Business & Management Studies

Abstract

Technology-enabled disruptions have created challenges for firms in all industries and often originate from firms outside a firm's known competitors. Senior technology executives are often charged with leading the firm's response to these competitive threats, leveraging technology to drive innovation and create value. In recent years, senior technology leaders have emerged in the Top Management Teams (TMT), including the traditional roles of Chief Information Officer and Chief Technology Officer, and the emerging roles of Chief Data Officer, Chief Digital Officer, and Chief Innovation Officer, collectively referred to as CxOs.

Researchers have begun examining the impact of CxOs using event study methodology and comparative studies of firm performance against peer groups. This research examines the impact of the presence of a CxO on firm outcomes with an event study, using, for the first time, the Fama-French 5 Factor model to examine announcements of CxO appointments, and finds that the firm announcements of CxO appointments result in significantly negative abnormal returns. This research adds to the growing research on how firms create value across both traditional and emerging CxO roles, identifying the role, firm, and industry factors that influence value judgments and the subsequent market reactions to a firm's announcement of the appointment of a CxO. The firm announcement of a CxO appointment appears to be perceived as a sign of potential instability, and therefore a risk to the important business/technology integration of these important roles.