"Seeding the Line": Understanding the Transition From IT to Non-IT Careers1
Authors: Reich, Blaize Horner; Kaarst-Brown, Michelle Lynn
Journal: MIS Quarterly (1999)
DOI: 10.2307/249467
As organizations face increased competitive pressures and technological changes, their attention is focusing on how to attain strategic benefits from information technology investments, including investments in people. From a human resources perspective, one debate centers on how to attract and retain information technology (IT) professionals. Somewhat paradoxically, it is suggested that to retain IT professionals, organizations must provide both technical and business oriented career opportunities. This paper presents a case study of one organization, The Mutual Croup, in which more than 70 IT professionals permanently moved into non-IT, business unit jobs during the 1980s and early 1990s. Using interviews and surveys of 51 former IT professionals, this research investigated the characteristics of the individual, the organization, the first non-IT job, and the transition period. The conclusion from the findings is that IT professionals who moved to non-IT jobs in the line made the transition without the benefit of deliberate preparation, formal transition programs, or safety nets to reduce the risk. Some conditions existed at The Mutual Group that may have assisted them, includin…