When and why technology leadership enters the C-suite: An antecedents perspective on CIO presence

Abstract

Building on the concept of dynamic managerial capabilities, we set out to advance scholarly understanding of the antecedents of the presence of technology leadership in the form of the chief information officer (CIO) in the top management team. We derive a holistic framework from the literature of dynamic capabilities and introduce into that literature the concept of adaptation pressures. We suggest that external and internal dimensions that pertain to information technology, comprising an environmental, structural, and strategic dimension, intensify the pressure on a firm to adapt. The pressure to adapt increases the likelihood that the firm will add a CIO to its top management team. In turn, the presence of a CIO can direct a firm toward exploration as a way to relieve the adaptation pressure. Results from regression analyses of a longitudinal data set covering 503 large U.S. firms from 2006 to 2017 confirm our hypotheses. This study contributes to the literature of both information systems and strategy by clarifying the antecedents of technology leadership in the C-suite and explicating how environmental, structural, and strategic factors can act as such antecedents. Moreover, this study reinforces the notion that IT leadership can induce strategic change.