Chief Information Officer Research Articles

The Effect of Ambidextrous CIO Leadership on Strategic Alignment Through Knowledge Integration Mechanisms

Information technology (IT)-business alignment continues to be a challenge for businesses. A potential reason may be the absence of relevant IT leadership capable of engaging IT and business units in a way that leads to alignment. Based on the knowledge integration view of organizations and the strategic leadership literature, we propose a model linking chief information officer (CIO) leadership style to IT-business alignment. We examine how ambidextrous CIO leadership behavior influences IT-business alignment through knowledge integration mechanisms, namely mechanisms that develop shared domain knowledge between IT and business specialists and mechanisms for collaborative integration of specialized IT and business knowledge. Analysis of cross-industry data collected from CIOs, top management team members, and IT specialists indicates that CIOs who can display both transformational and transactional leadership promote these mediating mechanisms. Moreover, the results show that these mechanisms have a substitutive effect, in that the effect of one mechanism diminishes when the other exists at a high level.

Do Firms’ Characteristics Influence Their IT Strategies? A Study on the Driving Force behind Firms’ Decisions to Appoint IT Expertise

The demand for information technology expertise has grown rapidly in the last few decades, signaling firms’ commitment to integrating IT into core business strategies. Understanding the conditions under which firms appoint a chief information officer (CIO) can provide valuable insights into the evolving role of IT in corporate governance. This study addresses a crucial gap in the literature by exploring the determinants of a firm’s decision to hire a CIO at the top management level. The study identifies several factors that influence a firm’s decision to appoint a CIO, including the firm’s size, its level of innovation, and its prior performance. The study examines these assertions by comparing the characteristics of firms that appoint a CIO at the top management level with those of similar firms in their industries that do not have a CIO position prior to the appointment. A logistic regression model that considers CIO firms and their matched firms indicates that firms that have larger capital expenditures, higher market value, or have experienced loss are more likely to hire a new CIO. Our study provides empirical evidence on why certain firms prioritize IT leadership at the executive level.

Business intelligence solution implementation challenges: A comparative analysis of service based start-ups, small & medium and large enterprises

The term Business Intelligence (BI), first used in 1989 to describe an umbrella concept by Howard Dressner involving methods for improving business decision-making based on facts. It gradually evolved into data-driven decision support systems (DSS) in the contemporary era of technology, replacing terms like executive information systems. BI Solution works as a combination system of collection and storage of data to generate 'actionable information and knowledge at the right time, in the right location, and in the right form. Currently, BI solutions act as a priority for chief information officers (CIO), as a Gartner survey reported, to enhance business effectiveness and innovation by generating quality information of the company and using it in the decision-making process. Over the last few decades, business data volumes have increased tremendously due to the rise of business information systems such as ERP, CRM, etc. International Data Corporation (IDC) highlighted in the 6th annual study that the digital universe comprising structured and unstructured data will grow 300 times to 40,000 exabytes from 130 exabytes by 2020. The size of data will double every two years from 2012 onwards. India has witnessed the increased implementation of business intelligence solutions in the past decade, especially in the service industry, comprising retail, healthcare, BFSI, and IT organizations, to enhance their business practices & procedures and achieve competitive advantage. The present research aims to do a comparative study of business intelligence solution implementation challenges among service industry start-ups, small & medium, and large enterprises.

Entrepreneurial orientation and product innovation performance: developing the linkages through strategic human resource management and technology capability

