The making of a CIO: A grounded theory study of professional development of information technology executives

The CIO fulfills an important role for most business organizations by leading the information technology department and by aligning the firm's information technology assets with its corporate strategy. There is little research regarding the important components of CIO development and the relationships among these elements. This study examines how formal executive development affected CIO attitudes and performance. It also identifies the aspects of their professional development that CIOs believe have the greatest impact on their personal success. Data collection consisted of interviews with 28 current or recently serving CIOs in the United States from a wide variety of industries. This qualitative study develops a grounded theory that describes IT executive development in four phases: Foundation, Preparation, Transition, and Renewal. It identifies the important factors of CIO development in each phase. The study portrays IT executive development as a process. Future research on components of these developmental activities must consider them as part of a larger set of activities. CIO candidates and executives responsible for recruiting and developing IT executives can use this theory to design and manage their professional development efforts.