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Technology, Innovation,
and Enterprise
Transformation

Manish Wadhwa
Salem State University, USA
Alan Harper
South University, USA

A volume in the Advances in Business Information

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180

Chapter 9
A Past to Present Journey:
A Critical Analysis of the Chief
Information Officer Role
Moyassar Al-Taie
University of Mosul, Iraq & University of Southern Queensland, Australia
Michael Lane
University of Southern Queensland, Australia
Aileen Cater-Steel
University of Southern Queensland, Australia

ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the role of the Chief Information Officer (CIO). A d etailed review of the
existing literature traces the evolution of this role and highlights its characteristics and configurations.
CIO role effectiveness can be described in terms of three demand-side roles: strategist, relationship
architect, integrator, and three supply-side roles: educator, information steward, and utility provider. To
explore the configuration of roles of CIOs in Australia, a large-scale survey of CIOs was conducted. The
Australian results, based on 174 responses, are compared with those from similar studies in USA. The
top priority for the Australian CIO was information steward, ensuring organizational data quality
and security and recruiting and retaining IT skilled staff. In comparison, the fi rst priority for the
USA CIOs was utility provider - building and sustaining solid, dependable, and responsive IT
infrastructure services. This study’s findings have implications for CIO career development and
recruitment.

viewed as the key contributor to driving strategic

INTRODUCTION goals. It has been claimed that the role of the
CIO is more vital than other C-suite managers
In the digital age, information has become in-
(Peppard, Edwards, & Lambert, 2011). Since the
creasingly important to modern organizations and
emergence of the CIO role in early 1980s, much
consequently the prominence of the Chief
has been written about it, however this role remains
Information Officer (CIO) position has risen. In
ambiguous (Peppard et al., 2011). This
many organizations, the CIO has come to be
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-4666-6473-9.ch009

Copyright © 2015, IGI Global. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of IGI Global is
prohibited.
A Past to Present Journey
chapter comprehensively reviews the existing
academic literature to explore the CIO concept,
the evolution of the CIO role, its characteristics and
configurations. The findings of a study of 174
Australian CIOs are reported and a comparison of
Australian and USA CIO role configurations is
provided. Finally, an agenda for future research is
proposed and conclusions provided.
The Chief Information
Officer (CIO) Concept
The concept of the CIO is frequently described in the
literature as ill-defined (Ayati & Curzon, 2003; Daum,
Haeberle, Lischka, & Krcmar; Feldhues, 2008;
Hawkins, 2004; Romanczuk & Pemberton, 1997). In
order to clarify the concept of the CIO
Table 1. Summary of CIO definitions
this study identifies the most common defini-
tions mentioned in the literature since the 1980s.
Table 1 provides a summary of eight definitions
for the CIO ordered chronologically with their
main elements.
The perusal and closer examination of those
definitions helps to identify some key observations
about the CIO concept as follows:
• Each definition has reflected the status of
the CIO role at that period of time;
• There is consensus among the authors that
the CIO role is a senior executive;
• The chronological order of the definitions
mirrors the evolving role of the CIO role
from technician (Boyle & Burbridge Jr,
1991; Synnott, 1987; Synnott & Gruber,
 Author(s) Definition Manageri Reporti Experienc Responsibilitie Contributi
al ng e s on
Level Structur Backgrou
e nd
(Synnott Senior executive  
& responsible for
Gruber, establishing
1981) corporate
information policy,
standard, and
management
control over all
corporate
information
resources
(Synnot The highest  
t, ranking executive
1987) with
primary responsibility
for information
management.
(Boyle & An executive with   
Burbridge board responsibility
Jr, 1991) for information
technology (e.g.,
data processing,
telecommunication,
and office automation)
who report to high
level corporate officer
(e.g., president or
CEO)
(Emer A senior   
y, executive
1991) with both
business
and technical
perspective, who
can contribute
actively to the
formulation of an
effective
amalgamation
of business strategies.
continued on following page

181
 A Past to Present Journey

Table 1. Continued

Author(s) Definition Manageri Reporti Experienc Responsibilitie Contributi

al ng e s on
Level Structur Backgrou
e nd
(Broadbent The most senior  
& Kitzis, executive
2005) responsible for
identifying
information and
technology needs
and then delivering
service to meet
those needs.
(Agarwal A critical senior leader   
& Beath, within the company
2007) with the responsibility
to insure that the IT
capabilities of the firm
are aligned with the
business strategy and
that IT delivers the
type of business
value the
firm seeks.
(Tansley A senior  
et al., management team
2008) member who
is responsible
for
leveraging the
present and future
value of
information and
technology as
well as being jointly
responsible for the
performance,
growth, and
governance of the
organization.
(Chun Top level executive   
& responsible for
Moone managing and
y, leveraging
2009) technology to
provide value to
the business.
Total frequency of each attribute 8 1 1 7 3

