Information Systems Leadership and the Role of the CIO .pdf

Track Description
Over the last decade the position of the chief information officer (CIO) has moved centre stage but this has not always been for the right reasons. The turn of the century saw both Y2K and the dot.com boom and bust, highlighting the vulnerability of organizations to both legacy technologies as well as the enviable hype that has always accompanied new information technology (IT). IT projects are continually dogged by high failure rates. Complexity with infrastructure has affected the agility of many organizations to respond to changes in the competitive environment. IT outsourcing has had mixed results with some companies choosing to bring IT back in house very soon after contract signing or when the contract came to an end. Yet, the fact is that most organizations would not survive for long without their IT systems. Consider the Internet and its impact on business models and e-commerce; or how technology is facilitating collaboration, enabling greater mobility and supporting the challenges of sustainability and the increasing requirements for compliance; or how some companies are leveraging data and information for significant competitive advantage.

Consequently, the CIO and IT leadership has become a focus for research. Prescriptively, no longer are CIOs seen to be solely responsible for the stewardship of the organizations technology base, ensuring that the computers and telecommunications continue to function, they are now strongly encouraged to become drivers of business transformation and innovation. This new demand is for incumbents to find ways for IS to change the company, not just run it, and to take a much broader role in driving business transformation, innovating for competitive advantage and acting as key partners to the CEO and wider organization. However, CIOs have generally struggled with this new agenda. Yet, can all the blame for the problems that organizations experience with IT be placed at the door of the CIO?

This track aims to bring together the work of IS researchers and practitioners to provide thought leadership and insights concerning information systems leadership in organisations today. It aims to achieve a productive dialogue between industry and IS research to ensure that a greater contribution to practice is made by adopting the results of IS research, much of which is either currently ignored or practitioners are unaware of it. This will strengthen the role of the IS function and that of the CIO. In particular, this track will explore the role of the Chief Information Officer (CIO), the future role of the IS function, and the role of the wider CxO community in providing this leadership.

Relevant Topics
Topics could include but are not limited to:

We welcome research papers and case studies which have a sound theoretical and methodological approach and are based on empirical work which contribute to an improved theoretical understanding of IS leadership and the role of the CIO in current and future practice. We will also consider well argued and grounded “thought leadership” papers that add to the debate.

Confirmed journal special issues and/or journal fast-track
While no agreement has been reached with any journal regarding future publication, authors of high quality papers will be encouraged to submit their work for publication with guidance from the track chairs. If there are enough submissions reporting high quality research, it is possible that we will approach a journal and invite authors to submit an extended version of the paper for a special issue.

Confirmed Associate Editors
Professor Guoqin Chen, Tsinghua University , China
Adjunct Professor Gus Geurson, University of South Australia
Dr Nina Evans, University of South Australia
Dr Michael Lane, University of Southern Queensland, Australia
Professor Gordon Hunter, University of Lethbridge, Canada

Track Chairs
Professor Andy Koronios, University of South Australia
Professor Joe Peppard, Cranfield School of Management, UK
Adjunct Professor Peter Grant, Queensland University of Technology (ex-CIO Queensland Government)

Contact details
Andy.Koronios@unisa.edu.au
j.peppard@cranfield.ac.uk
peter.grant@me.com