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Transcript of 3 Executive Involvement and Participation in Management of IT
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Executive Involvement in IT Manageme
Executive Involvementand Participation in
the Management ofInformationTechnology
By: Sirkka L. Jarvenpaa
Graduate School of BusinessUniversity of Texas at AustinAustin, Texas !"#$""%
Blake &ves
'd(in L. )ox School of Business
Southern *ethodist University
+allas, Texas %#%$,---
Abstract
Executive support is often prescribed as critical
or fully tapping the benefits of information
echnology IT!" #o$ever% fe$ investigations
ave attempted to determine $hat type of
xecutive support is li&ely or organi'ationally
ppropriate" This article puts for$ard alternative
models of ex ecutive support" The models are
ested by exam ining chief executive officers(
ehaviors in and perceptions of IT activities"
)E*s and informa tion systems executives are
urveyed and further data collected from
ndustry handboo&s and from chairmen(s annual
etters to shareholders" The results suggesthat executive involveent /apsychological
tate! is more strongly associated $ith the
rm(s progressive use of IT than ex ecutive
articipation actual behaviors! in IT ac tivities"
Executive involvement is influenced by a)E*(s participation% prevailing organi'ational
onditions% and the executive(s functional bac&
round" )E*(s perceptions about the
mportance of IT in their firms $ere
enerally positive% although they participated inT activities rather infre+uently"
Introduction6e( nostrus have 7een prescri7ed so
reli1ious ly and i1nored as re1ularly as executi
support in the developent andipleentation of ana1eent inforation
systes /*&S8. Since the advent of
ana1eent inforation systes, executive
support has 7een considered neces sary to
fully exploit the 7enefits of inforation
technolo1y /&T8 /e.1., 29Toole and 29Toole, "55
&n "5!, ;ock(ell ar1ued that
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Executive Involvement in IT Management
hind the Sa7re reservation syste, Aerican
Airlines9 fre@uent flyer pro1ra, and the airline9s
use of yield ana1eent soft(are /3arrar,
"!58. 'xecutive support has also 7een
descri7ed for a?or systes ipleented at6rito$Lay /Linder,
"!58, Lockheed$Geor1ia /3oudeshel and >at
son, "!8, USAA /'la, "!!8, Buick /itale,
"!!8, and hillips 55 /Apple1ate and 2s7orn,
"!!8.
+espite the enthusiastic calls for executive sup
port and the intuitively copellin1 evidence in
the case study literature, little is kno(n a7out the
con cept, and its utility reains lar1ely
unproven. ;esearchers ust still deterine if,
(hen, ho( uch, and (hat type of executive
support is like ly or or1ani=ationally
appropriate. &n this re search, (e focus on the
chief executive officer /)'28$the leader of
the top ana1eent tea$and his or her
role in &T ana1eent. Al ternative odels of
executivesupport in facilitatin1 an or1ani=ation9s
pro1ressive, priarily strate 1ic,1 use of
inforation technolo1y are presented and
tested.
The Concept of Executive
SupportThe ters hich type of executive support is re@uired
facilitate pro1ressive uses of inforati
technolo1yC To study this issue, alternat
odels of executive support are proposed. T
initial t(o odels are constructed fro the plicit and explicit assuptions e7edded
previous studies on executive support *ost
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Executive Involvement in IT Managemennvolveent.
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Mode/-
'xecutive articipation ,,1 ro@ressivo Usc of &T in the 6ir I
he prescriptive literature, includin1 text 7ooks
n inforation technolo1y ana1eent /e.1.,
==o, "!D Spra1ue and *cEurlin, "!58, su1
ests that the )'29s proper role is to personally
articipate in &T ana1eent and that personal
articipation contri7utes to the eployent of in
oration technolo1y in a fir /Adas, "#D
ederer and *endelo(, "!!D ;ifkin, "!D
ock (ell, "5!8. Brandon /"8 ar1ues that
he top executive9s role is to esta7lish controls,
erfor lon1$ran1e plannin1, conduct post$
stallation audits, plan for e@uipent, and so
n. +inter /""8 proposes a lon1 list of
uties, includin1 vie(in1 plans and
ro1ras, onitorin1 schedules, and
ollo(in1 up on results. 'ery /"8
escri7es ho( a corporate president par
cipated in the developent of an iportant in
oration syste,
3e (as the priary insti1ator of the pro
?ect and (as responsi7le for the choice of
hard(are vendor and ipleentation tool
/(ith soe considera7le internal
opposition (ithin the fir8. 2ver the
course of the developent, the president
aintained close ta7s on pro1ress and(as @uite (ill in1 to step in (here
necessary to reove any or1ani=ational
7arriers /p.xi8.
