IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/inm/orisre/v23y2012i4p1175-1194.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Synergy and Its Limits in Managing Information Technology Professionals

Author

Listed:
  • Thomas W. Ferratt

    (School of Business Administration, University of Dayton, Dayton, Ohio 45469)

  • Jayesh Prasad

    (School of Business Administration, University of Dayton, Dayton, Ohio 45469)

  • Harvey G. Enns

    (School of Business Administration, University of Dayton, Dayton, Ohio 45469)

Abstract

We examine the effects of human resource management (HRM) practices (e.g., career development, social support, compensation, and security) on information technology (IT) professionals' job search behavior. Job search is a relatively novel dependent variable in studies of voluntary withdrawal behavior in general and for IT professionals in particular. From a universalistic perspective, HRM practices individually and in combination exhibit independently additive effects on job search behavior. Our study contrasts this perspective with configurational theory, hypothesizing that proposed ideal-type configurations of HRM practices have synergistic effects on job search behavior. We contribute to the IT and broader HRM literature by theoretically explicating and empirically demonstrating with IT professionals the power of configurational theory to explain the relationship between HRM practices and job search behavior. Our empirical results show that two configurations of HRM practices---Human Capital Focused (HCF) and Task Focused (TF), which are high and low on all HRM practices, respectively---exhibit a synergistic relationship with the job search behavior of IT professionals. HCF has lower job search behavior than would be expected based on the independently additive effects of the HRM practices, whereas TF has correspondingly higher job search behavior. Our results also show that less than perfect horizontal fit detracts from the synergy of these extreme configurations. Just as importantly, several other nonextreme configurations of HRM practices exhibit independently additive effects for the HRM practices but not synergy, suggesting that synergy is limited to extreme configurations. We also discuss a number of implications for research and practice.

