On the Nature of Effective CIO/CEO Communication: Evidence from an Interview Study

Abstract

Effective communication between the chief information officer (CIO) and chief executive officer (CEO) is important for both executives to achieve a shared understanding of the role of information technology (IT) in an organization. Such a shared CIO/CEO understanding is critical because it positively affects organizational IT success. Despite this importance of an effective communication, only a few studies have examined how CIOs and CEOs can achieve effectiveness in their interactions. These studies, if empirical at all, derived their results almost exclusively from survey data. We conducted personal interviews with CIO/CEO pairs from twelve organizations to examine how CIOs and CEOs can achieve effectiveness in their communication, including insights into antecedents and consequences of communication effectiveness. Based on the interview data, we developed a CIO/CEO communication model with which CIOs and CEOs can gain new in-sights into the effectiveness of their interactions, likely resulting in higher levels of shared understanding regarding the role of IT in their organization.