The Impact of Situational Factors On Information System (Is) Managerial Leader Behaviors: What Information Systems Employees Want

Abstract

Information systems leadership has evolved dramatically over the past 40 years. Early in the era of computing most attention was focused on the technical skills of IS managers. As IS has become ubiquitous in our organizations and increasingly embedded in our everyday lives, the need for a broader approach to IS management has emerged with an increasing emphasis on non-technical skills in business practices and an appreciation of the impact of organizational culture. Further, information systems managers increasingly find themselves in crisis situations that may require different leadership skills to successfully navigate. These crises may be caused by the physical destruction of computer hardware, the loss of critically sensitive data, sophisticated hacking of company computers, or a coding error in a mission critical software program. The research on managerial leadership in crisis situations is relatively sparse; however, the research on managerial leadership behaviors for the information systems sector is essentially nonexistent. This research study attempts to fill that gap, finding that there are a few desired managerial leadership behaviors in common between the information systems group and other studied groups, as well as differences and desired shifts in priorities.