Analyzing the Influence of Governance Structure Determinants on the Success of Inter-organizational Information Sharing Initiatives

Inter-organizational information sharing has proven to be a complex phenomenon and scholars have already identified key challenges in previous studies. Among other variables, the existing literature points to the critical role of governance structures and their determinants as important success factors for inter-organizational information sharing (IIS) initiatives. Most of the current research is based on qualitative cases and there are very few quantitative empirical studies about this topic. Based on a national survey of government managers in two policy domains, this study systematically examines the role of several determinants of governance structures in the success of IIS initiatives. It examines the role of these determinants as a way to capture and to start understanding their effects. Our quantitative analysis suggests three variables, determinants of governance structures, as key predictors of IIS success: (1) knowledge of information needs (2) knowledge about participating organizations and (3) executive support and involvement.