MIS Quarterly, 2011, Volume 35,
Issue 2, Page 487-504.
The article presents management research on the executive position of chief information officer (CIO), considering the reporting structure of management in terms of the CIO's access to senior executives and participation in decision making. The informal assumptions that the CIO should report directly either to the chief executive officer (CEO) to promote the role of information technology or to the chief financial officer to control information technology costs are examined. A hypothesis is proposed that a company's strategic positioning should determine the CIO reporting structure, and longitudinal data is presented supporting the hypothesis.