Search results

Grounded in the principal-agent theory, this study aims to develop and test hypotheses too, investigate how the firm’s strategic orientations, namely, innovation, growth, differentiation and cost leadership impact the chief information officer (CIO) reporting relationship and structure.

The study uses content analysis to analyze a data set of press releases collected from the LexisNexis Academic wire index. The press releases were issued by firms when they hired CIOs between 2003 and 2007, yielding 128 firms, which had specific information about the CIO reporting relationship and structure.

The results reveal that firms seeking an innovation, growth or differentiation strategy have their CIOs reporting to the chief executive officer.

The current study is motivated by the desire to replicate and extend the works of previous researchers who have assessed various CIO issues. Replication takes several forms such as the use of similar or different data sets, different research environments or reinvestigating research concepts through a different theoretical lens. This study makes use of a multi-firm data set spanning five years and the principal-agent theory as the theoretical framework to explore the CIO reporting relationship and structure. Although this study focuses on the hiring trends and the strategic orientations of the firms, future studies should explore other characteristics associated with the CIOs that might have an impact on the reporting relationship such as the years of experience, age, educational background of CIOs and information technology budgets.

The existing literature has not settled the debate as to whom the CIO should be reporting to and understanding the reporting relationships is important because, in many firms, the organizational structures and the reporting relationships are indicative of the power dynamics and how the organizational resources are controlled and shared.

Replication studies are important because they confirm, reinforce, extend and provide reliability to the paradigms and knowledge in the discipline, as well as offer reliability of the results upon which scientific progress is based.

The aim of this study is to advance research on the position of the CISO by investigating the role that CISOs play before and after an IT security breach. There is a dearth of academic research literature on the role of a chief information security officer (CISO) in the management of Information Technology (IT) security. The limited research literature exists despite the increasing number and complexity of IT security breaches that lead to significant erosions in business value.

The study makes use of content analysis and agency theory to explore a sample of US firms that experienced IT security breaches between 2009 and 2015 and how these firms reacted to the IT security breaches.

The results indicate that following the IT security breaches, a number of the impacted firms adopted a reactive plan that entailed a re-organization of the existing IT security strategy and the hiring of a CISO. Also, there is no consensus on the CISO reporting structure since most of the firms that hired a CISO for the first time had the CISO report either to the Chief Executive Officer or Chief Information Officer.

The findings will inform researchers, IT educators and industry practitioners on the roles of CISOs as well as advance research on how to mitigate IT security vulnerabilities.

The need for research that advances an understanding of how to effectively manage the security of IT resources is timely and is driven by the growing frequency and sophistication of the IT security breaches as well as the significant direct and indirect costs incurred by both the affected firms and their stakeholders.

There are two main industry-sanctioned enterprise risk management (ERM) models, that is, COSO 2004 and ISO 31000:2009, that firms refer to when implementing ERM programs. Taken together, the two ERM models specify that firms should implement ERM programs to meet a strategic need, improve operations and reporting or to comply with government regulations or industry best practices. In addition, the focus of ERM implementation should be either the subsidiary, business unit, division, firm/entity or global level. The purpose of this study is to investigate whether firms are aligning their ERM implementations with these tenets: strategy, operations, reporting, compliance and the level of implementation.

The proxy for ERM implementation is the hiring of a Chief Risk Officer (CRO). The research data come from a sample of 122 US firms that issued a press release following the hiring of a CRO between 2010 and 2014. The press releases were retrieved and aggregated through content analysis in LexisNexis Academic.

The results reveal that many ERM implementations are occurring at the firm/entity level, and with the exception of reporting, firms consider ERM to be a strategic firm resource capable of improving business operations and compliance initiatives.

There is a dearth of research studies specifically investigating whether ERM programs adopted by firms are aligned with the specification of COSO 2004 and ISO 31000:2009 frameworks. The apparent lack of a clear understanding of the alignment between the firm ERM programs and the industry’s ERM frameworks may limit the development and implementation of ERM and the eventual realization of the benefits associated with a successful ERM implementation.

Although project management (PM) continues to rise in popularity, there is still a significant PM talent deficit, leading to more challenged or failing projects. To lower the PM talent deficit and mitigate the higher project failure rates, academic institutions have been developing PM curriculums aimed at inculcating a repertoire of competencies to the potential project managers. In developing an ideal well-rounded PM curriculum, academic institutions occasionally engage the input of industry partners and governing entities. The study aims to (1) compare the competencies in one of the leading industry competency model and framework (PMI Talent Triangle) to the competencies in the PM course syllabi learning outcomes, (2) determine the extent to which these two sets of PM competencies are aligned and (3) and explore avenues for improvements.

The study uses a purposeful sampling method to gather PM course syllabi. The PM competencies data are gleaned from the syllabi using the content analysis method. Thereafter, QSR NVivo qualitative statistical software is used to summarize and analyze the competency data from the learning outcomes.

The results reveal that most of the PM competencies in the course syllabi fall under the technical PM domain. Specifically, the top three competency elements in each domain are technical PM domain (PM skills, tools and techniques, schedule management and cost estimation/budget), leadership domain (team-building, verbal/written communication and problem-solving) and strategic and business management domain (strategic planning, analysis and alignment, benefits management and realization, customer relationship and satisfaction).

The study investigates the alignment of the PM course competencies with competency domains in the PMI Talent Triangle, a global competence model that is well aligned with other global competence models such as the APM Competence Framework, the ICB4 Individual Competence Baseline and the PROMA3.