1
8
1981) to strategic leader (Agarwal &
2
Beath, 2007; Broadbent & Kitzis, 2005;
Chun & Mooney, 2009; Emery, 1991;
Tansley, Loughran, Edwards, Lambert, &
Peppard, 2008);
• The five main elements of these common
definitions of the CIO role are: the man-
agerial level; responsibilities; reporting
structure; experience background; and ex-
pected contribution.
 Synthesising these five key elements provides • Reporting mainly to the Chief Executive
a comprehensive definition of the CIO role con- cept as: Officer;
• With a unique and hybrid background
• A senior executive; knowledge of technology and business;
A Past to Present Journey
• Responsible for delivering ICT services
based on suitable ICT technologies that
meet the internal and external stakehold-
ers’ needs of information;
• And contributing positively to aligning the
IT organization’s strategy with the busi-
ness strategy to create competitive advan-
tages that add value to the organization.
The Evolution of the CIO Role
Over the last five decades numerous studies
have confirmed the evolving nature of the CIO role
(Benjamin, Dickinson Jr, & Rockart, 1985; Chun &
Mooney, 2009; Duffy & Jeffery, 1987; Hunter,
2010; Martinotti, 2005; Nicou, 2006; Rockart,
Ball, & Bullen, 1982; Ross & Feeny, 1999;
Strickland, 2011). However to the authors’ knowledge,
only three studies have attempted to conceptualize
how the CIO role has evolved over time (Andrews &
Carlson, 1997; Duffy & Jeffery, 1987; Ross & Feeny,
1999).
Duffy and Jeffery (1987) pointed out that the
effective CIO passes through four evolutionary
stages. In the first stage, the CIO has recognized
the possibility to use IT as a source of competitive
advantage rather than a tool for office automation. In
the second stage, the CIO role is classified as a high
level position with power given to the CIO to advocate
their vision of IT for the organization in front of the
senior executive team. The opportunity given to the
CIO in the second stage is negatively affected by two
factors: lower reporting structure and the shortage of
supporting specialist staff. In the third stage, the CIO
is able to recruit the sup- porting staff to implement
ICT based strategies that gain competitive
advantage for an organiza- tion. The birth of a ‘full
power’ CIO who will be able to manage
organizational IT capabilities in an effective fashion
is the fourth stage.
Another point of view about how the CIO role
has evolved was presented by Andrews and
Carlson (1997). According to this research, the
CIO role evolution has occurred in four waves. To
begin, in the first wave the CIO played a role of
‘glorified data processing’ officer. In the second
wave the role played by the CIO was a ‘techno-
crat’. In the third wave, the role of the CIO is cast as
a business executive. In the current business
environment; the CIO is cast as playing a hybrid
role as a technocrat business executive.
The most cited evolving path of the CIO role
was that proposed by Ross and Feeny (1999).
Three technological eras of ICT advancement
have shaped the CIO role over time since the first
commercial use of the computer as an advanced
data processing tool. These are (1) Mainframe Era
which start late 1950s, (2) Distributed Era which
started in the middle 1970s, and (3) Web-based
Era which started in the early 1990s. Table 2 il-
lustrates a synthesis of the evolution of the CIO
role over these three eras.
It is noticeable from Table 2 that the organiza-
tional needs are represented by the IT applications
used, Executives’ vision about IT is represented by
senior executive attitude toward IT, and vendors’
variety and technology availability in each of the
three eras have shaped the role of the CIO over
time from functional manager to strategic partner
then to business visionary. A new era has been
added to this framework by Martinotti (2005) as a
“post bubble era” starting with the early years of
the new millennium as a result of the emergence
of mobile computing and is still ongoing. Marti-
notti suggested a CIO role as leader of business
and innovation strategies enabled by disruptive
technologies in the fourth era. Four years later
Chun and Mooney (2009) confirmed Martinotti’s
(2005) finding by identifying that the CIOs within the
fourth era are in bifurcation points that oblige them
to play one of two roles: either chief innova- tion
officer or director of IT. According to Weill and
Woerner (2013) the growth in the digital
economy will change the role of the CIO. Their
183
 A Past to Present Journey

Table 2. The CIO role and its driving forces across three eras of evolution
Mainframe Era Distributed Era Web-Based
Era
Applicatio
ns Transaction processing Knowledge worker support; inter- Electronic commerce; knowledge
Portfolio from order through organizational systems; process management; virtual organization and
delivery. reengineering; ERP systems. supply chain reengineering.
Executive Attitudes IT for cost Increased involvement in IT issues IT, particularly Internet, viewed as
displacement and governance; Polarization of
automation; From attitudes: IT as strategic asset or transformational, a driver of
enthusiasm to cost- cost to be strategy; IT investments now more
consciousness. minimized. attractive in terms of costs and time
scales.
Dominant Suppliers IBM. Desktop providers- Microsoft, Intel; Network product firms-Sun,
Cisco, 3Corn;
ERP Software providers- SAP, Browser/Portal/Search engine
Oracle; providers, E-business consulting
Outsourcing companies-EDS, and service companies.
Andersen,
CSC, IBM.
CIO Role Role: Operational Role: Executive team member; Role: Business Visionary.
and Organizational designer; Technology Tasks: Develop new business
Responsibili manager of advisor; Technology architect; models for the Internet; Introduce
ties specialist function. Informed buyer. management processes that
Tasks: On-time Tasks: Manage federal IT leverage the intranet.
organization; Recruit and develop
delivery; staff; Educate line management;
Reliable Align IT with business;
operations. Design corporate architecture; Scan

technologies; Stabilize and

standardize infrastructure; scan
services market;
Develop alliances with key vendors.
Source: (Ross & Feeny, 1999)

1
research indicates an increase in the activities of 8
CIOs to provide services to external customers, to 4
work more closely with non-IT colleagues and to
manage enterprise processes.
The business environment nowadays is wit-
nessing the emergence of a new technological era
represented by cloud computing and social
networking. Consequently the role of the CIO also could
evolve to reach a new state which is still unknown in
response to these new technological phenomena.
To sum up, the CIO role has evolved in an
evolutionary manner to climb the corporate ladder to
become a senior executive and c-suite member rather
than an operational or as functional manager, to be a
strategist rather than a technician, and to be an
initiator rather than responding to business strategy.
Furthermore, the CIO role is still un- dergoing
change in response to rapidly changing IT
infrastructure management and delivery (e.g. Cloud
computing, mobile computing, big data).
CIO Role Characteristics
The extensive review of the CIO role literature has determined
seven distinct characteristics of the CIO role. This section
provides a description of each of these characteristics.
The CIO Role is Ambiguous
The ambiguous nature of the CIO role has been identified by
numerous researchers (Anderson, 2007; Beatty, Arnett, & Liu,
2005; Boyle, 1994; Cohen & Dennis, 2010; Hunter,
2010; Kakabadse & Korac-Kakabadse, 2000; E. Li &
Shani, 1991; Peppard et al., 2011; Rockart et al.,
1982; Shen, 2005; Tansley et al., 2008). Tansley et
al. (2008) conducted a study based on interviews
which demonstrated that there is a lack of clarity
about the CIO role among CxOs, analysts and
com- mentators and also among the CIOs
themselves.
A Past to Present Journey
According to Rizzo, House, and Lirtzman
(1970) two dimensions could identify the degree of
ambiguity of a given job: (1) the predictability of the
outcome or responses to on e’s behaviour and (2)
the existence or clarity of behaviour re- quirements.
Regarding CIO role ambiguity, 30 years ago
Rockart et al. (1982) stated that the relative new- ness
of the IS function and the uncertainty su r- rounding
the development and implementation of IT in most
organizations are the main reasons behind the
lack of clarity of the role of the person in charge of
overseeing IT in organizations. The role ambiguity
of the IS manager from the point of view of Li and
Shani (1991) is rooted in the conflicting, unclear,
or volatile expectations that IS managers received
from the IS users as well as having to bring about
changes under uncertain authority. Furthermore,
Kakabadse and Korac- Kakabadse (2000) considered
that the demands made in today’s organizations,
hastened by the application of new technology,
have made the CIO role boundaries fuzzier and
resulted in more role ambiguity. Recently, a different
point of view about the ambiguity of the CIO role was
presented by Peppard et al. (2011) based on
interviews conducted with 42 CxOs, CIOs, analysts
and com- mentators. They identified four key
reasons for the confusion surrounding the CIO role:
unclear distinction between corporate and
business unit CIOs; inconsistent use of IT director and
CIO titles; mismatch between expectation and
performance metrics; and outdated view of the
CIO role.
The need for empirical studies that help to
clarify the CIO’s ambiguous role is evident as many
studies to date are either conceptual or qualitative.
The CIO Role is Complex
and Challenging
The CIO role has been identified by some studies as
tough, complex, demanding and challenging
(Beatty et al., 2005; Brown & McClure, 2009;
Gottschalk, 1999; Gottschalk & Taylor, 2000;
Gerth & Peppard, 2013; Gregory, 2006). Authors
have presented different reasons to justify the com-
plexity of the CIO role. For example, Gottschalk
(1999) and Gottschalk and Taylor (2000) have
linked these complexities to the fact that the CIO is
running a function that uses a la rge amount of
resources but that offers little measurable evidence
of its value. Beatty et al. (2005) considered the
high CIO turnover rate and the continued growth in
the CIO responsibilities the main reasons for the
CIO role complexity. Brown and McClure (2009)
commented that the requirements of the CIO role
make it very complex. For all these reasons it is
not surprising that it is considered among the worst
C-titles in America (Karlgaard, 2002).
The CIO Role is Stressful
Stress refers to the conflict and tension due to the
role being enacted by a person at any given point of
time (Pareek, 2002). D. Smith, de Passos, and
Isaacs (2010) confirmed that the IT manager’s
job is highly stressful regardless of their gender.
Literature shows different reasons for CIO job
stress. Work overload has been identified by E. Li
and Shani (1991) as a major source of stress for IT
managers. H. Smith and McKeen (1992) found four
sources of IT managers’ stress including:
disagreement about control of computerization;
differences in goals and time frames of managers;
disagreement over role and responsibilities during
IS development; and lack of measurable IT ben-
efits. A recent study has investigated the source
of IT professional stress and found that the role
isolation and personal inadequacy were the major
role stressors (Ratna, Chawla, & Garg, 2011).
The CIO Role is Hybrid
Earls and Skyrme (1992) defined the hybrid man-
ager as “a person with strong technical skills and
adequate business knowledge or vice versa”. The
main job for the CIO is to use IT to gain business
value and this has required a CIO to become a
185