0unde /"!8 proposes that the )'2 not 7e a
expert on the
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Ta7le ", (e have indicated the ters used 7y
the studies9 authors for the independent
varia7le. Their use of the ter
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strate1ic systes discussed in the literature,
such as 'conoost at *c0esson +ru1 )opany
e.1., )leons and ;o(, "!!8, cross 7usiness
units or functional areas. Such systes are often
claied to 7e only ipleenta7le fro the ex
ecutive office /orter and *illar, "!%8. Johnston
and )arrico /"!!8 cite an instance (here a )'2
ook it upon hiself to proote &T as a copetive (eaponD the )'2 persistently challen1ed his
ne executive cadre and &T people to
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Executive Involvement in IT Managemen
&
&
here is soe liited epirical evidence
upport in1 a link 7et(een executive
nvolveent and the fir9s &T use. Ta7le # lists
our studies that ex aine this relationship to
oe extent althou1h any are concerned (ithop ana1eent in 1eneral, not (ith )'2s.
*oreover, in any of these studies, the
ependent varia7le (as the success of a sin1le
yste rather than the overall use of &T (ithin a
r. The studies are 1enerally ore ro7ust than
hose addressin1 *odel " /see Ta7le "8,
lthou1h several are (eakened 7y sall
aples and a lack of attention to easureent
elia7ility and construct validity.
anders and )ourtney /"!%8 found that the
vel of executive involveent /i.e.,
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Executive Involvement in IT Management;eich andBen7asat,"
roactivereactivestance on corporatelevel
&ntervie(s 6irst overs in 7uildin1 andipleentin1 custoer$oriented strate1ic systes
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forulation. >e (ill next discuss each of the
linka1es in *odel -.
'xecutive artlctpatlon$e 'xecutive
&nvolveent
&n studyin1 user involveent in inforation
systes, S(anson /"48 deonstrates that
ana1ers (ho en1a1e in syste developent
activities /i.e., a priori involveent8 7ecoe
ore appreciative of the syste.< That is,
participation influences appreciation. S(anson
descri7es the construct of appreciation as aana1ers9s
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Executive Involvement in IT Management
holds. 6or exaple, +ear7orn and Sion /"%!8
ound that, (hen a 1roup of executives (ith dif
erent functional 7ack1rounds (ere presented
(ith the sae case study and asked to consider
t fro a copany$(ide perspective, they vie(edhe pro7le lar1ely in ters of their 7ack1rounds.
3a7rick and *ason /"!48 aintain that ex
ecutives fro e 7elieve that youn1 )'2s,
'xecutive &nvolveent$ ro1ressive
Use of &T
But do positive )'2 vie(s a7out &T lead to p
1ressive use of &TC 2ur preise is that )'2s chief leaders ake a difference in their or1a
=ations9 activities. This preise is supported
the literature. 6or exaple, 3a7rick a
*ason /"!48 ar1ue, in their ateran /"!#8, in their 7ook
Search of Excellence% clai that the values a
7ehaviors of top an a1ers have a si1nifica
influence on the fortunes of their firs. 2the
are less supportive a7out the direct ipact
)'2s on or1ani=ational suc cess or failure, 7
ackno(led1e that )'2s cre ate iporta
variation in or1ani=ations /see Thoas, "!!
