نقش مدیران IT در توانایی شرکت برای دستیابی به مزیت رقابتی از طریق قابلیت های فناوری اطلاعات

Contrary to prior studies that have tried to examine the role of IT capabilities (ITC) on firm performance in isolation from the role of senior IT executives, we propose that the two are linked. More specifically we argue that there is a positive relationship between the structural power of senior IT executives and the likelihood that the firm will develop superior ITC. Furthermore, the contribution of ITC to a firm's competitive advantage is much stronger in firms with powerful senior IT executives as they are the driving force that may ensure the continuous renewal of ITC. We develop a two-stage econometric model designed to test this chain hypothesis that the structural power of senior IT executives will affect a firm's ability to achieve superior ITC, in turn driving firm performance. Empirical evidence based on a sample of large US firms strongly supports both of our hypotheses.

Anecdotal evidence based on companies that have been known for their superior organizational IT capability indicates that powerful senior IT executives1 play a pivotal role in orchestrating their company's success. The objective of this study is twofold. A two-stage approach is used in order to examine the contribution of senior IT executives on their firm's ability to achieve superior IT capability, and the impact of co-presence of powerful senior IT executives in firms with superior IT capability on their firm's competitive position.2 Our study builds on and integrates two streams of research that fall under the broader IT business value literature: (1) Studies that examine role of organizational IT capability on firm performance. One of the first studies in this area by Bharadwaj (2000) has shown strong support for the hypothesis that firms with superior IT capability perform better than their competitors. However, a follow up study by Santhanam and Hartono (2003) found that the role of IT capability on firm performance is weaker once you account for the firm's prior performance. In general the results from IT capability studies remain mixed. (2) Studies that examine the role of senior IT executives on their firm's market and financial performance. According to Chatterjee et al. (2001), markets react positively to the announcement of the creation of a new CIO position. Khallaf and Skantz (2011) find that CIO appointments improve firm financial performance but the performance improvement is largely limited to ‘firms appointing a CIO for the first time’ and first movers. Notwithstanding the contribution of both of these studies (Chatterjee et al., 2001 and Khallaf and Skantz, 2011), a question with significant practical implications for senior business executives and senior IT executives remains unanswered. Do incumbent senior IT executives add value? The importance of evaluating the value adding contribution of incumbent senior IT executives has been suggested by Chatterjee et al. (2001; p. 58): “…evidence suggests that CIOs experience a high turnover rate, relative to other senior executives. Is this solely a function of poor performance by incumbents?” In this study we propose integrating these two streams of research in order to better understand the value adding contribution of senior IT executives and the role of IT capability on their firm's performance. Prior studies have either tried to examine the role of IT capabilities on firm performance (e.g., Bharadwaj, 2000 and Santhanam and Hartono, 2003) or the role of senior IT executives on firm performance (Khallaf and Skantz, 2011) in isolation. We propose that one should consider the role of senior IT executives in a firm's ability to develop superior IT capability, and then the value added by senior IT executives through superior IT capabilities. Building on existing literature (e.g., Raghunathan and Raghunathan, 1989, Grover et al., 1993 and Armstrong and Sambamurthy, 1999) this study argues that there is a positive relationship between the structural power of senior IT executives and the likelihood that the firm will develop superior IT capability. Structural power is ‘perhaps the most commonly cited type of power; it is based on formal organizational structure and hierarchical authority' (Finkelstein, 1992; 508). Furthermore, given the dynamic nature of IT capabilities (Bhatt and Grover, 2005 and Lim et al., forthcoming) the contribution of IT capability to a firm's competitive advantage is much stronger in firms with powerful senior IT executives as they are the driving force that may ensure the continuous renewal of IT capability. The data set for testing our hypotheses was developed by integrating data from InformationWeek 500 (proxy for firms with superior IT capability), Lexis-Nexis and a variety of online sources (search for official title and number of titles to proxy for structural power of senior IT executives) and Compustat (firm performance data) for the period 1997–2004. A two-stage econometric model is used to test the chain hypothesis that the power of senior IT executives will affect a firm's ability to achieve superior IT capability, and that this in turn drives firm performance. Empirical evidence based on a sample of large US firms strongly supports our hypotheses. This study contributes to prior literature on IT capability and firm performance by demonstrating that the impact of superior IT capability on a firm's competitive performance is contingent upon the structural power of the firm's senior IT executive. The results show that in firms where senior IT executives have high power, the effect of superior IT capability on firm performance remains strong, even when accounting for the firm's prior performance, time, and industry effect. Furthermore, our study contributes to the growing literature on the role of senior IT executives (Chatterjee et al., 2001, Dehning and Stratopoulos, 2003, Khallaf and Skantz, 2011 and Masli et al., 2011) by illustrating that the impact of a firm's senior IT executive on its performance is channelled through superior IT capability. Identifying antecedents of IT capability, i.e., factors that lead a firm to achieve and sustain superior IT capability, as well as recognizing the role that these factors play on the rent yielding capacity of IT capability, helps to illuminate the proverbial black box of IT business value research. Finally, this study has important practical implications for senior business executives who want to compete through IT enabled strategies. The message is that bestowing more power on senior IT executives increases the likelihood that the firm will develop and sustain superior IT capability, the sine qua non for an IT enabled strategy.