truly hybrid manager (Earls & Skyrme, 1992;
Meiklejohn, 1990; O’Connor & Smallman, 1995;
Skyrme, 1996; Skyrme & Earl, May 1990). Orga-
nizations and CIOs alike are struggling with these
unique requirements. Firms struggle to recruit the
CIO who really has these requirements due to the
lack of one of these two types of skills. On the
other hand, CIOs struggle to find a job or to stay
at their firms due to these requirements. Therefore,
many CIOs attempt to fill the job requirement gap
by undertaking specialist courses such as MBA or
ICT or engaging consultants who are able to guide
their decisions either in business or in technology.
The CIO Role has High Turnover
Rate/Low Job Tenure
It is suggested that CIOs have the highest turn-
over rate and shorter job tenure among the senior
executives (Applegate & Elam, 1992; Beatty et
al., 2005; Brown, 1993; Capella, 2006; Strass-
man, 2004; Strassmann, 1996; Thibodeau, 2011).
Table 3 shows a comparison of statistics
regarding the CIO’s turnover rate and the
turnover rate of other senior executives
obtained from previous literature.
The most recent CIO turnover statistics
confirmed that the CIOs’ turnover rate (34%)
is twice the turnover rate of CFOs’ (17%) and
nearly three times the CEOs’ turnover rate (12%)
(Capella, 2006). The statistics shown in Table 3
may go so far as referring to the CIO as
“Career
A Past to Present Journey
Is Over” (Rothfeder & Driscoll, 1990). However,
it is assumed that the need for accurate CIO turn-
over statistics is evident for some reasons.
First,
because some studies have proved that the CIO’s
job tenure does not significantly vary with the job
tenure of the other C-suite executives (Dawson &
Kauffman, 2010). Furthermore, the lack of
the
generalizability of the current statistics due
to
the source of the vast majority of these
statistics
is North America which represents a single
part
of the globe. Moreover, these statistics do
not
distinguish voluntary turnover of the CIOs
from
the involuntary ones which is different based
on
the reasons for leaving. Finally, it is clear that there
is a lack of studies that scientifically support
these
statistics as most are presented by
practitioners
rather than academics.
The CIO Career Path is Not Clear
The career path to reach the CIO position
remains
fuzzy (Lash & Sein, 1995) and is not strictly linear
(Tansley et al., 2008). Grant and Urbanik
(2012)
argued that there is no standard playbook
that
describes the best career path for IT
leadership
and CIOs. The unique makeup of the CIO’s
role
as both line and staff function in comparison to
 the CFO which is a staff role and CMO (Chief

Marketing Officer) which is line role make the

career path of the CIO ambiguous (Sviokla &

Curran, 2009). Also, it is believed that the evolv-

ing nature of the CIO role as explained earlier
has

Table 3. CIO turnover rate compared to turnover rate of other executives

CxO 1989 1990 1991 1996 2005 2006 Reference
CIO 29% 32% 33% Wilder (1992)
24% Strassmann (1996)

34% Strassman (2004)

34% Capella (2006)

CEO --- --- --- 11% 15% 12% CristKolder (2012)

