Paper Number
ICIS2026-3401
Paper Type
Completed
Abstract
Generative artificial intelligence is reshaping firms, yet scholarly attention to organizational antecedents of GenAI innovation remains limited. Drawing on upper echelons theory, this study examines how chief information officers’ (CIOs) career variety influences firms’ GenAI innovation. We argue that GenAI innovation is higher in firms led by CIOs with either highly specialized or highly generalist career backgrounds than in firms led by CIOs with moderate career variety, consistent with a U-shaped association between CIO career variety and firm-level GenAI innovation. We further propose that this relationship is linked to the broader top management team (TMT), particularly a CEO’s tenure within the TMT and the chief financial officer’s (CFO) IT experience. Using generalized estimating equations and data from S&P 500 companies from 2014 to 2023, we find support for a U-shaped relationship between CIO career variety and GenAI innovation and show that this relationship is contingent on CEO TMT tenure and CFO IT experience.
Recommended Citation
Kottmann, Konstanze; Schäper, Thomas; and Bendig, David, "CIO Career Variety and Generative AI Innovation: A U-Shaped Perspective in the Upper Echelons of the Firm" (2026). ICIS 2026 Proceedings. 15.
https://aisel.aisnet.org/icis2026/innov/innov/15
CIO Career Variety and Generative AI Innovation: A U-Shaped Perspective in the Upper Echelons of the Firm
Generative artificial intelligence is reshaping firms, yet scholarly attention to organizational antecedents of GenAI innovation remains limited. Drawing on upper echelons theory, this study examines how chief information officers’ (CIOs) career variety influences firms’ GenAI innovation. We argue that GenAI innovation is higher in firms led by CIOs with either highly specialized or highly generalist career backgrounds than in firms led by CIOs with moderate career variety, consistent with a U-shaped association between CIO career variety and firm-level GenAI innovation. We further propose that this relationship is linked to the broader top management team (TMT), particularly a CEO’s tenure within the TMT and the chief financial officer’s (CFO) IT experience. Using generalized estimating equations and data from S&P 500 companies from 2014 to 2023, we find support for a U-shaped relationship between CIO career variety and GenAI innovation and show that this relationship is contingent on CEO TMT tenure and CFO IT experience.
Comments
15_Innovation_and_entrepreneurship