A nu7er of &S researchers have aintaine
that, as &T applications 7ecoe a si1nifica
eleent of industry structure and copetitio
the chief executive officer9s vie(s a7o
investent in &T 7ecoe considera7ly orelevant and instru ental in shapin1 &T use in
fir /Bakos and Treacy, "!5D Ben?ain, et a
"!4D )leons and ;o(, "!!D arson
"!48. 6or exaple, (ith their 7road perspecti
on the or1ani=ation, )'2s ay 7e sin1ula
positioned to reco1ni=e the value of lar1e$sca
&T$7ased inte1rations that cannot 7e ?ustifi
strictly 7y a return on in vestent calculation
the early sta1es. erhaps ore iportantly,
)'29s stron1 si1nals in sup port of &T usua
can 7e expected to 1et line ana1eepersonally active in proposin1 and developi
&T$related initiatives. Such si1nals ay coe
ver7al stateents in corporate plan ni
eetin1s, (ritten stateents in corpora
ne(sletters, or off$hand coents durin1 casu
contacts. As *arkus /"!"8 has deonstrate
(hile executive support is necessary, it is not
sufficient condition for pro1ressive use of &
Line and operational ana1eent support
also needed.
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To test *odel -, the follo(in1 hypothesis is
studied:
3ypothesis -: A )'29s hi1h involveent in
&T, (hich is associated (ith a fir that ishi1hly pro1ressive &n &ts use of &T, &s deter
ined 7y a )'29s participation, an or1ani$.
=atlon9s industry conditions, and the )'29s
7ack1round.
The follo(in1 section reports on an investi1ation
intended to ascertain (hether executive involve
ent or participation 7etter accounts for the
variance in a fir9s &T use and (hether our for
ulation of antecedants of involveent have
any epirical support. 6or purposes of clarity,the three odels are vie(ed as alternatives
althou1h *odel - expands on *odels " and #.
A Preliminary Test ofAlternative ModelsThe hypotheses derived fro the three odels
(ere tested 7y surveyin1 )'2s and inforation
systes ana1ers and 7y collectin1independent data fro the chairen9s annual
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Executive Involvement in IT Manageme
o copetitors. The scales ran1ed over a five
point scale fro laggard to industry leader" The
sae @uestion (as asked of the &T ana1ers.
>here 7oth executives responded, the avera1e
of these responses constituted the easure ofpro1ressive use of &T (ithin a fir.
Additional easures(ere o7tained fro a
ailed @uestionnaire sent to the topost &T
ana1er at the !- firs. This instruent asked
he &T ana 1ers to assesstheir
espective)'29s involveent (ith &T and
participation in &T rnana@ernent.< 6or analysispurposes, all the ites on executive in
volveent and executive participation (ere
ransfored to confor to the follo(in1 rule: thehi1her the score on the ite, the 1reater the
)'29s involveent or participation in &T
ana1e ent as reported 7y the &T ana1er.
>here re spondents provided ultiple
esponses for the sae ite, the ore
conservative response /i.e., the lo(er score8
(as coded. The ites (ere
developed on the 7asis of the prescriptive
iterature and one of the author9s experiences
(orkin1 (ith senior &T ana1ers. The @uestionnaire (as purposefully short, re@uirin1 less than" inutes to coplete, to ensure a hi1h re
sponse rate and the coplete attention of the
espondent. The @uestionnaire is attached as
Ap pendix B /(ith the transfored scores8.
&nforation on the )'2s9 7ack1rounds /Le.,
a1e, tenure in a fir, tenure in a position,
nu7er of years in colle1e, and functional
7ack1round8 (as retrieved fro 4usiness 5ee&
/"!!8 and 5ho(s 5ho in 1inance and Industry/"!!8. A1e, tenure in the copany, and tenure
in the position (ere easured in years.
'ducation (as easured as years in colle1e.
6unctional 7ack1round (as cap tured 7y a
duy varia7le. The varia7le (as as si1ned "
f the executive9s 7ack1round (as in output or
a data processin1 function. 2utput func$
>e also sou1ht responses for the other varia7les fro the)'2. 3o(ever, only -! )'2s responded, (hich does not
allo( us to conduct a relia7le factor analysis. Also, a close
of &T.
