Background
The role of the Chief Digital Officer (CDO) is increasingly establishing itself as a key leadership position that drives digital transformation, leverages opportunities, and manages challenges resulting from digitalization. Due to the novelty of the CDO role, relatively few studies have investigated this leadership role to date. While the initial studies provide important insights for our basic understanding of the CDO function, we lack knowledge and empirical evidence on particularly two aspects regarding the role of CDOs:
(1) How does CDO power influence firm performance?
(2) What contingency factors influence the relationship between CDO power and firm performance?
Approach
We analyze a longitudinal sample of firms with CDOs for the time period between 2010 and 2019 from the S&P 500 and the STOXX Europe 600. We hand-collected data on CDO presence based on annual reports in Form 10-K, proxy statements, and press releases that we collected via internet search and the Lexis-Nexis database. Overall, our sample consists of 892 firm-year observations from 290 firms, including 326 CDOs.
Project publications and presentations
Ademi, E. & Tumasjan, A. (2022). When Do Chief Digital Officers Matter? An Examination of CDO Power and Firm Performance. Presented at the 82nd Academy of Management Annual Meeting, Seattle, Washington, USA. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5465/AMBPP.2022.14765abstract
Project member