The influence of top management team characteristics on the contribution of enterprise information systems to long-term financial performance

This study examines Top Management Team (TMT) characteristics and the contribution of Enterprise Information Systems (ES) to firm financial performance. A unique methodology based on recent accounting research is proposed to measure the long-term contribution of ES to financial performance. A theoretical model is developed to understand to what extent top management can influence the contribution of the ES to financial performance. This theoretical model is based on three theoretical perspectives: the Upper Echelons Perspective (Hambrick et al. 1984), power research from the strategic management literature (Finkelstein 1992), and the meta-structuration perspective of information technology (Orlikowski et al. 1995; Sharma et al. 2003).;Results suggest that abnormal returns attributed to the ES are positive and significant in the long run. Results also suggest that the power of the CEO and the distribution of power among the non-CEO executives are strongly associated with the ES abnormal returns. More specifically, firms with a TMT where the power is more equally distributed systematically experience higher ES abnormal returns than firms with a TMT where the power is less equally distributed. On the other hand, those firms with a less powerful CEO experience higher ES abnormal returns than firms with a more powerful CEO. This finding suggests that firms with a 'team player' CEO as opposed to 'autocratic' CEO experience higher abnormal returns. Other results suggest that firms that belong to industries where IT plays a more transformative role experience a higher ES abnormal return compared to firms that belong to industries where IT plays a more informate or automate role. In addition, there is some weak evidence to suggest that firms experience higher ES abnormal returns if the CIO is a member of the TMT.;This study has important implications for both researchers and practitioners. Important contributions to the literature are (1) the development of the method to measure the ES abnormal returns, (2) the theoretical development about the role of the TMT on ES outcomes, and (3) the empirical findings about the association between TMT characteristics and ES abnormal returns. Related to implications for practitioners, IT professionals, executives and managers can be well informed with the empirical findings related to the influence of power distribution among executives and business units on the productivity of large-scale enterprise systems.