CFO --- --- --- 15% 18% 17%

COO --- --- --- 20% 25% 25%

186
A Past to Present Journey

CIO role literature can be classified into two

caused that. In organizations today, two types of
CIOs are observed; the first has a technical or IT
background whereas the second came from a non-
IT background and rarely is a CIO found who has
both. A study conducted by Igbaria, Greenhaus,
and Parasuraman (1991) surveyed 464 IT
professionals and found that they have two career
orientations. IT professionals who evolved into
managerial or leadership roles such as system
analysts, project leaders, and computer manag- ers
prefer a managerial career path. Whereas IT
professionals who are involved in purely technical jobs
such as systems programmer, application pro-
grammer, and software engineers tend to choose a
technical career path.
CIO Roles Configuration
Since the first existence of the CIO position in
early 1980s (Synnott, 1987; Synnott & Grube r,
1981) much has been written about this role (Chen &
Preston, 2007; Fisher, 2003; Karimi, Gupta, &
Somers, 1996; Peppard et al., 2011; Stephens,
Ledbetter, Mitra, & Ford, 1992). In order to nar- row
the existing CIO literature to serve the aim of this
chapter, we concentrate on the studies that attempt to
apply or suggest a configuration of roles for the CIO
rather than those which tried to focus on one single
role.
major groups. The first includes studies that at-
tempted to apply the general manager classical
roles typologies discussed earlier to the CIO
role. The second group of literature attempted to
suggest new configurations of roles for the CIO
differing from classical managerial approaches and
considering at the same time the unique charac-
teristics needed for this role. The next two parts
will review these two groups of studies in detail.
The CIO Role Based on
Classic Typologies
From the literature it is evident that there are
four main configurations of roles that have been
developed for general managers over the last four
decades: Mintzberg’s managerial roles; PAIE
(Producer, Administrator, Entrepreneur, and Inte-
grator); CVF (Competing Values Framework); and
the integrated model of executive leadership roles.
Table 4 summarizes these four key typologies.
The applicability of prior theories regarding
managerial work and leadership to the CIO role
was asserted by Brown (1993) who claimed such
theories could be a useful base to build on as long
as the CIO is a general manager. Consequently,
many researchers have attempted to apply the roles
developed for the general manager to the position

Table 4. Key classic managerial roles typologies

Typology/Configurati Title used in Numb Roles
on Literature er Label
of
Roles
Mintzberg 1973 Mintzberg’s Managerial 10 Interpersonal roles: Figurehead, Leader,
Roles Liaison.
Informational roles: Monitor, Disseminator,
Spokesperson.
Decisional roles: Entrepreneur, Disturbance
hander,
Resource allocator, Negotiator.
Adizes 1976; Adizes 2004 PAEI
Competing Value 48 Mentorr,, Facilitato
Produce Administrato r, ov
r, Inn ator, Brokre,rIntegrato
Entrepreneu , Monitor,r.
Quinn, Faerman, Thompson, Framework CVF Coordinator, Producer, Director.
McGrath, & Clair 2006; Quinn
& Rohrbaugh 1981; Quinn
&
Rohrbaugh 1983
Hart & Quinn 1993 Integrated model of 4 Vision setter, Motivator, Analyser, Task
executive leadership master.
roles
187

of the CIO. Table 5 provides a summary of key
research that adopted classical mana gerial roles
configurations.
Some interesting observations have been
revealed from the closer examination of these
Table 5. CIO role-based classical role typologies
Methodology Sample
A Past to Present Journey
studies presented in Table 5. First, it confirmed the
possibility to apply the general manager and
leadership frameworks to the CIO role to provide a
greater understanding of the important CIO roles.
Second, it also confirmed that the CIO role
Country Important Role(s) Found
 Reference Typolo
gy
Based
(Grover, Mintzberg Quantitativ 71 CIO and IS US A Spokesman and liaison
Jeong, e– middle roles
Kettinger, & Survey managers
Lee, 1993)
(Stephens, Mintzberg Observation 5 CIOs from US A According to occurrence
1995) different frequency:
industries resource allocator, monitor, and
distributer handler
According to time spent:
resource
allocator, entrepreneur,
distributer
handler, and monitor roles
(Gottschal Mintzberg Quantitativ 101 IS//IT leaders Norway The new IS/IT leaders spend more
k, 2000b) e– time
Survey in informational roles than
established
IS/IT leaders.
(Gottschal Mintzberg Quantitativ 101 IS//IT leaders Norway Strategic responsibilities as well as
k, 2000c) e– IS
Survey stage of growth influences the
extent
of informational roles. The extent to

which the chief executives uses IT

influences the extent of decisional

roles, and the extent to which

subordinates use IT influences the
extent of interpersonal roles.
(Gottschalk, Mintzberg Quantitativ 128 CIOs Norway Entreprene
ur
2002) e–
Survey
(Karlsen, Mintzberg Quantitativ 128 IT Norway For IT leaders: monitor
Gottschalk, & e– executives and For IT project managers:
Andersen, Survey 80 IT project
leaders,
resource allocator, and
2002) managers
entrepreneur
(Lineman, 2006) Mintzberg Quantitativ 232 higher US A Entrepreneur, resource allocator,
e– education and
Survey CIOs leader
(Gottschalk Mintzberg Quantitativ 80 IT leader of Norway In firms with internal IT
& Karlsen, e– firms that have project:
2005) Survey internal IT projects leader.
+ 84 IT leader of In firms with outsourcing IT
firms that have project:
outsourcing spokesman
projects
(Yang, 2008) Mintzberg Quantitativ IT managers of Taiwan Liaison and spokesman
e– financial roles
Survey industry.
(Milliron, 2008) Mintzberg Mixed 10 CIOs of US A Monitor, liaison, and entrepreneur
(Interviews community roles
+ Survey) college
(Tufts & CVF 8 Q-Methodology 67 Public CIOs US A Results oriented pragmatist;
Jacobson, 2010) roles Compassionate managers;
survey - Leading
Quinn et edge powerbroker; and Goal
al. (1990) oriented
powerbroker
(Carter, Grover, Mintzberg Quantitativ 45 CIOs US A Monitor and
& Thatcher, e– Spokesperson
2011) Survey
188
A Past to Present Journey
is evolving from focusing on the communication
and informatics roles such as the spokesman and the
liaison (Grover et al., 1993) to play a more strategic
role focusing on change and innovation as an
entrepreneur (Gottschalk, 2000b; Karlsen et al.,
2002; Lineman, 2006; Milliron, 2008).
Furthermore, it is clear that Mintzberg’s (1973)
framework was the most adopted framework in
CIO role studies as ten out of eleven studies listed
in Table 5 were based on it (Carter et al., 2011;
Gottschalk, 2000a, 2000b; Gottschalk, 2002;
Grover et al., 1993; Karlsen et al., 2002; Lineman,
2006; Milliron, 2008; Stephens, 1995; Yang, 2008).
Moreover, it indicates a gap in the CIO literature that
needs to be addressed as the vast majority of the
studies were based on Mintz- berg’s framework
whereas almost none have used the other three key
management roles typologies of Adizes (1976),
Quinn and colleagues (Quinn, Faerman,
Thompson, McGrath, & Clair, 2006; Quinn &
Rohrbaugh, 1981, 1983), or Hart and Quinn
(1993).
CIO Distinctive Roles Configurations
Some Information Systems scholars have at-
tempted to suggest other distinctive roles for the
CIO which differ from the classic managerial
roles explained earlier and consider at the same
time the unique characteristics of this role. This
attempt was based on the fact that Mintzberg (1971)
asserted that all managers indeed are specialists
and as a result their roles tend to be dependent on the
functional area they lead.
Table 6 sheds some light on the key configura- tions
of CIO roles suggested in the literature over the last
couple of decades.
Several important conclusions can be dr awn
from Table 6. First, we can classify the CIO role
configuration studies into conceptual (N=7) and
empirical (N=17). The ear ly five configurations
were conceptual. The 17 empirical-based configu-
rations in turn can be divided into three groups
according to the methodology used as follows:
quantitative (N=7); qualitative (N=7); and mixed
(N=3). Two thirds of the role configurations
were developed in the USA (N=15), nearly one
third were proposed in the UK (N=5), the rest
were developed in China and Taiwan (N=2) or
worldwide (N=2). The number of suggested CIO
roles range from three to eight. The lengthiest
configurations (7 and 8 roles) tend to break main
roles into much more specific roles for the sake of
further explanation, while shorter configura- tions
(3 and 4 roles) tend to me rge two or more CIO
roles for the sake of parsimony. The early and
late CIO roles configurations include both
operational (supply side) roles and strategic (de-
mand side) roles which indicates that the shift of
CIO role from the technical role to more strategic
role started in late 1980s. These roles configura-
tions studies confirm that the CIO is performing
multiple roles (a configuration of roles) not one or
two specific roles. The IS scholars give differ- ent
names for the CIO roles. The most cited CIO role
configuration based on the data provided by
Google Scholar is Smaltz, Sambamurthy and
Agarwal (2006) followed by the work of Chun
and Moody (2009). After rational examination
and comparison of empirical based quantitative
CIO role configurations, this research adopts the
six CIO roles configuration proposed by Smaltz et
al. (2006).
Smaltz et al. (2006) CIO
Role Configuration
Building upon role-based performance theory
and based on a comprehensive inventory of CIO
roles identified from the literature along with data
collected from interviews with three healthcare
CIOs and three healthcare top management team
members, Smaltz et al. (2006) suggested six salient
roles for the CIO. Smaltz and colleagues a rgue
that the CIO role effectiveness can be described
in terms of six roles: strategist, relationship ar-
189
 A Past to Present Journey