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Executive Involvement in IT Managementons (ere arketin1 or retailin1 for retailin1
'2sD 7ankin1 or lendin1 for 7ankin1 )'2SD
di torial for pu7lishin1 )'2sD and exploration,
stri7ution, or ;F+ for petroleu )'2s. The
r ia7le (as assi1ned if the executive9s
ack 1round (as in throu1hput or a staff
nction. The throu1hput and staff functions
ere production, en1ineerin1, anufacturin1,ccountin1, ad inistration, and le1al.
fty$seven of the !- &T ana1ers contacted
sponded /5 percent8. T(o responses (ere
ot used 7ecause it (as apparent that the
xecutive had not personally copleted the
rvey. Eo sta tistical differences (ere found in
e 7ack1round characteristics of )'2s /Le.,
1e, functional 7ack1round, education, tenure
a copany and in a position8 aon1
spondents and non$re spondents (ithinarticular industries, thus pro vidin1 soe
pport for the representativeness of the
ple aon1 1ortune 2 firs (ithin the
ur industries.
n avera1e, )'2s (ere %! years of a1e, had
! years of or1ani=ational tenure, and had
rved ei1ht years in the office of the )'2.
(enty$four of the %% )'2s had a
ack1round in
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variax rotated principal coponent factor
analysis (as perfored on " ites in the
@ues tionnaire. The factor loadin1s for the t(o$
factor solution are sho(n in Ta7le -.
The first factor appeared to tap aspects of the
)'29s participation in &T$related atters in the
fir as reported 7y the &S ana1ers. &ncluded
(ithin this factor (ere ites concernin1 a )'29s
role in corporate &T steerin1 coittees, the fre
@uency of a )'29s personal participation in is
sues related to the fir9s use of &T, and a )'29s
failiarity (ith a fir9s and its copetitors9 &T
use. This factor (as la7eled as 'xecutive ar
ticipation. &tes related to )'2 perceptions of
&T, includin1 a )'29s prevailin1 thinkin1 a7out
&T spendin1, a )'29s perceived iportance of
&T for a fir, vision for &T, and endorseent of
applications not eetin1 traditional criteria all
oaded on a coon factor that (e called 'x
ecutive &nvolveent.
The factor analysis and relia7ility calculations for
the &T ana1er responses su11est that the six
ite executive participation and the four$ite
executive involveent scales are oderately relia7le and deonstrate initial evidence of validi
ty. )ron7ach alpha relia7ility for Executive
,articipation /factor "8 (as .!- and for
Executive Involvement /factor #8 (as. %."
6uture research on executive support should
conduct further validation studies usin1 ulti$
traitlulti$ethod procedures /see 0erlin1er,
"!58. The scores used for hypothesis testin1
(ere the siple avera1e of respondents9
responses for the ites that loaded on their
associated factor 7eyond .%.
The firm(s progressive use of IT (as the depen
dent easure in all three odels of executive
support. This easure appeared on the &T
ana1er and the )'2 @uestionnaires as a
sin1le$ite su7?ective perforance ite. The
easure asked the respondents to rate their
copany9s relative &T use (ithin their industry,
ran1in1 fro industry leader to la11ard. +ess
and ;o7inson /"!48 have ar1ued that
su7?ective per forance easures exainin1 a
fir9s relative perforance (ithin an industry
easures. Jarvenpaa and &ves /"8 propo
and provide support that countin1 &T$rela
phrases in the chairan9s letter can 7e an a
native (ay to easure the state of &T use in
fir, particularly strate1ic &T use. &n this sapthe &T ana1er ratin1s of the fir9s pro1ress
use of &T correlated .4" /p$c .-8(ith
nu7er of &T$related phrases in the chaira
Letter to the Shareholders in the fir9s "
annual report. The co7ined &T and )
responses on the pro 1ressive use of &T /(he
a )'2 response exist ed8 correlated .4- /p.
#8 (ith the nu7er of &T$related phrases
the "!! chairan9s letter. These si1nific
correlations su11est that the easure of fir9s pro1ressive use of &T has so
conver1ent validity (ith at least one o7?ec t
easure. Also, the ite analysis of @u
tionnaire data indicate that individual ite
easurin1 executive involveent and execut
participation (ere ore hi1hly correlated (
their o(n theoretical constructs fro the fac
analysis /correlations fro .54 to .!8 than (
the pro1ressive use of &T /correlations fro
to .%"8. 3ence, the varia7le appears to hasoe construct validity.
