Nearing the Threshold: An Economics Approach to Pressure on Information Systems Professionals to Separate from Their Employer.

Author List: Josefek, Jr. Robert A.; Kauffman, Robert J.;

Journal of Management Information Systems, 2003, Volume 20, Issue 1, Page 87-122.

Organizational approaches to managing information systems (IS) professionals have been making headlines as technology-intensive businesses search for ways to cope with an ever-changing economic landscape. Consequently, understanding and predicting employee quitting or separation behavior is crucial. We incorporate human capital theory from economics to form an alternative theoretical perspective for understanding IS professionals' separation and retention. This shift allows us to focus on precursors to observed separation, rather than attitudinal precursors of intentions. We introduce three new constructs: pressure to separate, retention frontiers, and separation thresholds. These constructs provide a basis for identifying when an employee is close to leaving the firm and for a new approach to analyze the potential effectiveness of action taken by a firm to change separation behavior: pre-implementation retention intervention assessment (PRI-assessment). We illustrate the application of the new approach using data on the observed separation behavior of 661 IS professionals at a large multidivision firm.

Keywords: binomial logit model; economic analysis; information systems professionals; information technology human capital; personnel separation; workforce retention

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List of Topics

#80	0.167	organizations new information technology develop environment challenges core competencies management environmental technologies development emerging opportunities levels based change business technical
#140	0.167	model use theory technology intention information attitude acceptance behavioral behavior intentions research understanding systems continuance models planned percent attitudes predict
#109	0.134	career human professionals job turnover orientations careers capital study resource personnel advancement configurations employees mobility jobs management individuals pay non-it
#157	0.117	evaluation effectiveness assessment evaluating paper objectives terms process assessing criteria evaluations methodology provides impact literature potential important evaluated identifying multiple
#44	0.111	approach analysis application approaches new used paper methodology simulation traditional techniques systems process based using proposed method present provides various
#271	0.055	technology investments investment information firm firms profitability value performance impact data higher evidence diversification industry payoff return findings decisions greater