By appointing a chief digital officer (CDO), firms decide for a central role responsible for their digital transformation. While CDOs have recently appeared in the C-suites of firms across the globe, the current literature lacks insights into the specific antecedents of CDO presence. Grounded in the peculiarities of the digital age, we provide theoretical arguments explaining how the decision to centralize digital transformation responsibilities might be related to transformation urgency and coordination needs. Empirical analyses based on a panel data set of 913 US and European firms support that transformation urgency and coordination needs predict CDO presence. An additional analysis of moderating temporal effects reveals that, over time, the effect of transformation urgency is weakened and the effect of coordination needs on CDO presence is strengthened. We discuss implications for research and practice regarding the antecedents of CDO presence, TMT research more generally, and centralization in the digital age.

中文翻译：

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首席数字官：集中式数字转型角色的存在分析

通过任命首席数字官 (CDO)，公司决定负责其数字化转型的核心角色。虽然 CDO 最近出现在全球公司的最高管理层中，但目前的文献缺乏对 CDO 存在的具体前因的洞察。基于数字时代的特点，我们提供了理论论据，解释了集中数字转型责任的决定如何与转型的紧迫性和协调需求相关。基于 913 家美国和欧洲公司的面板数据集的实证分析支持转型紧迫性和协调需求可以预测 CDO 的存在。对调节时间效应的额外分析表明，随着时间的推移，转型紧迫性的影响减弱，协调需求对 CDO 存在的影响增强。我们讨论了 CDO 存在的前因、更普遍的 TMT 研究以及数字时代的集中化对研究和实践的影响。