Table 6. CIO key role configurations

Reference Empirical? Methodology Country Number of Citation

Roles Percentage
per
Year
(Dixon & John, 1989) No - USA 3 4.34%

(Klenke, 1993) No - USA 4 0.73%

(McLean & Smits, 1993) No - USA 4 0.26%

(Klenke, 1996) No - USA 4 0.25%

(CSC, 1996) No - UK 6 -
(Feeny, 1997) Yes Qualitative (Interviews) UK 4 0.53%

(Earl, 1998) Yes Qualitative (Interviews) UK 8 2.28%

(Smaltz, 1999) Yes Quantitative (Survey) USA 6 0.92%

(McLean & Smits, 2003) Yes Qualitative (Interviews USA 4 -

(Cash & Pearlson, 2004) No - USA 5 0.87%

(Perchthold, 2005) No - USA 3 -

(Sojer, Schläger, & Locher,
2006) Yes Quantitative (Survey) US A 4 1.00%

Yes Quantitative (Survey) USA 6 12.5

(Smaltz, Sambamurthy, & 7%
Agarwal, 2006)
(Agarwal & Beath, 2007) Yes Qualitative (Interviews) USA 7 0.83
%
(Tansley et al., 2008) Yes Qualitative (Interviews) UK 5 -
(Weiss & Adams, 2010) Yes Mixed (online Survey+
interviews) US A 3 1.00%

(Wu, Chen, & Sambamurthy, Yes Quantitative (Survey) Taiwan & China8 1.50%
2008)
(IBM, 2009) Yes Qualitative (Interviews) 78 Countries 3 pairs -
USA 4 12.0
(Chun & Mooney, 2009) Yes Mixed (Secondary data + 0%
interviews)
(CIO.Magazine, 2009) Yes Quantitative (Survey) USA 3 -
(Peppard et al., 2011) Yes Qualitative (Semi-
structured
UK 5 4.00%
Interviews)

(Y. Chen & Wu, 2011) Yes Quantitative (Survey) Taiwan & China 8 5.00%
was developed
(Nicolet, 2011) Yes Mixed (Survey + Interviews) USA 6 -
from the
chitect, integrator, educator, information steward and comprehensive inventory of CIO roles identified from
utility provider. Table 7 presents Smaltz et al. previous literature and empirical data obtained from
(2006)’s six CIO role configuration categories and in-depth interviews with CIOs and top management
definitions. members. Second, it represents a comprehensive
Table 8 presents the expectations for each of these configuration which accommodates all other
six roles which were operationalized in a survey empirical CIO role con- figurations discussed
instrument for an Australian CIO study. previously as shown in Table 7. Also, despite the fact
This study adopted this CIO role configuration for that this configuration of CIO role was developed
several reasons. First, CIO roles configuration within the healthcare

190
A Past to Present Journey

Table 7. Smaltz et al. (2006) CIO role configuration

Demand Side Roles (Strategic)
Strategist: The organizational desire for the CIO to be an
effective business partner and help their organization leverage
valuable opportunities for IT-based innovation and business
process redesign.
Relationship Architect: The desirability of a CIO to
build relationships both across the enterprise as well as
outside the enterprise with key IT service provide.
Integrator: The desirability of the CIO pr oviding
leadership in enterprise-wide integration of processes,
information, and decision-support as digital options for
the business.
Supply Side Role
(Operational)
Educator: The role of the CIO as an IT missionary, who provides
insight and understanding about key information technologies to rise
top management savviness, awareness, and appreciation of IT and
help them to make appropriate judgments about the business value of IT
and wise IT investment decisions.
Information Steward: The desirability of the CIO to be an
organizational steward for high quality data and operationally
reliable systems.
Utility Provider: The role of the CIO as a builder of sustaining,
solid, dependable, and responsive IT infrastructure services.