Results and DiscussionThe correlations aon1 study varia7les, sho
in Ta7le 4, su11est that executive involvee
executive participation, executive a1e, and fu
tional 7ack1round are si1nificantly associat
(ith the criterion varia7le$pro1ressive use of(ithin the fir. 'xecutive involveent is co
lated (ith executive participation and or1an
tional conditions, and (eakly associated (ith
executive9s functional 7ack1round. 'xecut
participation is associated (ith a )'29s a1e a
tenure in a copany.
Testing of alternative models
Ta7le % displays the results of step(ise re1
sion analyses desi1ned to test the stud
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Ta7le -. )oposition of the 6actors$&T 'xecutive ;esponses
6actor
6actor
Loadin1
6actor 1: 'xecutive articipation
". )'29s personal participation in fir9s use of &T
"P less than once a year" " " % P daily"#. )'29s role in corporate &T steerin1 coittee
"=no committee% # =no )E* input% - =)E* amember%
4 =)E* a chair% % =)E* a defacto committee"-. )'29s kno(led1e of copetitors9 use of &T
"=$ea&ly informed" " " % =extremely &no$ledgeable"4. )'29s inforal contacts (ith &T ana1eent
"P less than once a year" " " % P daily"%. )'29s kno(led1e of &T opportunities in the fir
1P $ea&ly informed" " " 5 Pextremely &no$ledgeable"5. Eu7er of levels 7et(een &T head and )'2
1P one level from the )E*% 2 P t$o levels% etc"
.0
.7!
.70
.5
.!7
".!7
1actor 2: Executive Involvement
". )'29s prevailin1 thinkin1 a7out &T spendin1 .!"
1P expense to be controlled8 3 P resource to be allocated fairly85P strategic investment"
#. )'29s perception of &T9s iportance to the fir .
1P no concern for IT" " " ! P IT is Single most critical factor for firm"-. )'29s vision for &T .4
"Pno vision% # = technical vision% - =functional vision% 4 =strong%generic vision"
4. )'29s endorseent of applications not eetin1 traditional criteria .5
"Prarely% - Poccasionally% % P fre+uently"
Ta7le 4. )orrelations Aon1 the Study arla7lest
)riterion varia7le
". ro1ressive use of
/#8 /-8 /48 /%8 /58 /8 /!8 /8
&T (ithin the fir .%QQ Q .-Q QQ . $.#!QQ $ ."" $."# $.- .#Q
redictor varia7les
#. 'xecutive involveent .-4Q Q .#Q $ ."" $.4 $."5 . .#4Q-. 'xecutive participation ." $.#%Q $.5 $ .#QQ $.4 ."
4 2r1ani=ational conditions $ "4 #5Q $ "5 $ ! "
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Executive Involvement in IT Management
Ta7le %. Step(ise ;e1ression ;esults
BetaS 6
*odel "
ro1ressive Use of &T
'xecutive participation
*odel #
ro1ressive Use of &T
'xecutive involveent
*odel -
a. ro1ressive Use of &T
.4 ".%4QQ ."5
.45 ##.#QQQ .-#
"-."4Q Q Q .4'xecutive involveent .-! #%."QQQ .-5
A1e $.4 5.#5Q Q .!'xecutive participation .#% -.4-Q .%
7. 'xecutive &nvolveent %.##Q N .#%
'xecutive participation .%# .5RR ."4
6unctional 7ack1round .%# -.55R .52r1ani=ational conditions .# -.#Q .%
Q."D NR.%D NNR.".
*odel "
*oderate support (as found for 3ypothesis ",
(hich predicted that a )'29s personal participa
tion in &T ana1eent is associated (ith a fir9s
pro1ressive use of &T. The predictor explained
"5 percent of the variance in the criterion
varia7le.
2verall, the current pool of )'2s, ho(ever, participated relatively little in &T$related activities.
Ac cordin1 to the &T ana1ers, )'2s in
7ankin1, pu7lishin1, and retailin1 (ere
involved only on a onthly 7asis in ana1in1
&T. &n petroleu firs, )'2s apparently concern
theselves (ith &T atters only a fe( ties a
year. 'ven infor al &T$related eetin1s (ere
likely to occur only onthly, except in 7ankin1
(here (eekly eet in1s (ere coon. *ost
)'2s (ere reported to 7e
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Executive Involvement in IT Managemen
elatively little over and
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a7ove that explained 7y executive involveent.
