This study investigates how one personality trait of CIOs and CEOs, i.e., their empathy, affects CIOCEO relationships and then the outcomes of firms’ ongoing digital transformation. We hypothesize that the cognitive and emotional empathy of CIOs and CEOs can establish mutual understanding and trust, which in turn improve digital transformation. We empirically validate these hypotheses based on a survey of 105 pairs of matched CIOs and CEOs. The findings reveal asymmetric effects: CIOs’ empathy improves CIOCEO relationships and then digital transformation, but CEOs’ empathy does not show significant effects. We then discuss our findings and implications to theory and practice.

本研究调查了 CIO 和 CEO 的一种人格特质，即他们的同理心，如何影响 CIO 与CEO 的关系，进而影响公司正在进行的数字化转型的结果。我们假设 CIO 和 CEO 的认知和情感同理心可以建立相互理解和信任，进而促进数字化转型。我们根据对 105 对匹配的 CIO 和 CEO 的调查，从经验上验证了这些假设。调查结果揭示了不对称效应：CIO 的同理心改善了 CIO 与CEO 的关系，进而改善了数字化转型，但 CEO 的同理心并未显示出显着效果。然后我们讨论我们的发现和对理论和实践的影响。