Table 8. Smaltz et al. (2006) CIO roles expectations

Role Item Code Role Expectations

Strategist Stra1 Develop and implement a strategic IT plan that aligns with the o rganization’s strategic business
plan.
Stra2 Develop/maintain metrics that measure the value of IT to the organization.
Stra3 Direct IT-enabled business process restructuring reengineering.
Stra4 Provide expertise on multidisciplinary business process improvement teams.
Stra5 Be initially involved in shaping the mission/vision of the organization.
Stra6
Re.Arch1 Be vide
Pro initiall invovlved
exyecuti in business
e oversight strategic
for all IT planning
contracts and decisions.
with external vendors.
Relationship
Re.Arch2 Negotiate with vendor IT organizations on new external contract proposals.
Architect
Re.Arch3 Ensure IT contracts with external vendors remain within scope and budget.
Re.Arch4 Interact often with non-IT managers throughout the organization.
Integrator Integ1 Direct efforts to build an integrated delivery system.
Integ2 Migrate organization from legacy, department applications to cross-department,
integrated
applications.
Integ3 Develop/acquire an electronic document management capability throughout the
organization.
Integ4 Develop an understanding of the industry deli very process.
Educator Edu1 Champion digital literacy throughout the o rganization.
Edu2 Provide insight to the top management team /executives staff on new emerging
technologies.
Edu3 Assist top management team/executives staff in improving their digital literacy.

Informati
on
Steward Info.S1 Keep key systems operational.
Info.S2 Build and maintain an IT staff with skill sets that mat ch your current and planned technology base.

Info.S3 Provide oversight for quality assurance of organizational data.

Info.S4 Ensure confidentiality and security of organizational data.
Utility Provider Ut.Prov1 Establish and maintain an IT department that is responsive to user requests/problems.
Ut.Prov2 Establish electronic linkages throughout the organization.
Ut.Prov3 Ensure the organization’s users have adequate workstations (PCs/Laptops/Tablets) to accomplish
their jobs.
Ut.Prov4 Establish electronic linkages to external entities (customers, suppliers, partners, etc.).

191

sector, the roles emerged were similar to the ones that
have been identified in the literature up to now
(Strickland, 2011). Furthermore, Agarwal and Beath
(2007) found that all these roles included in this
configuration were important in groom- ing the future
CIOs regardless of their industr y. Moreover, this
configuration has been proved to be valid within the
Australian context (Seddon, Walker, Reynolds, &
Willcocks, 2008). Smaltz et al. (2006) classified
these six roles into two distinct groups: supply side
role (utility provider, information steward, and
educator) and demand side roles (integrator,
relationship architect, and strategist) following the
modern classification of the CIO roles proposed by
some IS scholars (such as Broadbent & Kitzis, 2005;
Mark & Monnoyer, 2004). Also, this CIO roles
configuration has been measured by a survey instrument
that demonstrated high validity and reliability (Chen,
Preston, & Xia, 2010; Chen & Wu, 2011; Li, Ding, &
Wu, 2012; Wu et al., 2008). Finally, the survey
instrument for this CIO configuration is concise. This
is crucial in this study as the targeted survey
respondent is the most senior IT executive in the
organization who is extremely busy and is unlikely to
fill out a lengthy survey. Table 9 shows a mapping of
the six CIO roles identified by Smaltz et al. (2006) to
role configurations proposed by others in the field.
Characteristics and Role
of the Australian CIO
A survey methodology was chosen to collect data
regarding the Australian senior IT executives from
different industries. A list of postal addresses for
senior IT executives in Australian private sector firms
was purchased from Dun & Bradstreet Australia
(2011) and provided the sampling frame for this study.
Data Collection
Prior to data collection, the instrument used by
Smaltz et al. (2006) was modified because it was
192
A Past to Present Journey
developed within one specific sector (healthcare)
and we intended to collect data from CIOs across a
wide range of industries. Accordingly, the word- ing of
eight of the 25 items was modified to be more
generic than the initial ones. These items as shown in
Table 8 are UtPr2, UtPr3, Edu1, Edu2, Edu3,
Integ3, Integ4, and Stra1.
Also, we expanded the Likert scale used in this
instrument from five to seven points to increase the
instrument reliability. Then, an initial draft of the
instrument was pre-tested. Some minor changes
were made to some items in terms of the wording in
the light of the expert panel’s valuable feedback. Next,
one former healthcare CIO and the CTO of a large
University were asked to complete the pilot survey
and comment on any issues that might impair
completion of the questionnaire or generate a poor
response rate. The experts’ com- ments were very
helpful and a number of minor changes were
incorporated to finalize the research questionnaire for
data collection.
Data for this study were collected through
two postal mail outs followed by a third online mail
out. For the two postal mail outs, a cover letter
along with a copy of the questionnaire and pre-paid
reply envelope was sent by post to all of the 954
Australian senior IT executives listed in the
sampling frame in early 2012. A URL link was
provided in early July 2012 to the CIOs who preferred
to participate online.
Table 10 provides some statistics regarding
the survey administration that provide the basis to
calculate the overall response rate for this study.
A total of 113 questionnaires were returned as
undeliverable due to invalid addresses, and emails
were received from 19 firms who indicated that
they were not willing to participate in this survey for
different reasons. With 174 complete and usable
responses the response rate of this study was
calculated at 20.68 per cent (174/ (954 -113)) which is
considered to be a reasonable response rate for
survey research compared to similar stud- ies involving
CIOs where response rates have ranged from 7 to
20 per cent (Preston, Karahanna
A Past to Present Journey

Table 9. Mapping Smaltz et al.’s (2006) six CIO roles with other CIO role configurations identified
in literature
Smaltz et al.
(2006)
Roles Demand Side Roles Supply Side Roles
as a Integrator Educator Information Utility Provider
Strategist Relationship
Reference Steward
Architect
Configurati
on
(Feeny, 1997) System thinker Relations - - Technic Supply
hip al manager
builder Virtuos
o
(Earl, 1998) Visionary / Relations - - Tactici Deliver
Systems hip builder an / er /
(McLean & Smits, Strategist/ Innovator/
thinker / Reform Architec
2003) Innovator Enabler
Alliance- er t
manager
Innovator - Enabler Technologist
Strategist Relationship Integrator / Educator Information Utility Provider
(Sojer et al., Driver Architect
Enabler Leader - - Steward/Leader
- Supporter/
2006) Cost
cutter
(Agarwal &
Beath,
2007)
(IBM, 2009) Savvy Collaborative Insightfu - - -
value business l
creator leader visionar
y
(Chun & Innovator - Opportuni - Triage Nurse Landsca
Mooney, 2009) & Creator ty pe
Seeker Cultivat
or
(Weiss & Change Change agent Technologist - - Technolo
Adams, 2010) agent / gist
Business
expert

