Transferability of Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities Along IT Career Paths: An Agency Theory Perspective

Agency theory is proposed as a framework for explaining the design of IT jobs and career paths. To support this theory, data about knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) were gathered and analyzed from Fortune 500 job listings for the Programmer/Analyst → Systems Analyst → IT Manager career path. The results indicate that agency theory has significant predictive power over the type and importance of IT KSAs for job sequences along IT career paths. The results have implications for both researchers who are looking for theories that explain IT job design and career path development and managers who are challenged with decisions about how to design IT jobs and manage IT career paths.

[1]  Marc N. Haines,et al.  Implementation Partner Involvement and Knowledge Transfer in the Context of ERP Implementations , 2003, Int. J. Hum. Comput. Interact..

[2]  K. Ambrose,et al.  Principles of management. , 2005, Emergency nurse : the journal of the RCN Accident and Emergency Nursing Association.

[3]  Sandra Slaughter.  IS INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY A "BOUNDARYLESS" PROFESSION? A SEQUENCE ANALYSIS OF THE CAREER HISTORIES OF IT PROFESSIONALS FROM 1979-1998. , 2001 .

[4]  Stephen C. Wingreen,et al.  A social cognitive interpretation of person‐organization fitting: The maintenance and development of professional technical competency , 2007 .

[5]  Paul H. Cheney,et al.  Knowledge, skills and abilities of information systems professionals: past, present, and future , 1990, Inf. Manag..

[6]  M. C. Jensen,et al.  Harvard Business School; SSRN; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER); European Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI); Harvard University - Accounting & Control Unit , 1976 .

[7]  Mohan R. Tanniru.  An investigation of the career path of the EDP professional , 1983, SIGCPR '83.

[8]  Lynette Kvasny,et al.  Changing patterns in IT skill sets 1988-2003: a content analysis of classified advertising , 2004, DATB.

[9]  Constance E. Helfat,et al.  Managerial Resources and Rents , 1991 .

[10]  R. O. Silfvast,et al.  Management Skills Transferability and the Public and Private Sector Manager , 1994 .

[11]  Gary Klein,et al.  A Note on Interpersonal and Communication Skills for IS Professionals: Evidence of Positive Influence , 2003, Decis. Sci..

[12]  C. Clegg.  The derivation of job designs , 1984 .

[13]  J. Farmer,et al.  Identifying the transferable skills of information professionals through mentoring , 1998 .

[14]  James D. McKeen,et al.  The Evolution of IS Job Skills: A Content Analysis of IS Job Advertisements from 1970 to 1990 , 1995, MIS Q..

[15]  Kirk P. Arnett,et al.  Skills in the MIS Job Market , 2009, AMCIS.

[16]  T. Sincich,et al.  Statistics for business and economics , 1978 .

[17]  Ephraim R. McLean,et al.  Key Issues for IT Executives , 2004, MIS Q. Executive.

[18]  Michael L. Tushman,et al.  Information Processing as an Integrating Concept in Organizational Design. , 1978 .

[19]  David B. Arnold,et al.  The global IT work force: introduction , 2001, CACM.

[20]  Paul H. Cheney,et al.  Information Systems Skill Requirements: A Survey , 1980, MIS Q..

[21]  Sang M. Lee,et al.  IT managers' requisite skills , 2006, Commun. ACM.

[22]  K. Weick,et al.  Collective mind in organizations: Heedful interrelating on flight decks. , 1993 .

[23]  Jerry N. Luftman.  Key Issues for IT Executives 2004 , 2005, MIS Q. Executive.

[24]  Choong Kwon Lee.  Analysis of Skill Requirements for Systems Analysts in Fortune 500 Organizations , 2005, J. Comput. Inf. Syst..

[25]  K. Eisenhardt.  Agency Theory: An Assessment and Review , 1989 .

[26]  Kenneth Mclennan.  The Manager And His Job Skills , 1967 .

[27]  Pamela S. Tolbert.  Occupations, Organizations, and Boundaryless Careers , 1996 .

[28]  Denise M. Rousseau,et al.  The Boundaryless Career: A New Employment Principle for a New Organizational Era , 2001 .

[29]  John M. Barron,et al.  Employer Size: The Implications for Search, Training, Capital Investment, Starting Wages, and Wage Growth , 1987, Journal of Labor Economics.

[30]  Debra J. Aron.  Firm Organization and the Economic Approach to Personnel Management , 1990 .

[31]  Iris Vessey,et al.  Research Report - The Relevance of Application Domain Knowledge: The Case of Computer Program Comprehension , 1995, Inf. Syst. Res..

[32]  Kathryn L. Shaw,et al.  Occupational change, employer change, and the transferability of skills , 1987 .

[33]  Soon Ang,et al.  Turnover of information technology professionals: the effects of internal labor market strategies , 2004, DATB.

[34]  Peter A. Bamberger,et al.  Organizational issues in high technology management , 1992 .

[35]  M. Aoki.  Horizontal vs. Vertical Information Structure of the Firm , 2013 .

[36]  Vijay Gurbaxani,et al.  The impact of information systems on organizations and markets , 1991, CACM.

[37]  H. Glick,et al.  Is firm-sponsored education viable? , 1987 .

[38]  Terry Anthony Byrd,et al.  An Exploratory Analysis of the Value of the Skills of IT Personnel: Their Relationship to IS Infrastructure and Competitive Advantage , 2001, Decis. Sci..

[39]  Ian M. Mitchell.  Technology Management in Organizations , 1991 .

[40]  Masanori Hashimoto,et al.  Firm-Specific Human Capital as a Shared Investment , 2001 .

[41]  Frederick A. Starke,et al.  Making the transition: systems analysis to management , 1989 .

[42]  Nicholas P. Vitalari,et al.  Knowledge as a Basis for Expertise in Systems Analysis: An Empirical Study , 1985, MIS Q..

[43]  R. L. Katz.  Skills of an Effective Administrator , 2009 .

[44]  Barry R. Chiswick,et al.  The Effect of Americanization on the Earnings of Foreign-born Men , 1978, Journal of Political Economy.

[45]  Urs E. Gattiker,et al.  Technology Management in OrganizationsTechnology Management in Organizations, by GattikerUrs E. Newbury Park, CA: Sage, 1990. , 1991 .