Purpose The optimization of product innovation performance (PIP) is paramount to achieving sustained profitability in the face of current organizational challenges. In this study, as researchers, the authors investigate within the context of Saudi Arabian manufacturing firms’ entrepreneurial orientation (EO) direct impact on PIP and its indirect influence mediated by strategic human resource management (SHRM) and technology capability (TC). Design/methodology/approach This co-relational study used cross-sectional data. The authors collected the data from the manufacturing firms’ top management team, chief executive officers and other staff members, including human resource (HR) managers and chief information officers. This study’s conclusions are based on 307 cases. Findings Using SmartPLS4, this study’s findings demonstrate that EO exerts a positive and significant impact on SHRM, PIP and TC. SHRM has a positive and significant effect on PIP. In addition, TC is a positive and significant predictor of SHRM but not PIP. Turning to the mediating impacts, SHRM plays a positive mediating role between TC and PIP and a negative role between EO and PIP. Finally, TC reinforces the negative connections between EO and PIP. Practical implications This study's insights offer valuable guidance to firms and policymakers. They underscore the importance of investing in TC to reinforce SHRM and drive innovation. Moreover, these findings emphasize the need for firms to adopt a dynamic approach that comprises continuous monitoring, adaptation and tailored HR strategies supported by performance metrics. This proactive stance ensures that innovation remains a consistent and impactful element of their long-term strategy. Originality/value This study stands out by addressing existing gaps through its innovative integration of EO, SHRM, TC and PIP within a unified framework. It does so within the specific context of Saudi Arabian manufacturing firms and provides a unique and contextually relevant perspective that contributes to the knowledge body of the area.

Evolving role of the health system CIO: perspectives from 33 health systems

ObjectivesThis study explores the evolving position of the health system chief information officer (CIO) by identifying new core roles for success.MethodsAn advisory board of industry executives and system leaders guided...

Examining the role of expectations in outsourcing success utilizing the hierarchy of effects model

PurposeThis paper aims to involve both the development of a quantitative measure of outsourcing success that integrates recent research findings on expectations and applying the hierarchy-of-effects (HOE) model to investigating the influence of success on client satisfaction and recommendation intention.Design/methodology/approachThis paper conducted a global survey of information systems managers and Chief Information Officers from firms who have engaged in outsourcing and analyzed the data using partial least squares (PLS).FindingsThe study analysis demonstrates the impact of client expectations on perceived outsourcing success, client satisfaction and intention to recommend. This paper also discusses how findings of this study provide important implications for both researchers and practitioners.Originality/valueTo further investigate the theoretical trend toward examining the impact of expectations on outsourcing success, this study extends the foundational success research by quantitatively demonstrating the robustness of an outsourcing success construct that incorporates expectations. Moreover, this study extends the traditional models of success by incorporating factors from each of the stages of client behavior, including cognition, affect and conation.

Enhancing public service delivery efficiency: Exploring the impact of AI

This study aims to investigate the impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) adoption on public service delivery efficiency in India. It addresses a significant gap in existing literature by investigating the impact of AI adoption on public service delivery efficiency in India, a context that has not been extensively explored. Through a comparative analysis approach, the study assesses the effectiveness of AI applications in enhancing public service delivery. The quantitative research design employed in the study draws on previous literature on AI integration in governance and focuses on Chief Information Officers (CIOs) as primary respondents. The findings reveal significant improvements in citizen-centric services and municipal processes due to AI adoption. However, the impact on human-centric aspects is found to be moderate. The study also underscores the importance of infrastructure readiness for successful AI implementation. Notably, only 25 % of organizations were found to be possessing advanced technological infrastructure. This research is original in its focus on Chief Information Officers (CIOs) as primary respondents and its comparative analysis approach to assess the effectiveness of AI applications in enhancing public service delivery. This study offers valuable insights for policymakers and practitioners. Emphasizing the need for effective policies and infrastructure development, it highlights the potential of AI to eliminate corruption risks and enhance overall efficiency and transparency in public service delivery mechanisms.

Shaping innovation outcomes: The role of CIOs for firms’ digital exploration

Digital technologies have rapidly pervaded firms, industries, and economic networks. This development has raised expectations that a firm’s chief information officer (CIO) will take a more strategic role, including innovation leadership and digital exploration. In this study, we argue from an upper echelons perspective that CIOs’ career variety and role tenure are critical in shaping the extent to which firms explore digital technologies in their patent portfolio, that is, digital exploration. We expect a U-shaped relationship between CIO career variety and digital exploration, and an inverted U-shaped relationship between CIO role tenure and digital exploration. We test our conceptual model using a cross-industry panel of U.S. firms. As predicted, the results show high digital exploration for low and high career variety, and low digital exploration for moderate career variety, that is, a U-shape. Conversely, they show low digital exploration for low and high role tenure, and high digital exploration for moderate role tenure, that is, an inverted U-shape. These insights indicate that CIOs do become strategic leaders in exploring and shaping digital innovation.

