How IT Governance Practices Contribute to Inter-Municipal ICT Cooperation and Its Benefits: Indeed, “The Emperor Has No Clothes”

ICT is significant for municipal' services. Yet, they are usually operated with limited resources, which motivates cooperation. We investigated, how ICT cooperation was governed in 20 Finnish regions. As the theoretical basis, we reviewed TCE, RBV, IT governance practice and Granovetter's social network theories. The theory basis was used to identify theory-proposed cooperation benefits and to link these benefits to IT governance practices. We then compared theory-proposed benefits and practices to those detected in the 20 regions. Our findings revealed differences in ICT cooperation, in the gaining of benefits, and in the use of IT governance practices. The lack of social ties helped to understand differences. Our findings indicate that the emperor will not enjoy new clothes – ICT cooperation benefits – unless ICT cooperation is systematically organized for governance. We contribute to research by augmenting the theory base of IT governance research, by extending IT governance research to inter-organizational contexts and by showing how this theory base can be used empirically.