An empirical analysis of the organizational commitment of information systems executives

Abstract

Information systems (IS), in recent times, have moved away from their traditional role as back office support to a new role in which they are recognized as key organizational resources. This new role, and the introduction of new technologies, have led to new ways for organizations to restructure and manage their IS function. These changes have considerably altered the IS executive's work environment, creating the potential to significantly impact on the executive's commitment to, and motivation to stay with, the organization. IS professionals have historically displayed a very high rate of turnover. While prior research has established a theoretical, causal link between individual/job/organizational characteristics, commitment and personnel turnover, empirical studies in the IS area have focused only on individual and job characteristics as antecedents of organizational commitment. The present study extends this line of research to explore the significance of organizational variables as antecedents to commitment. Discriminant analysis is used to analyze the empirical data from a questionnaire survey of IS executives. Implications of the results for organizations are discussed.