Benefits of Adopting Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL):Gap Analysis of State of Academic Research and Practitioner Needs

Information Technology Service Management (ITSM) is service management discipline that has grown rapidly over the past 3 decades. Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) is a reference framework of best practices for ITSM. Organizations have invested millions of dollars and continue to do so, in adopting these best practices. There are very few academic studies on benefits realization from adopting ITIL, specifically on return on investments (ROI), a fact acknowledged by some ITIL researchers. Chief Information Officers and other decision makers often make ITIL investment decisions in faith and hope of returns. Many of the published academic research are based on sampling anecdotal survey responses from ITIL proponents, who could presumably overstate ITIL benefits. This paper is a critical analysis of the state of research on ITIL benefits. The paper identifies key decision situations for a practitioner in ITIL journey and evaluates insights/findings of existing research to help such decisions. Paper identifies gaps between research and needs of practitioners. The paper also offers justification for more research on ITIL benefits and lists specific research areas for the same.