CEO-CIO Shared Understanding of the Role of Technology: Outcomes for Technological Innovation Value

In this paper, we propose that contextual “language style matching” between CEO and CIO - a form of similarity in verbal style based on the unconscious use of function words - can provide insight into the quality of collaboration between CEO and CIO. Following upper echelon and managerial cognition research, we argue that high levels of language style matching between the CEO and CIO when discussing the role of technology for the business reflects a shared understanding of the role of technology. As CEO-CIO shared understanding aligns technology innovation with overall business strategy, the economic value of the firm’s technological innovations increases. Counterintuitively, we expect the relationship to weaken when CEOs are overly optimistic, as CEOs are less likely to question technological innovation from a business standpoint. Thus, the shared understanding of the CEO and CIO is misguided. Using panel data, we find empirical support for these predictions

Executive Mindsets Influencing the Alignment of IT and Strategy

When examining previous research on the IT-business strategy relationship, it becomes evident that a key difficulty for organizations is the alignment of IT and strategy. We find that this alignment can be better understood when examining the heads of the IT and business strategy organizational components, the CIO and the CEO. We propose that a technologist CEO and/or a business savvy CIO will improve the communication and understanding between these components, therefore producing a higher level of strategic alignment. We also propose that the three dimensions of IT capability (which have already been linked business performance), a strong and responsive IT staff, a cost-effective & well-managed IT infrastructure, and an effective IT-business relationship, are direct outcomes of strategically aligned planning. We test our model using the Fortune 1000 insurance firms as our sample. Results indicate that firms with a business savvy CIO are more likely to have a higher IT capability than those without a business savvy CIO

To understand or to be understood? A dyadic analysis of perceptual congruence and interdependence between CEOs and CIOs

Despite the importance of a healthy relationship between CEOs and CIOs in organizations for effective business-IT alignment, there is still little understanding about how different facets of perceptual congruence compare between CEOs and CIOs and how perceptual interdependencies affect the quality of collaboration in these relationships. Drawing on social and personal relationship theories, our study examines 102 matched-pair survey responses of CEOs and CIOs using dyadic data analysis. Our findings show that both executives’ actual opinions on important business and IT topics are more similar than both perceive them to be. Accordingly, perceptions of each other’s attitudes are negatively biased away from their real attitudes. Moreover, our study demonstrates that CIOs’ understanding of their CEO plays a pivotal role in predicting the quality of CEO-CIO collaboration, shedding light on the disparate importance of the two directions of interpersonal understanding for the business-IT partnership. Implications for research and practice are discussed

IT Stereotyping and the CEO-CIO Headlock

In addition to running organizational systems, Chief Information Officers (CIOs) are increasingly expected to embrace a broader role in their organizations by driving innovation and being key strategic partners to the CEO and other members of the C-level team. Their ability to fulfill this challenging role, however, is inhibited by the existence (and influence) of IT stereotypes. When CEOs harbor these stereotypes, they tend to treat the CIO as a “last among equals” and relegate the CIO to a supporting role thus denying a strategic opportunity for IT. This research develops a means of assessing the IT stereotypes and their strength and examines their impact on the role of IT within the organization. This study will introduce a novel theoretical approach to the understanding of the relationship between the IT organization and the rest of the business. Implications for theory and practice are presented

Environmental modelling of the Chief Information Officer

Since the introduction of the term in the 1980’s, the role of the Chief Information Officer (CIO) has been widely researched. Various perceptions and dimensions of the role have been explored and debated. However, the explosion in data proliferation (and the inevitable resulting information fuelled change) further complicates organisational expectations of the CIOs role. If organisations are to competitively exploit the digital trend, then those charged with recruiting and developing CIOs now need to be more effective in determining (and shaping) CIO traits and attributes, within the context of their own organisational circumstances and in line with stakeholder expectations. CIOs also need to determine their own suitability and progression within their chosen organisation if they are to remain motivated and effective. Before modelling the role of the future CIO, it is necessary to synthesise our current knowledge (and the lessons learnt) about the CIO. This paper, therefore, aims to identify and summate the spectrum of key researched ‘themes’ pertaining to the role of the CIO. Summating previous research, themes are modelled around four key CIO ‘dimensions’, namely (1) Impacting factors, (2) Controlling factors (3) Responses and (4) CIO ‘attributes’. Having modelled the CIOs current environment, and recognising the evolving IT enabled information landscape, the authors call for further research to inform the recruitment and development of the future CIO in terms of personal attributes and the measurable impact such attributes will have on their respective organisation

A conceptual model for assessing managerial implications of changes in information technologies (Bilişim teknolojilerindeki değişimlerin yönetsel sonuçlarının değerlendirmesi için kavramsal bir model)

