The Board of Directors and the Management of Information Technology

Abstract

While IS researchers studied the role of the CIO extensively, little work is reported on how CEOs and Boards of Director influence IT investments and the adoption of IT enabled strategies. This paper examines the association of board characteristics with IT investment decisions and the role of the CIO. Our research confirms that CEOs and boards of companies to date have limited IT experience. We find that younger boards, and those with more ITexperienced external board members are associated with larger IT investments and the presence and role of a CIO.