Literature Analysis About the Impact of the CDO on Company Success

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to identify a potential influence of a Chief Digital Officer (CDO) on company’s success. To do so, the CDO position is analyzed and put in context with existing research regarding upper echelons and consequences of digital activities. The research approach is theoretical and analytical and provides an intensive literature analysis concerning the connecting topics. Firstly, general facts and characteristics of CDOs will be presented. Secondly, the monetary influence of digital activities in former studies will be examined. Thirdly, upper echelon theory and attention-based view theory will be discussed with regard to organizational issues. In a final step, the topics mentioned are put into context with each other. The aim is to prove that the employment of a CDO might be able to influence the financial outcome of a company. As an intermediate finding it can be stated that the CDO Position has an impact on company’s success. But further research is needed to clearly prove the extent of influence. Keywords: Chief Digital Officer (CDO), Upper Echelon, Digital Transformation, Artificial Intelligence (AI) JEL Codes: O10, O11, O14