Suggested Citation

  • Thomas W. Ferratt & Jayesh Prasad & Harvey G. Enns, 2012. "Synergy and Its Limits in Managing Information Technology Professionals," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 23(4), pages 1175-1194, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:inm:orisre:v:23:y:2012:i:4:p:1175-1194
    DOI: 10.1287/isre.1110.0413
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1287/isre.1110.0413
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1287/isre.1110.0413?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Thomas W. Ferratt & Ritu Agarwal & Carol V. Brown & Jo Ellen Moore, 2005. "IT Human Resource Management Configurations and IT Turnover: Theoretical Synthesis and Empirical Analysis," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 16(3), pages 237-255, September.
    2. G. Tyge Payne, 2006. "Examining Configurations and Firm Performance in a Suboptimal Equifinality Context," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 17(6), pages 756-770, December.
    3. Elrod, Terry & Johnson, Richard D. & White, Joan, 2004. "A new integrated model of noncompensatory and compensatory decision strategies," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 95(1), pages 1-19, September.
    4. Kenneth E. Boulding, 1956. "General Systems Theory--The Skeleton of Science," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 2(3), pages 197-208, April.
    5. Valérie Barraud-Didier & Sylvie Guerrero, 2004. "High Involvement Practices and Performance of French Firms," Post-Print halshs-00006003, HAL.
    6. Ichniowski, Casey & Shaw, Kathryn & Prennushi, Giovanna, 1997. "The Effects of Human Resource Management Practices on Productivity: A Study of Steel Finishing Lines," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 87(3), pages 291-313, June.
    7. Ganzach, Yoav & Czaczkes, Benjamin, 1995. "On Detecting Nonlinear Noncompensatory Judgment Strategies: Comparison of Alternative Regression Models," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 61(2), pages 168-176, February.
    8. Jae-Nam Lee & Shaila M. Miranda & Yong-Mi Kim, 2004. "IT Outsourcing Strategies: Universalistic, Contingency, and Configurational Explanations of Success," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 15(2), pages 110-131, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Feng Guo & Yijun Li & Likoebe M. Maruping & Adi Masli, 2023. "Complementarity Between Investment in Information Technology (IT) and IT Human Resources: Implications for Different Types of Firm Innovation," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 34(3), pages 1259-1275, September.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Tommy Krabberød, 2015. "Standing on the Shoulders of Giants? Exploring Consensus on the Validity Status of Mintzberg’s Configuration Theory After a Negative Test," SAGE Open, , vol. 5(4), pages 21582440156, October.
    2. Leroy White & Andy Lockett & Graeme Currie & James Hayton, 2021. "Hybrid Context, Management Practices and Organizational Performance: A Configurational Approach," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 58(3), pages 718-748, May.
    3. Naval Garg, 2018. "Isolationist versus Integrationist: An Indian Perspective on High-Performance Work Practices," FIIB Business Review, , vol. 7(3), pages 216-227, September.
    4. Pankaj Patel & Sherry Thatcher & Katerina Bezrukova, 2013. "Organizationally-relevant configurations: the value of modeling local dependence," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 47(1), pages 287-311, January.
    5. Nathalie Greenan & Marc-Arthur Diaye & Patricia Crifo, 2004. "Pourquoi les entreprises évaluent-elles individuellement leurs salariés ?," Économie et Prévision, Programme National Persée, vol. 164(3), pages 27-55.
    6. Lu, Jinfeng & Dimov, Dimo, 2023. "A system dynamics modelling of entrepreneurship and growth within firms," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 38(3).
    7. Marlin, Dan & Geiger, Scott W., 2015. "A reexamination of the organizational slack and innovation relationship," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 68(12), pages 2683-2690.
    8. David J. Cooper & Krista Saral & Marie Claire Villeval, 2021. "Why Join a Team?," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 67(11), pages 6980-6997, November.
    9. Chiaki Moriguchi, 2005. "Did American Welfare Capitalists Breach Their Implicit Contracts during the Great Depression? Preliminary Findings from Company-Level Data," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 59(1), pages 51-81, October.
    10. Sharda, Kirti & Chatterjee Leena, 2009. "Configurations of Business Process Outsourcing Firms and Organizational Performance," IIMA Working Papers WP2009-12-02, Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, Research and Publication Department.
    11. Bruneel, Johan & Clarysse, Bart & Bobelyn, Annelies & Wright, Mike, 2020. "Liquidity events and VC-backed academic spin-offs: The role of search alliances," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 49(10).
    12. Jordi Brandts & David J. Cooper, 2005. "It's What You Say Not What You Pay," UFAE and IAE Working Papers 643.05, Unitat de Fonaments de l'Anàlisi Econòmica (UAB) and Institut d'Anàlisi Econòmica (CSIC).
    13. Nick Zubanov & W.S. Siebert, 2009. "Management economics in a large UK retailer," CPB Discussion Paper 125, CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis.
    14. Sharon Novak & Scott Stern, 2009. "Complementarity Among Vertical Integration Decisions: Evidence from Automobile Product Development," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 55(2), pages 311-332, February.
    15. Guido Friebel & Matthias Heinz & Miriam Krueger & Nikolay Zubanov, 2017. "Team Incentives and Performance: Evidence from a Retail Chain," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 107(8), pages 2168-2203, August.
    16. Alex Bryson & Lucy Stokes & David Wilkinson, 2023. "Is pupil attainment higher in well-managed schools?," Education Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 31(1), pages 129-144, January.
    17. Abdul Raziq, Retha Wiesner, 2016. "High Performance Management Practices and Sustainability of SMEs. Evidence from Manufacturing and Services-based Industries in Pakistan," Journal of Management Sciences, Geist Science, Iqra University, Faculty of Business Administration, vol. 3(2), pages 83-107, October.
    18. Kazagli, Evanthia & de Lapparent, Matthieu, 2023. "A discrete choice modeling framework of heterogenous decision rules accounting for non-trading behavior," Journal of choice modelling, Elsevier, vol. 48(C).
    19. Jin P. Gerlach & Ronald T. Cenfetelli, 2022. "Overcoming the Single-IS Paradigm in Individual-Level IS Research," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 33(2), pages 476-488, June.
    20. Hazhir Rahmandad & Nelson Repenning, 2016. "Capability erosion dynamics," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 37(4), pages 649-672, April.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:inm:orisre:v:23:y:2012:i:4:p:1175-1194. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Chris Asher (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/inforea.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.