Motivating CIO Advice Networking to Improve Firm Performance

Abstract

Prior research has examined factors that motivate executives in general to seek advice from external peers. The literature is silent however regarding what IT governance mechanisms motivate CIOs to mindfully seek advice in their external advice networks. Our research shows that simply applying the advice of the prior literature in the CIO and IT governance context can be counterproductive. We analyze data from a survey of 99 municipal corporations to show that an effective configuration of IT governance mechanisms fits and changes over time with the firm’s financial performance and state of IT enactment. The lessons learned are instructive for practitioners, while also highlighting the importance of attending to context in IT governance research.