Abstract
This chapter focuses on the organizational environment within which the CIO operates. As a CIO takes charge, it is imperative that he/she has a clear understanding of the different elements of the organizational environment that can impact his/her ability to succeed. These can significantly influence what the CIO can and can’t achieve and the speed at which they can initiate changes they might deem necessary to make. Many of these elements are outside the direct control of any CIO; however, they can be in a position to influence them.
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Notes
- 1.
In the academic management literature this is often referred to as path dependence. For more on path dependence, see M. Stack and M. Gartland, ‘Path creation, path dependency, and alternative theories of the firm’, Journal of Economic Issues, Vol. 37, No. 2, 2003, pp. 487–494 and P. David, ‘Clio and the economics of QWERTY’, American Economic Review, Vol. 75, No. 2, 1985, pp. 332–337.
- 2.
See D.F. Feeny, B.R. Edwards and K.M. Simpson, ‘Understanding the CEO/CIO relationship’, MIS Quarterly, Vol. 16, 1992, pp. 435–448; M.C. Jones, G.S. Taylor, B.A. Spensor, ‘The CEO/CIO relationship revisited: An empirical assessment of satisfaction with IS’, Information Management, Vol. 29, No. 3, 1995, pp. 123–130; A.M. Johnson and A.L. Lederer, ‘CEO/CIO mutual understanding, strategic alignment, and the contribution of IS to the organization’, Information Management, Vol. 47, No. 3, 2010, pp. 138–149 and A.M. Johnson and A.L. Lederer, ‘IS strategy and IS contribution: CEO and CIO perspectives’, Information Systems Management, Vol. 30, No. 4, 2013, pp. 306–318.
- 3.
See A.M. Johnson and A. Lederer, ‘The effect of communication frequency and channel richness on the convergence between chief executives and chief information officers’, Journal of Management Information Systems, Vol. 22, No. 2, pp. 227–252.
- 4.
Ross and Weill suggest six decisions traditionally made by CIOs that are really business decisions. See J. Ross and P. Weill, ‘Six IT decisions your IT people shouldn’t make’, Harvard Business Review, November, 2002, pp. 84–92.
- 5.
This is supported by research. See J. Peppard, J. Ward and E. Daniel. ‘Managing the realization of business benefits from IT Investments’, MIS Quarterly Executive, 2007, Vol. 6, No. 1, pp. 1–11; R. Ryan Nelson, ‘IT project management: Infamous failures, classic mistakes and best practices’, MIS Quarterly Executive, Vol. 6, No. 2, 2007, pp. 67–78; M.L. Markus, S. Axline, D. Petrie and C. Tanis, ‘Learning from adopters’ experiences with ERP: Problems encountered and success achieved,’ Journal of Information Technology, Vol. 15, 2000, pp. 245–265; D.A. Marchand, W.J. Kettinger and J.D. Rollins. Information Orientation: The Link to Business Performance, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2001; J. Peppard and J. Ward. ‘Unlocking sustained business value from IT investments’, California Management Review, Vol. 48, No. 1, 2005, pp. 52–70 and J. Thorp, The Information Paradox: Realizing the Business Benefits of Information Technology, McGraw-Hill, 1999.
- 6.
D. Marchand, ‘The role of the chief information officer: Achieving credibility, relevance and business impact’, in P. Bottger, ed., Leading in the Top Team: The CXO Challenge, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2008, pp. 204–222.
- 7.
For more on the risks associated with IT see G. Westerman and R. Hunter, IT Risk: Turning Business Threads into Competitive Advantage, Harvard Business School Press, Boston, MA, 2007.
- 8.
M. Gladwell, Outliers: The Secrets of Success, Little Brown and Company, 2008.
- 9.
J. Peppard, ‘The conundrum of IT Management’, European Journal of Information Systems, Vol. 16, 2007, pp. 336–345. See also D. Lohmeyer, S. Pogreb and S. Robinson, ‘Who’s accountable for IT?’ The McKinsey Quarterly, 2002, Special Edition, Technology.
