Inter-managerial competition and capital accumulation: it specialists, accountants and executive control

Abstract

This paper examines the character of inter-managerial competition for executive control. Armstrong has argued that accountants dominate positions of executive management in the UK and USA because of their ability to define and solve the problems of ‘capital≐. The paper asks why IT specialists have not been able to gain access to executive positions in the UK despite their considerable and growing importance. In providing some tentative answers it questions the validity of Armstrong's model of inter-managerial competition and suggests that IT specialists and consultants may be in a position to launch a successful collective mobility project. Large accountancy firms may play a key role in this process particularly if they continue to expand their IT consultancy activity at the present rate.