The Influence of Business Managers' IT Competence on Championing IT

TLDR

IT has become critical in organizations, requiring business managers to lead its deployment and to possess the knowledge and experience needed to use IT resources effectively. This study investigates whether business managers’ IT competence predicts their intention to champion IT within their organizations. Using a survey of 404 managers from two large insurance firms, the authors defined IT competence as the set of IT‑related knowledge and experience, and tested its impact on championing intentions with structural equation modeling, first validating the measurement model and then assessing the predictive contribution of knowledge and experience. The analysis revealed that IT knowledge and experience together explain 34 % of the variance in managers’ championing intentions, and the authors recommend ways to enhance these competencies to strengthen IT leadership.

Abstract

With the increased importance of IT in organizations, business managers are now expected to show stronger leadership in regard to its deployment of IT in organizations. This requires greater focus on their capability to understand and use IT resources effectively. This paper explores the concept of IT competence of business managers as a contributor to their intention to champion IT within their organizations. Based on the knowledge literature, IT competence is defined as “ the set of IT-related knowledge and experience that a business manager possesses.” The relationship between IT knowledge, IT experience, and championing IT is tested empirically using Structural Equation Modeling with LISREL. Four hundred and four business managers from two large insurance organizations were surveyed. Specific areas of IT knowledge and IT experience were first identified and the first half of the data set was utilized to assess the measurement properties of the instrument in a confirmatory analysis. The contribution of IT knowledge and IT experience to their intention to champion IT was assessed using the second half of the data set. The results show that IT knowledge and IT experience together explain 34% of the variance in managers' intentions to champion IT. Recommendations are given as to how organizations can enhance their business managers IT knowledge and experience to achieve stronger IT leadership from line people.