A )'29s a1e (as also found to 7e a si1nificant
redictor of the pro1ressive use of &T. The ex
stence of a
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ured 7y the &T ana1ers and )'2s positionin1
their firs9 &T use relative to other firs in the
industry. As an additional validation, three alter
native odels of executive support (ere also
tested usin1 a surro1ate easure for a fir9spro1ressive use of &T, that is, the nu7er of &T
related phrases in a chairan9s letter to share
holders in the fir9s "!! annual report.
An &T$related phrase in a chairan9s letter (as
defined as an instance of a (ord or a set of
(ords that discussed
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Q ."D Q Q .%D Q Q Q .".
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elin1 that )'2s headin1 lar1e or1ani=ations
eed not personally 7e very participative in &T
ana1eent. &nstead, if the fir is to 7e pro
essive in its use of &T, the )'2 ust send the
1ht supportive si1nals re1ardin1 &T to his or her1ani=ation. )'2s9 personal participation tends
7e short and hi1hly teporal. 6or exaple, one
'2 of a lar1e insurance copany told us that
e participated in a ulti$hundred illion dollar
o?ect only throu1h attendance at @uarterly pro
ess eetin1s. &n another fir, fre@uently cited
s an industry leader in the use of &T, the )'2
peaks (ith the &T ana1er for a7out - inutes
onth, often a7out issues unrelated to &T.
oe )'2s consider theselves un@ualified toarticipate directly in decisions re1ardin1 &T.
hey express personal frustration at 7ein1 una7le
effectively evaluate &T proposals. 2ne in
urance )'2 descri7ed his participation in a
a?or &T investent decision:
2ur &T people (ere hirin1 consultants (ho
(ere in turn hirin1 their o(n consultants.
)onsultants and the coputer vendors re
inforced each other (hile diffusin1 respon
si7ility for the decision. & kno( nothin1
a7out &T. & didn9t kno( (hat @uestions to
ask or (hat options (ere availa7le.
ur findin1s are consistent (ith the picture Gupta
!!8 recently painted of )'2s in lar1e firs.
upta aintains that chief executives have
either the tie nor the expertise to deeply par
cipate in sales, purchasin1, ;F+, and other
ecisions throu1h (hich corporate strate1ies are
ali=ed. )'2s ainly set 7road 1uidelines (ithin
hich the fir operates. This does not, ho(ever,
ean that )'2s do not considera7ly influence
r1ani=ational decisions indirectly 7y shapin1 the
ontext (ithin (hich they are ade. After all,hey
re responsi7le for selectin1, appointin1,
e(ard in1, and reovin1 key executives (ho
re di rectly involved in ipleentin1 strate1y.
or exaple, the )'2 of a lar1e financial
stitution had hired a ne( &T ana1er "!
onths 7efore (e intervie(ed hi. The )'2ter prooted hi to the 7ank9s 7oard of
rectors and as descri7ed 7elo( relied on hi
uture Research
Generally, (e 7elieve that this study and it
predecessor /Jarvenpaa and &ves, "
deon strate that executive support is a fruitfuresearch area. 6uture research needs to te
the 1ener ali=a7ility of our findin1s and seek
7etter understandin1 of the conditions an
echaniss 1overnin1 the effects o
participation and involve ent on th
pro1ressive use of &T in a fir. Because ou
easures (ere developed partly 7y explorator
data analysis, psychoetric (eak nesses a
exist in the current results. )ausal linka1e
7et(een participation, involveent, anpro1ressive &T use reain unexained an
tan1led. Additional theoretical constructs, suc
as decision$akin1 style or leadership style
ay 7e profita7ly 7rou1ht into su7se@ue
analysis. *ore po(erful easures of th
pro1ressive use of &T in a copany also nee
to 7e developed since su7?ective and indirec
easures do not provide the sae stren1th a
direct o7?ective easures could. Also, in th
study, or1ani=a tional conditions (ere easurecrudely and on an industry level. 6utur
easures of this varia7le should focus at th
fir level and i1ht take in to account suc
factors as the a?or constituen cies /e.1
suppliers, custoers, and distri7utors8 use of &T
the a?or copetitors9 use of &T, th
inforation intensity in the fir9s a?or service
and products and in the production process, th
de1ree of predicta7ility in the fir9s environen
and so on.