Implementation of suitable information technology governance frameworks for Moroccan higher education institutions

This article aims to present formal governance practices of information technology adapted to the general context of Moroccan universities. The study consists of two main phases: the conceptualization phase and the operationalization phase. During the conceptualization phase, the authors reviewed relevant literature on best practices and their associated frameworks in higher education institutions (HEIs). The results revealed that universities had varying levels of maturity in terms of good practices and often used multiple information system frameworks, which can cause organizational and technical problems. In order to find a solution to this situation, the authors conducted in-depth interviews with chief information officers (CIOs) and university officials from four Moroccan universities during the operationalization phase. These interviews enabled them to propose an effective baseline of best practices and an algorithmic approach to assist managers in choosing between two combinations of frameworks that cover all the mechanisms of the baseline. This solution would enable optimal, agile, and easy-to-implement information technology governance in Moroccan universities while avoiding the multiplicity of frameworks.

Stuck in the comfort zone? The influence of customer concentration on digital innovation in manufacturing firms

ABSTRACT Digital innovation has become an inexorable trend for manufacturing firms in the digital era. Though the motivations for digital innovation have been largely focused on in the literature, the barriers for manufacturing firms to implementing digital innovation remain underdeveloped. Actually, it is not that manufacturing firms are unaware of the benefits of digital technology, but the structural factors embedded in firms that hinder them from adopting digital innovation. In this context, this study aims to empirically investigate how and why customer concentration could be an obstacle to digital innovation in manufacturing firms, and thus provide insights for managers to break free from the trap of customer concentration and turn to embrace digital innovation. By conducting empirical analyses based on panel data of listed manufacturing firms in China between 2008 and 2019, we find that customer concentration has a significantly negative effect on the adoption of digital innovation in manufacturing firms. Moreover, the negative effect of customer concentration on the adoption of digital innovation is more pronounced when top executives have a relatively higher existing-oriented attention focus, and when the firm has spent more on relationship-specific investments. In addition, the presence of chief information officers (CIOs) can weaken the negative influence of customer concentration on the adoption of digital innovation.

PUBLIC DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION SECURITY BREACH INCIDENTS: SHORT-TERM STOCK MARKET REACTION ON INDIAN LISTED FIRMS

ABSTRACT Data breach incidents are growing by the day and firms struggle to detect, defend, and respond to such breaches. Nowadays, security breaches are considered one of the major concerns for corporate organizations around the world. Hence, it is essential to assess the impact of such breaches on organizations. This article reports stock price reaction due to public disclosure of information security breach (ISB) incidents on publicly traded firms of India. Using the event study methodology on a sample of 120 publicly announced ISB incidents between January 2004 and April 2019 pertaining to 69 publicly listed firms of India, we found that exposure to an ISB incident exacerbates negative stock price reactions based on both one-factor market model and Fama-French three-factor model. On average, breached firms lost 0.55% of their market value within two days post the announcement of ISB incidents. Further, we found some factors that significantly negatively impacted Cumulative Abnormal Return (CAR). Important emerging factors such as type of compromised data, sentiment, subjectivity, and remedial strategy significantly impact CAR. According to our study findings, we suggest that firms should mention remedial measures in terms of apology and/or compensation in the ISB disclosure. Furthermore, the result indicates that investors penalize listed firms for subsequent ISB incidents. Thus, our findings may guide Chief Information Officers (CIOs), information security managers, and IT managers of publicly traded firms to devise various strategies in terms of IT security measures and content of the ISB disclosure.

