From X Programming to the X Organisation (PDF) by Enrico Zaninotto, an economist in the field of industrial organisation. This talk was presented at the 3rd International Conference on Extreme Programming, May 26-29 2002, Alghero Italy. He talks about the parallels in organization and measurement of effectiveness between software development and industrial manufacturing.
McKinsey Quarterly article on IT costs from the Business point of view (via CNet).
Peter Clark's article on visibility and leverage, at Sticky Minds. To my mind, the important take-away is not the need to create stronger contracts, but the need to maintain real visibility. Progress along a planned schedule is insufficient.
See also: SoftwareThatDeliversBusinessValue