Evaluating the business value of IT remains one of the most interesting questions for researchers and professionals. This interest is motivated by the realization that ability to extract value from investment in IT resources and capabilities, while feasible, is far from certain. In this study we propose coupling the role of IT executives with IT capability in order to evaluate their effect on firm performance. More specifically we theorize and find empirical evidence to support the following positions: first, there is a positive relationship between the hierarchical power of senior IT executives and the likelihood that the firm will develop superior IT capability. Second, the contribution of IT capability to a firm's competitive advantage is much stronger in firms with powerful senior IT executives as they are the driving force that may ensure the continuous renewal of IT capability. This study makes several contributions to IT business value literature. First, it suggests the need to extend the prior literature on IT capability and firm performance with a search for factors that have a multiplicative effect on the payoffs from IT capabilities. Second, existing literature is leveraged to theorize and empirically validate the proposition that the power of senior IT executives works multiplicatively with IT capability. Third, a relatively new area of research is illuminated, such as the value adding contribution of incumbent senior IT executives. Fourth, the study demonstrates that senior IT executives who leverage their power to develop a superior and enduring IT capability are making a much stronger contribution to their company than IT executives who develop a superior but non-enduring IT capability. Finally, identifying antecedents of IT capability, i.e., factors that lead a firm to achieve and sustain superior IT capability, as well as recognizing the role that these factors play on the rent yielding capacity of IT capability helps to illuminate the proverbial black box of IT business value research. Naturally, like similar studies, there are limitations that must be acknowledged. First, since InformationWeek has been a well-respected and widely used source of secondary information on IT capability ( Bharadwaj, 2000 and Santhanam and Hartono, 2003), it was assumed that firms listed in IW500 are a proxy for firms with superior IT capability. However, we cannot confirm that the IW500 firms are independently evaluated each year. Second, Finkelstein (1992) suggests that official title, number of titles, and compensation are a proxy of hierarchical power. While we use official title and number of titles, compensation was excluded because only 8% of IT managers' compensation data is publicly available. Nevertheless, since the empirical results are consistent with the anecdotal evidence offered by the IT leaders such as PNC, Intel, Harrah's Entertainment and many others, these limitations do not seem to compromise the main message of our study. Future research could attempt to resolve some of these limitations or extend our research by considering other characteristics of senior IT executives such as experience, education, connection to other business and IT executives and how they affect their ability to add value to their firm through IT capability. Finally, as mentioned in the introduction this study has important practical implications for senior business executives who want to compete through IT enabled strategies. We suggested that bestowing more power on senior IT executives increases the likelihood that the firm will develop and sustain superior IT capability, the sine qua non for an IT enabled strategy. Related to this observation, future research could evaluate the extent to which firms reciprocate by rewarding the contribution of senior IT executives to their firm's ability to achieve and sustain superior organizational IT capability.