Information Technologies and business should be considered together to get the best results in business life. Therefore their integration and reflections on each other are very important in managing institutional change due to changes in the IT world. Change is a very sensitive concept that must be managed very carefully. In this article, a framework for managing IT based changes by protecting the business leverage and through all levels of hierarchy in the company is proposed

The Implications of Digital Business Transformation for Corporate Leadership, the IT Function, and Business-IT Alignment

Mastering digital business transformation is a strategic imperative for senior executives but often constitutes a challenging task for firms across industries. With the growing importance of information technology (IT) over the recent decades, the role of the Chief Information Officer (CIO), the head of the IT function, has become increasingly important. However, both research and practice acknowledge that establishing alignment between business and IT is difficult due to significant social factors that often arise. Research has shown that Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) and Chief Information Officers need to develop mutual understanding of their environments, views, and goals in order to promote a successful business-IT partnership. In the context of digital business transformation, which is driven by digital innovation occurring at the interface of business and IT, alignment is imperative. The creation of new executive roles, such as that of the Chief Digital Officer (CDO), indicate that social alignment between CEOs and CIOs remains an issue. This dissertation investigates the implications of digital business transformation for business-IT alignment, the evolution of digital leadership roles (especially the CIO and the CDO role), and the IT function in general. The results presented in this dissertation are grounded in the results from two extensive studies, a quantitative study based on responses from 102 matched pairs of CEOs and CIOs and a qualitative study based on interviews with matched pairs of business and IT executives from 19 companies. The study results were published in three academic articles, which are part of this dissertation. Additional articles that build upon the already published findings are currently under review and due to be published in 2017. The quantitative study examines perceptual congruence between CEOs and CIOs in a social alignment context, utilizing a combination of two hitherto largely separately applied models from social and personal relationship research. One of the major findings of this quantitative study is the recognition of bidirectional effects of active and passive understanding on the CEO-CIO relationship, whereas the concept of mutual understanding has thus far mostly been treated unitarily without differentiation between the two directions. The interview-based qualitative study examines the role of the CDO and the CIO and investigates the bimodal IT phenomenon that has gained increased visibility in practice with digital business transformation putting enormous pressure on the IT function and its leadership. This second study finds four different CDO role types to exist and highlights the implications for the development of the CIO role, which finds itself at an inflection point, returning somewhat to its traditional technical orientation, hence losing its strategic focus to CDOs and others. Furthermore, the second study explains the role of bimodal IT as a transitional stage in a larger transformation of the IT function in order to foster IT agility and IT exploration. Implemented as one of three archetypes that the study describes, bimodal IT introduces organizational structures, methods of working, and a culture that are critical for effective business support of digitization initiatives. Ultimately, however, the study finds that companies, which have successfully operated under a bimodal IT design, revert their IT function structure and processes to a unimodal design in the long term. Overall, this dissertation sheds light on crucial topics for companies’ executive leadership, the IT function, and business-IT alignment today. The studies conducted provide valuable insights for both practitioners and academics by drawing a conceptual distinction between the two directions and CEO-CIO understanding, explaining the CDO role and its influence on the development of the CIO role, and calling attention to the transformative role of bimodal IT. Practitioners are advised to promote CIOs’ understanding of current business topics, carefully delimit the CDO role (should such be needed) from the CIO role, and harness the learnings from bimodal IT on their digital transformation journey. The two studies add to the academic body of knowledge by answering calls for a more fine-grained conceptualization of CEO-CIO mutual understanding, providing initial insights into the emerging Chief Digital Officer role and its creation, and preparing a research framework for bimodal IT and explaining its relevance for IT transformation. The articles contained in this dissertation encourage IS scholars to utilize the findings described and further advance our knowledge in these domains. Moreover, this research can assist business and IT executives with improving alignment and avoiding the pitfalls that digital business transformation brings about for corporate leadership

The Adoption of ICT in Small And Medium-sized Family Business. The Role of Younger Generation

The aim of this paper is to understand if the involvement of younger generation in small and medium-sized family firms can encourage a process of technological innovation, realized through the introduction and use of Information and Communication Technology. Younger entrepreneurs, that we call digital successors, compared to their predecessors, has a higher level of education and, living in an era dominated by electronics and digital information, should be able to exploit the new technologies in business organization and management. The new generation has skills, energy and innovative spirit necessary to start the process of technological innovation. From the methodological point of view, this work is based on a qualitative research involving two case studies. In both the family firms analyzed the involvement of the younger generation promoted the adoption of ICTs. This study is proposed as an initial moment of reflection to better identify some hypothesis to be tested with further investigations and a quantitative analysis.ICT, digital entrepreneur, family business, small and medium enterprises, technological innovation, generational change