This study focuses on lar1e or1ani=ations, ofte
(ith diversified 7usiness units. 6uture researc
ers need to study the differences that exist
executive support 7et(een diverse, hi1h
decen trali=ed or1ani=ations and sin1
7usiness, hi1hly centrali=ed or1ani=ations.
the latter case, (here contact (ith
ana1eent can 7e fre @uent and direct,
)'29s vie(s and visions for &T can 7
perhaps tied to specific 7usiness needs. 6
the hi1hly decentrali=ed, ulti 7usines
operation, the )'29s perspective i1ht 7e les
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es.
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Executive Involvement in IT Managemen
2r1ani=ational si=e ay also influence the role
of executive support. 6or exaple, +elone
/"!!8, studyin1 sall 7usinesses (ith less
than
- eployees, found a stron1 relationship 7et(een the )'29s personal participation and the
fir9s successful use of &T. 3ands$on ana1e
ent in &T i1ht 7e uch ore iportant in a
sall fir or 7usiness unit (here a )'2 co
only akes ost key decisions and is perhaps
the only one (ho can harness &T to corporate
o7 ?ectives and strate1y.
6urther studies need to exaine the factors that
influence the participation of )'2s in &T
ana1e ent. 2ur study found that )'2sappear to par ticipate infre@uently in &T$
related activities. erhaps )'2 participation in
&T is of liited utili ty. Alternatively, this findin1
ay reflect a lack of exposure to, experience
(ith, or cofort in coputers and inforation
technolo1y aon1 the current cadre of )'2s
aon1 the sapled firs. )'2s9 participation
i1ht increase as ana1ers (ho have
7ecoe accustoed to us in1 coputers as
(e< as chapionin1 and initiatin1 innovativeuses of inforation technolo1y in their line
ana1eent roles reach the top of the fir.A
siilar speculation re1ardin1 the ac tual hands$
on use of coputers aon1 future )'2s has
7een proposed 7y Jones and *cleod /"!58.
>e suspect, ho(ever, that participation of the
)'2 in &T plannin1, developent, and
ipleen tation$related activities (ill reain
rather liited and coonly dele1ated toothers. Eeverthe less, certain types of
participation appear to offer po(erful otivatin1
opportunities for the )'2s to chan1e the
7ehavior of others re1ardin1 &T. 6or instance,
(hen )'2 *ichael Jordan /"!8 unexpectedly
used 6rito$lay9s sophisticated ne( executive
inforation syste to @ui= a arketin1 ana1er
a7out the unhappy status of
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atisfactory or1ani=ational perforance /i.e.,
@uili7riu8, the core task of leadership is to
us tain coitent to esta7lished patterns of
c tivity. +urin1 periods (hen the environent
chan1in1 rapidly or the fir is perforin1oorly /i.e., dise@uili7riu8, the leaders9 priary
sk is to interrupt the esta7lished patterns and
redirect the or1ani=ation to(ard activities that
re responsive to chan1es in the environent.
ur initial intervie(s (ith several )'2s
ntatively su11est that )'2s in lar1e firs are
ost likely to participate in &T (hen the
r1ani=ation has a pro7le, and the )'2
erceives &T as a (ay to reorient or chan1e the
r1ani=ation.
Ac&no$ledgements
>e (ant to thank )hino ;ao and 'd(ard )hiu
or providin1 assistance on the pro?ect, and
andra +e(it= (ho provided detailed coents
n an earlier version of this article.
:eferences
das, >. .J.
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Executive Involvement in IT ManagemeEor7urn, +. and Birley, S.
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ent Tea and )orporate erforance,ashin1ton ost
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Executive Involvement in IT Managemen
oastal )orp.
ro(n )entral
iaond Sharock
xxon
err *cGee
*apco
Sun
Tenneco
Texaco
Tosco
US
>itco
Retailing
lliederican Stores
*ay +epartent Stores*elville
est roducts Safe(ay Storesarter$3a(ley Service *erchandiseayton$3udson Southlandederated +epartent Stores
Stop and Shop.(. >ool(orth Toys 9;9 UsGreat Atlantic F acific Tea >al1reen
). enney >al*art Stores*art >inn$+ixie Storesucky Stores ayre
*arriotts
Appendix 'IT Manager +uestionnaire
Eu7er .. .. V
his @uestionnaire &s &ntended for the ost senior &nforation systes executive (ithin
our fir. && you are not that &ndividual please for(ard the entire packet to hi or her.
lease provide the &&l&e of the person you report to:
3o( any levels are you fro the )hief 'xecullve 23lcer of the corporationC
2 3 ( 5 !
