An investigation into the information needs and seeking behaviour of chief executive officers in Ireland

Abstract

OVERVIEW The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) is the highest ranking official in the company who has the responsibility of formulating and executing strategy. The CEO is ultimately responsible for the performance of the company. It is commonly understood that information is a critical resource for CEO’s in formulating strategy and obtaining an essential understanding of the environment in which the CEO operates. Increased technology and communications has meant that obtaining and analysing information is much easier than ever before. The difficulty for CEO’s is determining which information they require to prevent information overload. PURPOSE The purpose of this research is to examine the nature of CEO work. In this research, the researcher will use Mintzberg’s ten point framework to analyse the role of Irish CEO’s in the 21st century. Furthermore, the researcher aims to illustrate the information needs and information seeking behaviours of Irish CEO s’, and their insights into the usefulness of information systems. FINDINGS The research indicates that the role of CEO s examined is strategic in nature. Source quality, uncertainty and task complexity influence the information needs and seeking behaviour of CEO s. CEO s predominantly use internal personal and impersonal sources of information, requesting information from subordinate managers most frequently. Chief Financial Officers are integral for the effective implementation of information systems, especially in larger more complex companies. However, the CFO is also responsible for information systems investment and development due to accounting and inventory control systems, especially in smaller firms who lack the resources to employ a Chief Information Officer The problem of integrating information systems is a major problem experienced by companies in the research. High investment costs are also experienced by companies, especially by the largest companies with more complex operations and the smallest companies who suffer from lack of resources.

FUTURE RESEARCH The research presents a foundation for further research in the area. Further exploratory research could be conducted on the work of CEO s, to provide a greater picture of their work. The research established that numerous companies included in the population employed a Chief Information Officer. There currently is a gap in the knowledge regarding their roles and the nature of the work in the Irish context.