Increasing Coordination Demands and the Impact on CIO Rank

There are a number of forces that have intensified the coordination demands in large, multi-business firms in recent years. This study considers the organizational response of the information technology function to meet those demands for coordination throughout the large firm. We utilize a unique measure, CIO Rank, to highlight an increase in the prominence of the IT function and specifically the top IT executive over the fifteen year period, 1993 to 2007. Data representing 186 Fortune 1000 firms was used to test hypotheses that the demand for coordination influences the CIO Rank and firms that address high demands for coordination with an elevated role for the IT function perform better. While the empirical evidence of an increasingly prominent role for IT is strong, the evidence is mixed regarding the contingent effect of coordination demands on the role of the IT function and subsequent firm performance.