3o( any years have you held your current positionC
# 3 ( 5 orethan %
To the 7est of your kno(led1e, ho( any years has your &&r9s )hief 'xecutive 2ltlcer
7een &n his or her current positionC
# 3 ( 5 ! 7 9 " ore than "
>hich of the follo(in1 stateents 7est descri7es the &portance that your )'2
perceives &T to 7e for your firC
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Executive Involvement in IT Management
Appendix ' " cont,5. 3o( often does the )'2 1et personally involved in ailers related to the use of &T (ithin the
firC
5daily
4
(eekly
3
onthly
#
fe( ties
a year
less than once
1 ayear
2ptional )oent V
7. 3o( fre@uent are inforal contacts 7et(een the )'2 and the fir9s senior &T ana1eentC
5
daily(
(eekly
3
onthly
2 fe(
ties ayear
less than once
a year
2ptional )oent. V
. 3o( kno(led1ea7le is the )'2 a7out &T opportunities and possi7ilities for your firC
% 4 - # "
extreely
kno(led1ea7levery
infored
(ell
inforrred
soe(hat
infored
(eakly
infored
2ptional )oent V
9. 3o( kno(led1ea7le &s the )'2 a7out &T innovations that have 7een developed 7y
a?or copetitorsC
% 4 - #extreely
kno(led1ea7levery
infored
(ell
infored
soe(hat
infored
(eakly
infored
2ptional )oent. V
10. 3o( (ould you deecrl7e your fir9s use of &nforation technolo1yC
5
industry
leader
4 close
follo(er
3
iddle
of the pack
#
soe(hat
7ehind
la11ard
2ptional )oent V
11. &s there a research and developent )- F 8 7ud1et for &nvestents &n &TC
" # - 4
no yes. 7ut
inade@uate
for our needs
es, (e have a
odest 7ud1et for
pilotin1
ne( technolo1ies.
yes, (e are pro7a7ly an
industry leader in
discretionary fundin1 for
investents in
eer1in1 inforation technolo1ies.2ptional )oentM V
"#. >hich of the follo(in1 7est descri7es the )'29s prevailin1 thinkln1 a7out funds
the fir spend on &TC1 3 5
ie(s &T as ie(s &T as a resource ie(s &Tasa
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Executive Involvement in IT Manageme
Appendix ' " cont,
4. >hich of the follo(in1 7est descri7es the )'29s role in the corporate &T steerin1 coitteeC
% 4 - #&s the defacto
steerin1 coitteechairs an &T coittee
and actively participates
in eetin1s.
isae7er
of the &T
steerin1 coittee.
&T coittee exists,
7ut (ith inial )'2
input or a(areness
no steerin1
coittee
exists.
2ptional )oent V
%. >hat is the )'29s vision for &TC
( 3 2a>o1, 7utMvision,
($e $ill be the industry
leader in the use ofadvanced iinformation
technology"0*
a M vision of ho(
the fir (ill use &T ($e $ill
install a $orld$idecommuB% nicationsnet$or&C
a M vision of ho(
the fir (ill use &T /9%K
of customer calls $illbe
handled $ith no call
bac&"0)
no stated
vision expressed
for &T.
5. +oes the )'2 personaliy use inforation technolo1yC
()'2 akes heavy useof &T via electronic ail,
personal coputer,executive inforation
syste.
3
)'2 akes sy
7olic use of &Te"g"% / in the
office% but onlyoccasional use"!
#
)'2 is not a user of&T 7ut insists that hisor her office akeuse of &T.
")'2 has nopersonal involveent (ithcoputers.
, >hat fir do you consider to 7e the inforation technolo1y leader in your industryC
>ould you like a copy of the paper (e referred to in the cover letterC
Eo es I&f ne( address please specify Thankyou very uch for your assistance.
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33/33
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