- 10.
A similar conclusion was reached by Feeny and colleagues many decades ago when they reported that “[t]he single most powerful discriminator in our study was that labelled ‘CEO attitude toward IT’ ”. Some things never change! See D.F. Feeny, B.R. Edwards and K.M. Simpson, ‘Understanding the CEO/CIO relationship’, MIS Quarterly, Vol. 16, 1992, pp. 435–448.
- 11.
In their study of IS-business alignment, Tan and Gallupe report that “there is a strong link between business IS-alignment and shared cognition between business and IS executives … Business and IS executives in the companies that report a higher level of business-IS alignment do have a set of core beliefs in common regarding IS.” From their research Reich and Benbasat conclude “[t]he one construct that seemed to predict long-term alignment was shared domain knowledge … The most important direct predictor of alignment in this study was a high level of communication between IT and business executives.” See F. Tan and R.B. Gallupe, ‘Aligning business and information systems thinking: A cognitive approach’, IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management, Vol. 53, No. 2, 2006, pp. 223–237 and B.H. Reich and I. Benbasat, ‘Factors that influence the social dimension of alignment between business and information technology objectives’, MIS Quarterly, Vol. 24, No. 1, 2000, pp. 81–113.
- 12.
D. Preston and E. Karahanna, ‘How to develop a shared vision: The key to strategic alignment’, MIS Quarterly Executive, Vol. 8, No. 1, 2009, pp. 1–8.
- 13.
J. Peppard and J. Ward, ‘Unlocking sustained business value from IT’, California Management Review, Vol. 48, No. 1, 2005, pp. 52–70.
- 14.
This sentiment echoes findings from research undertaken in the early 1990s, where the “critical dependency for the CIO is the attitude and influence of the CEO”. See M.J. Earl and D. Feeny, ‘Is your CIO adding value?’ Sloan Management Review, Spring, 1994, pp. 11–20. See also earlier studies: W.H. Doll, ‘Avenues for top management involvement in successful MIS development’, MIS Quarterly, Vol. 9, No. 1, 1985, pp. 17–35; J.T. Garrity, ‘Top management and computer profits’, Harvard Business Review, Vol. 41, No. 4, July–August 1963, pp. 172–174; S. Jarvenpaa and B. Ives, ‘Executive involvement and participation in the management of information technology’, MIS Quarterly, Vol. 16, No. 2, 1991, pp. 205–227; A.L. Lederer and A.L. Mendelow, ‘Information systems planning: Top management takes control’, Business Horizons, Vol. 31, No. 3, 1988, pp. 73–78; J.F Rockart and A.D. Crescenzi, ‘Engaging top management in information technology’, Sloan Management Review, Summer, 1984, pp. 3–16 and T.C. Willoughby and R.A. Pye, ‘Top managements’ computer role’, Journal of Systems Management, Vol. 28, No. 9, 1977, pp. 10–13.
- 15.
H.G. Enns, D.B. McFarlin and S.L. Huff, ‘How CIOs can effectively use influencing behaviors’, MIS Quarterly Executive, Vol. 6, No. 1, 2007, pp. 29–38.
- 16.
A similar sentiment was expressed by James Emery in an editorial commentary in MIS Quarterly back in 1991. See J.C. Emery, ‘What role for the CIO?’, MIS Quarterly, Vol. 5, No. 2, 1991, pp. vii–ix. For a framework to help build a shared vision, see D. Preston and E. Karahanna, ‘How to develop a shared vision: The key to IS strategic alignment’, MIS Quarterly Executive, Vol. 8, No. 1, 2009, pp. 1–8.
- 17.
‘Engaging in CIO-CxO “Conversations that matter”: An interview with Peter Keen’, MIS Quarterly Executive, Vol. 9, No. 1, 2010, pp. 61–64.
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Gerth, T., Peppard, J. (2020). No CIO Is an Island. In: Taking the Reins as CIO. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-31953-3_2
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