Leading digital transformation: Dilemmas of a chief digital and information officer

The female protagonist of the case needs to make an important decision on whether to ‘stay or go’ in her current role at Kappa University. She had been in the university as a Chief Digital and Information Officer for nearly 3 years but was not given a strategic status, leaving her out of important decisions; yet she is responsible for the biggest budget of the university. The case raises issues on the strategic importance of digital transformation but also the recognition that female IT leaders may or may not have within their organisation and their influence on decision-making linked to digital transformation matters. The case explores the role of digital leaders and their relation to senior management; the challenges they face when not given a strategic role and the impact that this may have on the organisation’s experience with digital transformation. Further, the case provides the opportunity to students to compare and contrast different employment arrangements such as independent contracting and permanent employment. The case can be used on courses on digital transformation, digital strategy and IT leadership.

Traction with fraction: Strategic IS management in SMEs through Fractional CIOs

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) increasingly need to manage information technology (IT) effectively in order to remain competitive. However, compared to larger organizations, SMEs often face challenges in terms of resources and employer attractiveness, and regularly do not have the need to employ a Chief Information Officer (CIO) on a full-time basis. To address this issue, a growing number of global experts have begun to provide CIO services on a part-time basis for multiple clients simultaneously. This approach allows SMEs to tap into the expertise of experienced IT leaders at a fraction of the cost and without committing to long-term arrangements. While these professionals, known as “Fractional CIOs”, have proven their value in the field, there has been a lack of academic research on this emerging trend. Therefore, we carried out a comprehensive research project between 2020 and 2023, involving 62 Fractional CIOs from 10 countries. The research produced a definition, different types of engagements, and success factors for Fractional CIOs and their engagements. This paper summarizes these findings for a wider audience of academics and practitioners.

Qualitative study of challenges with recruitment of hospitals into a cluster controlled trial of clinical decision support in Australia

ObjectiveTo identify barriers to hospital participation in controlled cluster trials of clinical decision support (CDS) and potential strategies for addressing barriers.DesignQualitative descriptive design comprising semistructured interviews.SettingFive hospitals in New South...

Who’s who in the zoo? Clarifying the difference between the chief digital officer and chief information officer

Background: The new chief digital officer (CDO) role within top management is shrouded with confusion and ambiguity.Objectives: The purpose of this study is to identify the differences between the traditional chief information officer (CIO) and more modern CDO role.Method: Being grounded within the paradigm of interpretivism, this study follows a qualitative research approach and adopts a narrative research strategy. This study explores the opinions of top management relating to both CIO and CDO roles through conducting in-depth interviews with open-ended questions. Insights into the data are gained through an analytical process of thematic content analysis.Results: This study shows that distinctions are emerging between the roles and responsibilities of the CDO and CIO roles within companies. Even though both roles are strategic, the CDO is responsible for digital strategy, while the CIO is responsible for the information technology (IT) strategy.Conclusion: This study illustrates that IT is becoming central to a company’s business model and this focus change requires specific skills and competencies within the company. Furthermore, the study shows that differences exist between the CIO and CDO roles within a company.Contribution: This study highlights key differences between the roles and responsibilities of the CDO and CIO. This study also identifies key contingency and institutional factors that influence a firm to introduce a CDO and clarifies the concept of digital transformation.

The hidden cost of silence: How delayed cyberattack disclosure erodes firm profitability

ABSTRACT Cybersecurity disclosure has garnered significant attention in the past decade. In this study, we observe that the disclosure delays are inversely correlated with firm profitability and we attribute this to information asymmetry. In addition, we find that such a negative impact is mitigated by the presence of a Chief Information Officer. Furthermore, we show that delayed disclosure has negative consequences on CEO compensation. Finally, our results are robust to alternative measures of disclosure delays and profitability. This paper highlights the adverse effect of delayed cyberattack disclosures and has broad implications for cybersecurity practices, regulatory frameworks, and risk management strategies.

