The CIO stereotype: Content, bias, and impact

The current work examines whether there is a stereotype of CIOs that can influence decisions about their role in organizations. We find evidence for a CIO stereotype informed by both an IT stereotype and a general leader stereotype, although CIOs are perceived to have more in common with IT personnel than leaders. Two experiments showed that the CIO stereotype was capable of biasing perceptions of CIOs’ suitability to occupy strategic roles (i.e., a “glass ceiling” effect) and the extent to which they are blamed for negative outcomes (i.e., a “glass cliff” effect). These findings point to the challenges CIOs face in gaining and maintaining strategic leadership roles in organizations.