(Tansley et Innovator - Facilitator Evangelist - Utility IT

al., 2008) Director /
Agility
IT director
(Y. Chen & Business Relationship Organizatio - Organizatio Infrastructur
Wu, 2011; visionary, builder ; nal designer nal e builder
Wu et al., business value designer
2008) system configure; (Coordinatin (Staff)
thinker, and g)
entrepreneu Informed
r; and buyer
# Sent Date Sent
value Received Complete
configurer and Usable

(Nicolet, 2011) Strategist - Facilitato Educator - Technologi

r/ st /
Manager Implementer
Table 10. Survey responses for 3 phases of data
collection
Third e-mail
survey
Round Surv Incomplete Undeliverable Not Willing
ey to
Type Participate
First Pos 954 28/2/2012 98 96 2 105 4
tal
Mai
l
Second Pos 950 19/3/2012 65 65 - - 1
tal
Mai
l
77 4/07/2012 13 13 - 8 1
4

Total 198 176 174 2 113 1

5 9
193
 A Past to Present Journey

of the power of respondents. Data presented in

& Rowe 2006). It is recognised that the ta rgeted
respondents were senior IT executives who are busy
people and tend to be over-surveyed. The following
section presents the profile of respon- dents and
their firms.
Characteristics of Australian CIOs
Demographic data regarding respondent’s age,
gender, and education level are presented in Table 11.
As we can see from the data presented in Table 11, the
majority of respondents is male, middle aged, and
have a higher degree qualification.
In respect to the CIOs’ experience in their cur- rently
held position and in IT provision, Table 12 provides
evidence that the majority of respondents are highly
experienced in IT provision and in their current position.
The CIO job title and their reporting structure are
two indicators of the CIOs’ power in Austra- lian
organizations. Table 13 highlights the profile
Table 13 suggest that nearly half of respondents
are empowered IT leaders as they hold the CIO title
and they report to the CEO.
The profiles of the CIO’s organizations sur-
veyed in this study are presented in Table 14. As can
be seen from Table 14 our study includes CIOs from a
diverse range of industries, different size firms, and
Australia wide.
The Role of the Australian CIOs
Findings suggest that the perceived importance of
the six CIO roles given by the Australian CIO is
varied in terms of their means. The results are
reflected in Table 15
The highest rating mean was for the infor-
mation steward role (4.26) which indicates that
Australian CIOs consider ensuring organizational
data quality and security and IT staffing as the
first priority. The traditional role for the CIO as a

Table 11. Australian CIOs demographics

Variable Item Frequency Percenta
ge
CIO’s Gender Female 14 8.0%

Male 160 92.0%

Total 174 100.0

%
Less than 30 years 6 3.4%
CIO’s Age
31-40 years 32 18.4%

41-50 years 62 35.6%

51-60 years 69 39.7%

Over 60 years 5 2.9%

Total 174 100.0

%
CIO’s
Education
Level PhD/Doctorate 4 2.3%
Master Degree 45 25.9%
Undergraduate Degree 91 52.3%
Secondary School 34 19.5%
Total 174 100.0%

194
A Past to Present Journey

Table 12. Australian CIOs experience in current position and IT provision

Variable Item Frequency Percenta
ge
Years in Position Less than 1 year 20 11.5%

1-5 years 80 46.0%

6-10 years 46 26.4%

Over 10 years 28 16.1%

Total 174 100.0

%
Less than 5 years 8 4.6%
Years in IT Provision
6-10 years 9 5.2%

11-15 years 38 21.8%

16-20 years 31 17.8%

Over 20 years 88 50.6%

Total 174 100.0

%

Table 13. Australian CIOs organizational structural power

Variable Item Frequency Percenta
ge
CIO Job Title CIO 77 44.3%

CTO 7 4.0%

Vice President IT 2 1.1%

IT/IS Manager 58 33.3%

IT/IS Director 17 9.8%

MIS Manager 1 0.6%

EDP Manager 1 0.6%

Other 11 6.3%

Total 174 100.0

%
To CEO 74 42.5%
CIO Reporting Structure
To CFO 62 35.6%

To COO 16 9.2%

To Other 22 12.6%

Total 174 100.0

% Australian
CIO. This
utility provider was found in second place in terms of role sees the CIO actively participating in
importance. The third highest rating mean was for formulating the strategic orienta- tion for the firm
the relationship architect. This role requires the and doing the best to align the IT strategy with the
CIO to build and maintain strong relation- ships firm strategy. Next, the integrator role, attempting
with the powerful internal senior executives and to integrate the firm’s internal and external
external IT vendors. The strategist role was ranked systems toward mutual benefits was ranked fifth by
as the fourth most important role for the the Australian CIO. The lowest

195
 A Past to Present Journey

Table 14. Profile of firms surveyed in this study

Variable Item Frequency Percenta
ge
CIOs’ Firm Industry Accommodation, Cafes & Restaurants 3 1.74%

Communication Services 11 6.34%

Construction 8 4.60%

Cultural & Recreational Services 5 2.90%

Education 4 2.29%

Electricity, Gas and Water Supply 10 5.74%

Finance & Insurance 27 15.51

%
Health & Community Services 21 12.06
%
Manufacturing 24 13.79
%
Mining 8 4.60%

Personal and Other Services 2 1.14%

Property and Business Services 13 7.47%

Retail trade 14 8.04%

Transport & Storage 11 6.32%

Wholesale Trade 11 6.32%

Other 2 1.14%

Total 174 100.0

%
Less than 50 Employees 13 7.5%
CIOs’ Firm Size
50-250 Employees 36 20.7%

Over 250 Employees 125 71.8%

Total 174 100.0

%
New South Wales (NSW) 75 43.1%
CIOs’ Firm Location
Victoria (VIC) 49 28.2%

Queensland (QLD) 28 16.1%

Western Australia (WA) 17 9.8%

South Australia (SA) 4 2.3%

Australian Capital Territory (ACT) 1 0.6%

Tasmania (TAS) 0 0.0%

Northern Territory (NT) 0 0.0%

Total 174 100.0

be that
%
insufficient
ranked CIO role was the educator role which might attention is being paid by the Australian CIO to
mean that the Australian CIO believes that on the educate senior non-IT execu- tives on the strategic
whole Australian senior non-IT executives’ knowledge, and operational importance of IT. Hence the low
understanding and governance of IT strategy and ranking by Australian CIOs of the importance of the
operations is adequate. It might also educator role.