The results from this study provide guidelines useful in informing PM curricula re/design, as well as the inculcation of knowledge, skills, tools, techniques and behaviors needed for effective PM.

The PM curriculum can be improved by partnering with PM industry leaders who can serve as advisors to the academy on industry needs, direction and emerging innovations that can inform PM learning outcomes, PM curricular design and the development of quality PM talent. The academy and the industry are encouraged to actively strive for mutual partnerships where PM professionals and academicians serve on each other's advisory boards. Also, the academy can partner with the industry professionals by developing curriculum resources such as case studies that bring the real-life PM applications to the classroom.

This study is motivated by the call for research studies that provide a holistic picture of the desired PM competencies and an exploration and definition of the educational needs in the PM curriculum.

This study aims to investigate how to improve the project management (PM) curriculum by evaluating the nature and alignment of learning outcomes in the PM course syllabi with Bloom’s Taxonomy framework.

The research methodology for this study is an integrative approach that uses document analysis and content analysis. The data set was selected based on a purposeful sampling method and came from PM course syllabi for classes that were taught during the 2016–2018 academic years.

Results revealed that most of the reviewed PM course syllabi contained learning outcomes although they were written and assessed at the lower levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy and knowledge dimensions. The study calls for the academy and industry to partner in improving the PM curriculum to lower the PM talent deficit and increase project success rates.

The absence of PM learning outcomes or the presence of poorly written PM learning outcomes in a course implies that the academy should provide professional development programs to help professors learn how to formulate and write specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and timely learning outcomes. The professors should also ensure that the learning outcomes use a type of cognitive taxonomy that is aligned with the appropriate assessments to measure, monitor and guarantee assurance of learning.

Academy and industry partners can work collaboratively to provide students with opportunities that expose them to real-world experiential projects, internships and job opportunities while concurrently giving them hands-on practical applications of learned PM knowledge and skills. The society will be well served when the academy is able to produce well-qualified PM personnel capable of successfully carrying out PM activities and lowering the project’s failure rates.

The society will be well served when the academy is able to produce well-qualified PM personnel capable of successfully carrying out PM activities and lowering the project’s failure rates.

To the researchers’ knowledge, this is the first study to specifically investigate the presence and nature of PM learning outcomes in course syllabi. By evaluating the alignment between PM learning outcomes and Bloom’s Taxonomy action verbs and cognitive processes, the study provides some exemplars of well-written and measurable learning outcomes that professors can use to inform their PM curriculum through course design or redesign.

In most firms, accounting and financial information and reporting systems are either incorporated or embedded in computer-based information systems (IS). Despite the important roles that these computer-based IS play in facilitating the SOX Act compliance initiatives, the act is silent on the roles of the CIOs, although it does stipulate specific functions for the CEOs, CFOs, and the auditors. Based on a detailed analysis of the extant literature, this article argues that IT units, under the leadership of the CIOs, contribute significantly in the procurement, design, implementation, and the governance of these computer-based IS. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

The researchers generate and empirically test hypotheses using a panel data set obtained from press releases issued by firms following the hiring of CIOs between 1999 and 2005.

The results reveal that, after the enactment of the SOX Act in 2002, many firms hired new CIOs in the post-SOX Act period. Also, many of these executives were hired to fill newly created Chief information officer (CIO) positions. The results support the argument that the SOX Act has influenced the roles of senior IT executives and IT governance.

Although this study focused on hiring trends, there are other characteristics associated with CIOs that might have an impact on corporate IT governance. Future studies could investigate whether or not, for instance, firms reported fewer IT material weaknesses before or after the hire of the CIOs.

This research presents the argument and detailed discussion that while the SOX Act does not explicitly require the CIOs to sign off on the accounting/financial statements and reports, their role is fundamental in making the firm meet the SOX Act compliance standards.

MIS researchers have consistently adopted survey‐based research method while investigating MIS and related phenomenon, making survey‐based research method one of the widely used research method in MIS research. This study seeks to revisit some of the inherent characteristics of survey‐based research method with the aim of improving the quality, replication, and validation of results in MIS survey‐based studies. Additionally, this study provides information on the most prevalent analytical and statistical tools used in MIS survey research studies.

In this research, the authors adopt the content analysis technique. The choice of content analysis is premised on the desire to investigate the sources of survey data, units of analysis, research methods, and statistical tools used in MIS research with the aim of improving empirical research in the MIS discipline.

The results show the prevalent sources of data, the dominant units of analysis, the most commonly used analytical research methods, and the statistical tools adopted by many MIS researchers. The results indicate that many MIS researchers get their data from US sources, although researchers are increasingly acquiring data from other countries. Also, the results reveal that most MIS survey researchers are using SEM, LISREL, and PLS statistical methods and tools.

The paper concludes with recommendations and implications on how to inform and retool upcoming and existing researchers on the current and future MIS research tools and methods. Editors should ensure that MIS researchers provide as much information as possible about the sources of data, the dominant units of analysis, the analytical research methods used, and the statistical tools adopted; these will demonstrate the rigor of the research process and enable replication, validation, and extension of the research works.

The paper presents the results of a content analysis of 749 survey‐based research articles published between 1990 and 2010 in nine mainstream MIS Journals. Prior studies have broadly addressed aspects of MIS research methodologies like investigating MIS research methods, ranking them, and generated a taxonomy of MIS research methodology. The results of this study make a case for the reporting of, both, the analytical method(s) and statistical tools used by MIS researchers to aid in replicating, validating, and extending the resultant findings of their survey‐based research.