ABSTRACT
The management of information technology (IT) personnel poses unique challenges, but managers may be able to provide IT professionals with appropriate opportunities and career paths by matching individual expectations with job characteristics. This study is designed to identify the career anchors possessed by current IT personnel and to identify which career anchors are the strongest determinants of organizational commitment. Results from a pilot study identified four career anchors or orientations prevalent in IT personnel: Creativity, Autonomy, Identity, and Variety. Responses from sixty-six IT professionals were analyzed; and a weighted variation of Time in Job, Variety, Autonomy, and Identity explained 38% of the variation in Organizational Commitment.
- Buchanan, B., II. "Building Organizational Commitment: The Socialization of Managers in Work Organizations," Administrative Science Quarterly (19), 1974, pp. 533--646.Google Scholar
- Crepeau, R., Crook, C., Goslar, M., and McMurtrey, M. "Career Anchors of Information Systems Personnel," Journal of Management Information Systems (9:2), Fall 1992, pp. 145--160. Google ScholarDigital Library
- DeLong, T. J. "Reexamining the Career Anchor Model," Personnel (59:3), May-June 1982, pp 60--61.Google Scholar
- Dubin, R., Champoux, J., and Porter, L. W. "Central Life Interests and Organizational Commitment of Blue-Collar and Clerical Workers," Administrative Science Quarterly (20), 1975, pp. 411--421.Google ScholarCross Ref
- Guimaraes, T., and Igbaria, M. "Determinants of Turnover Intentions: Comparing IC and IS Personnel," Information Systems Research (3:3), September 1992, pp. 273--303.Google ScholarDigital Library
- Hackman, J. R., and Odlham, G. R. "Motivation through the Design of Work: Test of a Theory," Organizational Behavior and Human Performance (16), 1976, pp. 250--279.Google ScholarCross Ref
- Hall, D. T., Schneider, B., and Nygren, H. T. "Personal factors in organizational identification," Administrative Science Quarterly (17), 1972, pp. 176--190.Google Scholar
- Hrebiniak, L. G. and Alutto, J. "Personal and role-related factors in the development of organizational commitment," Administrative Science Quarterly (18), 1973, pp. 556--572.Google Scholar
- Igbaria, M., Greenhaus, J. H., and Parasuraman, S. "Career Orientations of MIS Employees: An Empirical Analysis," MIS Quarterly (15:2), June 1991, pp. 151--169. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Igbaria, M., and Guimaraes, T. "Exploring Differences in Employee Turnover Intentions among Telecommuters and Non-Telecommuters," Journal of Management Information Systems (16:1), Summer 1999, pp. 147--164. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Igbaria, M., and Wormley, W. M. "Organizational Experiences and Career Success of MIS Professionals and Managers: An Examination of Race Differences," MIS Quarterly (16:4), December 1992, pp. 507--529. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Kantor, R. M. "Commitment and Social Organization: a Study of Commitment Mechanisms in Utopian Communities," American Sociological Review (33), 1968, pp. 499--517.Google ScholarCross Ref
- Mowday, R., Steers, R., and Porter, L. "The Measurement of Organizational Commitment," Journal of Vocational Behavior (14), 1979, pp. 224--247.Google ScholarCross Ref
- Niederman, F., Brancheau, J. C., and Wetherbe, J. C. "Information Systems Management Issues in the 1990's," MIS Quarterly (15:4), December 1991, pp. 474--501.Google ScholarDigital Library
- Schein, E. H. Career Dynamics: Matching Individual and Organizational Needs. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley, 1978.Google Scholar
- Sheldon, M. E. "Investments and Involvements as Mechanisms Producing Commitment to the Organization," Administrative Science Quarterly (16), 1971, pp. 142--150.Google Scholar
- Steers, R. M. "Antecedents and Outcomes of Organizational Commitment," Administrative Science Quarterly (22), 1977, pp. 46--56.Google ScholarCross Ref
- Stevens, J. M., Beyer, J. M., and Trice, H. M. "Assessing Personal, Role, and Organizational Predictors of Managerial Commitment," Academy of Management Journal (21), 1978, pp. 380--396.Google Scholar
Index Terms
- Career orientation and organizational commitment of IT personnel
Recommendations
Career orientation of IT personnel
SIGMIS CPR '04: Proceedings of the 2004 SIGMIS conference on Computer personnel research: Careers, culture, and ethics in a networked environmentThe management of information technology (IT) personnel poses unique challenges, including high turnover, limited advancement potential, low organizational commitment, and burnout. By matching individual expectations and job characteristics, managers ...
Career anchors and organizational culture: a study of women in the IT workforce
SIGMIS CPR '06: Proceedings of the 2006 ACM SIGMIS CPR conference on computer personnel research: Forty four years of computer personnel research: achievements, challenges & the futureDespite the shortage of information technology (IT) professionals and the benefits of human diversity in the global economy women are largely under represented in the IT workforce. Prior employment research on gender stratification demonstrates that ...
Heterogeneity of IT employees: an analysis of a model of perceived organizational support by job type
The retention of existing IT employees is crucial due to the expected shortage of the IT labor force in the U.S., Canada, and European countries. While much of the extant IT turnover literature implicitly assumes that IT employees are homogeneous, we ...
Comments