Be an Expert: A Critical Thinking Approach to Responding to High-Profile Cybersecurity Breaches

ABSTRACT This case examines three high-profile cybersecurity breaches to illustrate how organizations respond to these situations. Students explore breaches involving Capital One, Equifax, and Target and apply critical thinking to examine attack details, breach prevention, and breach responses by assuming the roles of security consultants, chief information officers, and internal auditors. The case objectives include (1) summarizing how organizations respond to cybersecurity breaches, (2) evaluating threats to organizations’ cybersecurity infrastructure, and (3) justifying how accountants and auditors may respond to cybersecurity breaches. This case is designed for undergraduate- or graduate-level accounting information systems, auditing, information technology (IT) auditing, internal auditing, and fraud examination classes and can be extended for intermediate or advanced financial accounting courses. This case provides instructor flexibility, as the class can be split into three groups with each group assigned as the expert on one breach or one or more breaches can be assigned to all students.

She’s worth IT: challenges for female CIOs in ensuring IT security compliance

PurposeIT security compliance is critical to the organization’s success, and such compliance depends largely on IT leadership. Considering the prevalence of unconscious gender biases and stereotyping at the workplace and growing female leadership in IT, the authors examine how the internalization of stereotype beliefs, in the form of the employee’s gender, impacts the relationships between leadership characteristics and IT security compliance intentions.Design/methodology/approachA controlled experiment using eight different vignettes manipulating Chief Information Officer (CIO) gender (male/female), Information Technology (IT) expertise (low/high) and leadership style (transactional/transformational) was designed in Qualtrics. Data were gathered from MTurk workers from all over the US.FindingsThe findings suggest that both CIOs' and employees' gender play an important role in how IT leadership characteristics – perceived expertise and leadership style – influence the employees' intentions and reactance to comply with CIO security recommendations.Research limitations/implicationsThis study's findings enrich the security literature by examining the role of leadership styles on reactance and compliance intentions. They also provide important theoretical implications based on gender stereotype theory alone: First, the glass ceiling effects can be witnessed in how men and women employees demonstrate prejudice against women CIO leaders through their reliance on perceived quadratic CIO IT expertise in forming compliance intentions. Secondly, this study's findings related to gender role internalization show men and women have a prejudice against gender-incongruent roles wherein women employees are least resistive to transactional male CIOs, and men employees are less inclined to comply with transactional female CIOs confirm the findings related to gender internationalization from Hentschel et al. (2019).Practical implicationsThis study highlights the significance of organizations and individuals actively promoting gender equality and fostering environments that recognize women's achievements. It also underscores the importance of educating men and women about the societal implications of stereotyping gender roles that go beyond the organizational setting. This research demonstrates that a continued effort is required to eradicate biases stemming from gender stereotypes and foster social inclusion. Such efforts can positively influence how upcoming IT leaders and employees internalize gender-related factors when shaping their identities.Social implicationsThis study shows that more work needs to be done to eliminate gender stereotype biases and promote social inclusion to positively impact how future IT leaders and employees shape their identities through internalization.Originality/valueThis study redefines the concept of “sticky floors” to explain how subordinates can hinder and undermine female leaders, thereby contributing to the glass ceiling effect. In addition, the study elucidates how gender roles shape employees' responses to different leadership styles through gender stereotyping and internalization.

How Tenure Affects the Way Higher Education CIOs Manage Change: Implications for Corporate CIOs

Current waves of digital innovations are continuously accelerating the pace and the scope of change that chief information officers (CIOs) must manage. To remain relevant and effective in their leadership roles, CIOs must be effective change agents. They enjoy longer tenure enabling them to complete their transformational journeys more effectively. However, the question of whether these change agents can be equally effective in the beginning and at the end of their mandate has largely been ignored in the IS literature. To fill this gap, this paper examines how and why the role of change agent evolves as CIOs progress in their tenure in office. Drawing from the management and the IS literature and the results of a revelatory case study of the CIOs of a large university system in the U.S., this paper proposes a three-phase model describing what combination of change agentry models is followed by CIOs as they progress in their tenure and why. The combination of change agentry models that CIOs tend to follow during their time in office is explained by the patterns of evolution of five key characteristics: commitment to a paradigm, task knowledge, information diversity, task interest, and power and influence.

Chief Information Officers (CIOs) Joining Outside Boards of Directors: Impact on Their Home Firms’ Cybersecurity

Chief Information Officers (CIOs) Joining Outside Boards of Directors: Impact on Their Home Firms’ Cybersecurity