Perception of the Role and Responsibilities of Chief Information Officers in Japan

This paper presents a framework and an empirical analysis for the survey data from 258 Japanese companies to understand their perceptions about Chief Information Officers (CIOs) in relationships with business strategy, information technology (IT) strategy, IT-business alignment, and infrastructure. The results of the research model using Structural Equation Model (SEM) show that there are significant, very strong positive relationships between CIOs and those factors; IT strategy, IT-business alignment, and infrastructure. However, there is a significant, very strong negative relationship between CIOs and business strategy. Closing the gap to engage more CIOs in strategy discussions could deliver business benefits and address concerns over IT effectiveness.