Abstract
This paper is concerned with the drivers of CIO attention to disruptive digital technology. We draw upon the attention-based view of the firm to derive testable hypotheses covering; CIOs’ responsibility for digitalization, CIOs’ perception of threats and opportunities and attention to digitalization, and the relationships between CIO power in the executive team and attention. We test these hypotheses using survey data on 397 CIOs. Results suggests that competitive threats in terms of pressures on margins decrease CIO attention, whereas other types of opportunities and threats serve to increase CIOs’ attention to digitalization. We discuss implications for research on managerial attention and the competitive dynamics of disruptive digital technology.