From the backroom to the boardroom: Health care chief information officers, stereotypes, and strategic leadership in the digital transformation era

Issue: The digital transformation of the U.S. health care system is underway, but the role of health care chief information officers (HCIOs) in that transformation has been unclear. As the landscape of health care technology continues to expand, there is an increasing need to understand the influence of HCIOs, who are in a unique position to impact key strategic decisions. We seek to demonstrate the strategic importance of HCIOs in meeting the needs of digital transformation, by managing the emergence and strategic implementation of health care technologies to benefit health care organization performance. We also propose that profession-based stereotypes inhibit HCIOs as they may be viewed as behind-the-scenes technicians rather than strategic leaders. Critical Theoretical Analysis: Upper echelons (UE) theory demonstrates how HCIOs' unique perspectives gained through education, experience, and the strategic decision-making process also can influence organizational performance. We build on UE to conceptualize the degree to which profession-based stereotypes moderate the decision-making of top management teams). Theoretical Implications: We present two theoretical contributions. First, we introduce a profession-based stereotype moderated model of UE specific to HCIOs. Second, we offer an analysis of the role of HCIOs as strategic leaders in the digital transformation era. Practice Implications: We call upon health care scholars and practitioners to examine HCIOs' influence and their roles in health care organization decision-making, top management team interactions, and organizational outcomes as the digital transformation in health care continues.