six Sigma application: a case study,” Prod. Plan. Control, vol. 26, no. 3, pp. 219–234, 2015. doi: 10.1080/09537287.2014.891058
T. R. Eikebrokk and J. Iden, “Strategising IT service management through ITIL implementation: model and empirical test,” Total Qual. Manag. Bus. Excell., vol. 28, no. 3–4, pp. 238–265, 2017. doi:10.1080/14783363.2015.1075873
D. Proença and J. Borbinha, “Formalizing ISO/IEC 15504-5 and SEI CMMI v1. 3–Enabling automatic inference of maturity and capability levels,” Comput. Stand. Interfaces, vol. 60, pp. 13–25, 2018. doi:10.1016/j.csi.2018.04.004
A. Ansari, D. Lockwood, E. Thies, B. Modarress, and J. Nino, “Application of Six-Sigma in finance: a case study,” J. Case Res. Bus. Econ., vol. 3, p. 1, 2011. [Online]. Available:https://www.aabri.com/manuscripts/10636.pdf
Q. A. Al-Fatlawi, D. S. Al Farttoosi, and A. H. Almagtome, “Accounting information security and it governance under cobit 5 framework: A case study,” Webology, vol. 18, no. Special Issue on Information Retrieval and Web Search, pp. 294–310, 2021. [Online]. Available: https://www.webology.org/abstract.php?id=1033
O. M. Bañuelos, A. A. Ponce, E. M. Calleros, A. S. Cárdenas, and H. M. M. Zacarías, “Análisis de la transformación digital como estrategia en la entrega de valor a las organizaciones bajo ámbitos clusterizados Analysis of digital transformation as a strategy in the delivery of value to organizations under clustered areas,” 2022, doi: 10.32671/terc.v9i1.234.
M. M. AlShamy, E. Elfakharany, and M. A. ElAziem, “Information technology service management (ITSM) implementation methodology based on information technology infrastructure library ver. 3 (ITIL V3),” Int. J. Bus. Res. Manag. IJBRM, vol. 3, no. 3, pp. 113–132, 2012. [Online]. Available: https://www.cscjournals.org/library/manuscriptinfo.php?mc=IJBRM-165
Universidad Fidélitas and F. I. Hidalgo-Arguedas, “Propuesta de alternativas de solución para la
transformación digital y estructuración de una mesa de servicio según ITIL para la empresa Adventure Pals,
S.A.,” Rev. Fidél., vol. 6, no. 2, Jul. 2025, doi: 10.46450/revistafidelitas.v6i2.127.
A. Pasquini and E. Galiè, “COBIT 5 and the Process Capability Model. Improvements Provided for IT
Governance Process,” Proc. FIKUSZ, vol. 13, pp. 67–76, 2013. [Online]. Available: https://kgk.uniobuda.hu/sites/default/files/06_Pasquini_Galie.pdf
K. Prabu, J. Makesh, K. N. Raj, S. Devadasan, and R. Murugesh, “Six Sigma implementation through DMAIC: a case study,” Int. J. Process Manag. Benchmarking, vol. 3, no. 3, pp. 386–400, 2013. doi: 10.1504/IJPMB.2013.057726
V. Serrano, A. Tereso, P. Ribeiro, and M. Brito, “Standardization of processes applying CMMI best practices,” presented at the Advances in Information Systems and Technologies, Springer, 2013, pp. 455–467. doi: 10.1007/978-3-642-36981-0_42
J. De Mast, B. A. Lameijer, K. Linderman, and A. Van de Ven, “Exploring the process of management system implementation: a case of Six Sigma,” Int. J. Oper. Prod. Manag., vol. 42, no. 13, pp. 1–24, 2022. doi: 10.1108/IJOPM-01-2022-0056
K. D. Prasad, K. V. Subbaiah, and G. Padmavathi, “Application of Six Sigma methodology in an engineering educational institution,” Int. J. Emerg. Sci., vol. 2, no. 2, pp. 210–221, 2012. [Online]. Available: ttps://www.researchgate.net/publication/267381283
S. Fernandez, M. Imanullah, M. Y. Fathoni, and P. Pahrizal, “Utilization of the COBIT 2019 framework to identify the level of governance in internet services,” J. Infotel, vol. 14, no. 3, pp. 188–195, 2022, doi: 10.20895/infotel.v14i3.791.
Y. Bartens, S. De Haes, Y. Lamoen, F. Schulte, and S. Voss, “On the way to a minimum baseline in IT governance: Using expert views for selective implementation of COBIT 5,” presented at the 2015 48th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences, IEEE, 2015, pp. 4554–4563. doi: 10.1109/HICSS.2015.543
A. Gerl, M. von der Heyde, R. Groß, R. Seck, and L. Watkowski, “Applying cobit 2019 to it governance in higher education,” Inform. 2020, 2021. doi: 10.18420/inf2020_118
M. Marrone, F. Gacenga, A. Cater-Steel, and L. Kolbe, “IT service management: A cross-national study of ITIL adoption,” Commun. Assoc. Inf. Syst., vol. 34, no. 1, p. 49, 2014. doi: 10.17705/1CAIS.03449
R. Sheikhpour and N. Modiri, “An approach to map COBIT processes to ISO/IEC 27001 information security management controls,” Int. J. Secur. Its Appl., vol. 6, no. 2, pp. 13–28, 2012. [Online]. Available:
https://gvpress.com/journals/IJSIA/vol6_no2/2.pdf
N. Ahmad, N. Tarek Amer, F. Qutaifan, and A. Alhilali, “Technology adoption model and a road map to successful implementation of ITIL,” J. Enterp. Inf. Manag., vol. 26, no. 5, pp. 553–576, 2013. doi: 10.1108/JEIM-10-2012-0074
T. Goh, “Six triumphs and six tragedies of Six Sigma,” Qual. Eng., vol. 22, no. 4, pp. 299–305, 2010. doi:
1080/08982112.2010.495096
W. Gunawan, E. P. Kalensun, and A. N. Fajar, “Applying COBIT 5 in higher education,” presented at the IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering, IOP Publishing, 2018, p. 012108. doi: 10.1088/1757-899X/420/1/012108
A. Mutiara, E. Prasetyo, and C. Widya, “Analyzing cobit 5 it audit framework implementation using ahp methodology,” JOIV Int. J. Inform. Vis., vol. 1, no. 2, pp. 33–39, 2017. doi: 10.30630/joiv.1.2.22
A. Hoerbst, W. O. Hackl, R. Blomer, and E. Ammenwerth, “The status of IT service management in health care-ITIL® in selected European countries,” BMC Med. Inform. Decis. Mak., vol. 11, pp. 1–12, 2011. doi: 10.1186/1472-6947-11-76
G. A. T. Krisanthi, I. M. Sukarsa, and I. P. A. Bayupati, “Governance audit of application procurement using COBIT framework,” J. Theor. Appl. Inf. Technol., vol. 59, no. 2, pp. 342–351, 2014. [Online]. Available: http://www.jatit.org/volumes/Vol59No2/13Vol59No2.pdf
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Suyana Arcos Villagómez, Gabriela Fernández Orozco
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
CLEIej is supported by its home institution, CLEI, and by the contribution of the Latin American and international researchers community, and it does not apply any author charges whatsoever for submitting and publishing. Since its creation in 1998, all contents are made publicly accesibly. The current license being applied is a (CC)-BY license (effective October 2015; between 2011 and 2015 a (CC)-BY-NC license was used).
