Chief Executive Officer's Misperceptions: Should Students Be Used as Surrogates?

Abstract

Management information systems (MIS) researchers seek to find methods for reducing the communication gap between top management and the organizational information systems (IS) function. However, it is not always practical or parsimonious to conduct these methods using top managers. Therefore, researchers often rely on students acting as surrogates for organizational managers and decision makers. Should students be used as surrogates for chief executive officers? Findings from this study indicate that students are poor surrogates for measuring the perceptions and attitudes of CEOs.