Jee-Hae Lim

The Effect of First Wave Mandatory XBRL Reporting across the Financial Information Environment.

ABSTRACT: This study examines the effect of mandatory XBRL disclosure across various aspects of the financial information environment. Our findings show an increase in information efficiency, a dec...

Internal and external influences on IT control governance

Abstract This study provides empirical evidence on the effects of internal and external governance on IT control quality proxied by IT related material weaknesses. IT control governance is defined as the leadership and organizational structures and control processes which ensure that the companys IT sustains and extends the companys strategies and objectives. Specifically, we examine the influence of senior management, the board of directors, and audit committees regarding IT control governance. We find that companies with more IT-experienced senior managers, with CIO positions or longer tenured CIOs and with higher percentages of independent board directors are less likely to have IT material weaknesses. We also provide partial evidence that more IT-experienced audit committee members are associated with less IT material weakness. The results suggest that both internal and external governance serve important roles in IT control quality.

Role of IT executives in the firm's ability to achieve competitive advantage through IT capability

Contrary to prior studies that have tried to examine the role of IT capabilities (ITC) on firm performance in isolation from the role of senior IT executives, we propose that the two are linked. More specifically we argue that there is a positive relationship between the structural power of senior IT executives and the likelihood that the firm will develop superior ITC. Furthermore, the contribution of ITC to a firms competitive advantage is much stronger in firms with powerful senior IT executives as they are the driving force that may ensure the continuous renewal of ITC. We develop a two-stage econometric model designed to test this chain hypothesis that the structural power of senior IT executives will affect a firms ability to achieve superior ITC, in turn driving firm performance. Empirical evidence based on a sample of large US firms strongly supports both of our hypotheses.

A Meta-Analysis of the Effects of IT Investment on Firm Financial Performance

ABSTRACT: We use meta-analysis techniques to examine research choices that affect findings with respect to the return on IT investment. Recent research has established that IT investment is substantially related to firm financial performance. We find, however, that the relationship between IT investment and performance varies, depending on how both financial performance and IT investment are measured. Despite criticism of accounting measures as indicators of IT payoff, we find that the relationship is often stronger in studies that employ accounting measures rather than market measures of firm performance. This difference is driven by research that focuses on the process-level impacts of IT investment. Furthermore, the relationship is also stronger when IT investment is measured as IT strategy or spending, rather than IT capability. We discuss the practical implications of the results of our meta-analysis and suggest new directions for future theory development and research.

Sustainability of a Firm's Reputation for Information Technology Capability: The Role of Senior IT Executives

This study investigates the development and sustainability of a firms information technology (IT) capability reputation from an IT executives standpoint. Building on institutional theory, we argue that IT executives will try to achieve external legitimacy (i.e., project an image of superior IT capability to external stakeholders) in the hope that the top management team and board members will reciprocate by elevating the internal legitimacy of IT executives. Firms that develop such a culture of reciprocity with their IT executives are more likely to sustain their IT capability reputation. Econometric results based on panel data for 1,326 large U.S. firms from a wide spectrum of industries over a 13-year period (1997-2009) validate these predictions. More specifically, we find that IT executives with greater structural power (e.g., higher job titles) or IT-related expert power (e.g., IT-related education or experience) are more likely to attract public recognition for their firms IT capability. Firms that build such an IT capability reputation are more likely to promote their IT executives, and IT executives who are promoted are more likely to stay longer with their firms. This continuity in IT strategic leadership is positively associated with the firms ability to sustain its IT capability reputation. Our findings have important practical implications related to a firms IT reputation strategy as well as the motivation and career of IT executives. Firms wanting to develop and sustain their IT capability reputation would do well to foster the creation of a cycle of positive reciprocity with their IT executives. IT executives hoping to increase their power within their firms top management team and improve the legitimacy of the firms IT organization need to project an image of IT superiority to external stakeholders.

The Perceived Impact of Journal of Information Systems on Promotion and Tenure

ABSTRACT:  During the promotion and tenure process, most institutions evaluate whether the candidate has published in high-quality research journals. This study examines the perceived impact of the Journal of Information Systems (JIS) on the promotion and tenure process. The research surveys 149 accounting information systems professors and 36 accounting department leaders. Results suggest that 62 percent of respondents indicated the JIS was very impactful on the promotion and tenure process, while 34 percent perceived the journal to play only a supportive role to higher-ranked journals. Further, senior scholars hold a higher perception of JISs impact, while those who have served as external reviewers for promotion and tenure committees hold lower perceptions. Finally, results indicate a negative association between perceived promotion and tenure impact and whether the respondent is from a private institution, a larger-sized institution, and if the institution offers a doctoral program. Data Availability...

Does IT Reputation Matter? Role of Senior Executives

The objective of this study is to identify factors that help firms develop an IT capability reputation, and to evaluate whether markets value a firms ability to develop and sustain IT reputation. Building on the IT strategic leadership and corporate reputation literature, we argue that congruity in the background or hierarchical proximity between CEO and senior IT executive increases the likelihood that the firm will develop an IT reputation, and this congruity or proximity is more important for product differentiating companies. Approaching IT capability reputation from a market standpoint, we theorize that it matters to investors because it reduces information asymmetry. Investors interpret a firms sustainable IT reputation as a signal of its superior past IT strategy and future IT investment prospects, thus raising the firms market value. Predicted relationships are validated by results from over 1300 large public firms from the period 1997 to 2009.

Empirical Evidence on the Sustainability of the IT Innovation Capability

Approaching IT innovation (ITI) from a strategic management standpoint, this paper sheds light on the issue of the capability of a firm to innovate with IT over time. In this study we argue that ITI is a cumulative and path-dependent capability that is not easily replicated. Companies that have developed ITI capability and attained ITI status among their peers are likely to maintain this status over time, thus demonstrating that ITI is a sustained capability. We tested our proposition with cross-sectional data of large US firms that have attained ITI status from 1997-2004. Exploratory results based on transitional probabilities and econometric analysis based on a dynamic random effect Probit model seem to strongly support our position.

The Impact of Senior Management Competencies on the Voluntary Adoption of an Innovative Technology

ABSTRACT: The adoption of innovative technologies holds both promise and risk. We focus on the voluntary adoption of innovative financial reporting and disclosure technologies (IFRDTs) using the voluntary adoption of XBRL as an exemplar for our study. In particular, since IFRDTs have both financial reporting (FR) and information technology aspects (IT), we examine the impact of IT and FR competencies possessed by members of the top management team (CEOs and CFOs) on the voluntary adoption of XBRL beyond the impact of environmental, organizational, technological, and financial characteristics of their firms. We find that the voluntary adoption of XBRL was positively associated with higher levels of IT competencies; but, surprisingly, voluntary adoption of this innovation was negatively associated with higher levels of FR competencies, regardless of the functional role played by the executive. These results extend the literature on the influence of management characteristics on corporate decisions and can b...

Senior Executives, IT Reputation Building & Implications for Market Valuation

The objective of this study is to identify factors that help build an IT reputation, and to evaluate whether markets value a firm’s ability to develop and sustain its IT reputation. Building on IT strategic leadership and IT business value literature, we argue that a similarity in the background and hierarchical proximity between CEO and senior IT executive increases the likelihood that the firm will develop an IT reputation, and this similarity/proximity is more important for product differentiating companies. Building on signaling theory, we argue that IT reputation matters to investors because it reduces information asymmetry. Investors interpret a firm’s sustainable IT reputation as a signal of its superior past IT strategy and future IT investment prospects thus raising its market value. The predicted relationships are validated by results from over 1300 US firms that have appeared in the Information Week 500 lists in the period from 1997 to 2009.