196
A Past to Present Journey

Table 15. CIO role comparisons among three groups of CIOs from Australia and
USA
CIO CIO Roles Our Study* (2013) Smaltz et al. (2006) Brown (2006)
Role Australia All Sectors USA Healthcare Sector USA Education Sector
Catego
Mean Rank Mea Mean Rank Mea Mean Rank Mea
ry
n n n
of of of
the the the
Mea Mea Mea
ns ns ns
Demand Strategist 3.82 4 3.34 6 3.40 5
3.74 3.55 3.
Side Roles Relationship Architect 3.85 3 3.82 3 3.80 2
60
Supply Side
Integrator 3.56 5 3.50 4 3.60 3
Roles
Information Steward 4.26 1 3.84 2 3.50 4
3.89 3.72 3.
Educator 3.44 6 3.40 5 3.20 6
53
Utility Provider 3.97 2 3.93 1 3.90 1

* converted from 7 point Likert scale to 5 point Likert scale

Comparison Australian
and USA CIO Roles
A mean-based comparison was conducted between our
results and two other studies conducted in the USA
that used the same configuration of roles. The
first study was the original study of Smaltz et al.
(2006) which investigated the CIO role in USA
healthcare sector. The second study was
conducted by Brown (2006) in the USA higher
education sector. Table 15 compares the results of
the three studies. In order to compare how the
three groups of CIOs rate the importance of the
supply side (operational) and demand side
(strategic) roles, we calculated the mean of the
three supply side roles and the mean of the three
demand side roles as reflected in Table 15. De-
tecting the significance of the differences among the
six CIO role means for the three studies using one
way ANOVA requires the availability of the three
data sets. As that access was not possible in this
study, we use the charts shown in Figures 1 and 2 to
make the comparison easier.
Based on the information presented in Table 15,
one can make these observations:
• Overall, the Australian CIO rates the im-
portance of the six roles higher than the
USA CIO in two industry sectors;
• In regard to the supply side and demand
side roles, both the Australian and the USA
healthcare sector CIOs rate the supply side
roles higher than the demand side roles,
but the USA/higher education CIOs rate
the demand side role higher than the sup-
ply side role (see Figure 2);
• The first priority for the Australian CIO
was the information steward ensuring the
organizational data quality and security
and recruiting and retaining IT skilled staff;
• The first priority for the USA CIO in both
sectors was the utility provider building
and sustaining solid, dependable, and re-
sponsive IT infrastructure services;
• The educator and the strategist roles were
rated as the least important role overall
across the three groups.
FUTURE RESEARCH DIRECTIONS
The key findings and the gaps identified by this
study warrant further research. As many studies to
date are conceptual or qualitative, there is a need
for empirical studies that help to clarify the CIO’s
ambiguous role. First, studying the CIO roles in
different countries is needed in order to make
an international comparison of IT leaders.

197
F

1
9
A Past to Present Journey
Furthermore, applying some neglected classic
managerial roles configurations such as Adizes
(1976), Quinn et al. (2006), and Hart and Quinn
(1993) could give another perspective and further
insights regarding CIO roles. Moreover, study- ing
the impact on the CIO role of new emerging
technologies such as cloud computing, mobile
computing, big data and social networking is
required. These new technologies and the growth in
the digital economy are expected to continue to have a
tremendous impact on product services in the next
few years. Investigating the organizational
contingencies which can shape the CIO role is
crucial in order to clarify the ambiguity surround- ing
this vital role. It would also be worthwhile to examine
whether the current curriculum of the educational
providers match with the reality of the CIO role
expectations.
CONCLUSION
Our study has contributed to the body of knowledge in
several ways. Firstly, it provided a comprehen- sive
definition for the CIO which is described in the
previous literature as an ill-defined. It is also
presented and tracked the evolution of the CIO role
from different points of view. The unique
characteristics for the CIO role were discussed
based on the literature. Furthermore, CIO role
literature based on classical and the contemporary
role configurations was reviewed and synthesized.
Finally, findings obtained from a large scale sur- vey
regarding the role of Australian CIO were
presented and compared with the results from two
studies in the USA.
This study has several useful implications for
different stakeholders. First, the findings of this
study are important for the career development of
CIOs as it provide them with a clear picture about
the required roles they should perform and the
importance of each of these roles. This might help
the CIOs to arrange their priorities to be more active
in their jobs, and add more value
to their firms. Secondly, the key findings of this
study can provide guidance to top management
for recruitment of CIOs who will be able to play a
dual role of savvy IT technician and insightful
business leader. Moreover, the training programs
offered by specialist institutions responsible for
preparing CIOs can be enhanced by taking ac-
count of the key findings of this study re garding
the need to consider both demand and supply side
roles. Similarly, educational providers should
reconsider their curriculum to fit with the current
expectations of the modern CIO.
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KEY TERMS AND DEFINITIONS
Chief Information Officer: A senior ex-
ecutive reporting mainly to the Chief Executive
Officer with a unique and hybrid background
knowledge of technology and business who is
responsible for delivering ICT services based on
suitable ICT technologies that meet the internal
and external stakeholders’ needs of information
and contributes positively to aligning the IT or-
ganization’s strategy with the business strategy
to create competitive advantages that add value to
the organization.
Demand Side CIO Roles: Roles that intended
to focus on the strategic or business side of the
CIO position which reflect IT as a transformation or
adding value tool. Demand side roles include
Strategist, Relationship Architect and Integrator.
Educator: The role of the CIO as an IT mis-
sionary, who provides insight and understanding
about key information technologies to rise top
management savviness, awareness, and appre-
ciation of IT and help them to make appropriate
judgments about the business value of IT and
wise IT investment decisions. Educator is a sup-
ply side role.
Information Steward: The desirability of
the CIO to be an organizational steward for high
quality data and operationally reliable systems.
Information Steward is a supply side role.
Integrator: The desirability of the CIO pro-
viding leadership in enterprise-wide integration of
processes, information, and decision-support as
digital options for the business. Integrator is a
demand side role.
Relationship Architect: The desirability
of a CIO to build relationships both across the
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enterprise as well as outside the enterprise with key

IT service providers. Relationship Architect is a
demand side role.
Role: A set of expected behavior patterns at-
tributed to someone occupying a given position in a
social unit (Robbins & Judge 2013).
Strategist: The organizational desire for the CIO
to be an effective business partner and help their
organization leverage valuable opportuni- ties for IT-
based innovation and business process redesign.
Strategist is a demand side role.

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 A Past to Present Journey

Supply Side CIO Roles: Roles that intended

to focus on the operational of technical side of the CIO position
which reflect IT as supportive tools. Supply side roles include
Educator, Information Steward and Utility Provider.
Utility Provider: The role of the CIO as a
builder of sustaining, solid, dependable, and responsive IT
infrastructure services. Utility Provider is a supply side role.