JACKS, TIMOTHY, Ph.D. An Examination of IT Occupational Culture: Interpretation, Measurement, and Impact. (2012) Directed by Dr. Prashant Palvia. 290 pp. Past IS studies on culture have primarily focused on two levels of analysis: national culture and organizational culture. The gap in our knowledge of culture is in the area of occupational culture of IT professionals. Occupational culture, unlike organizational culture, is not bounded by a single organization, but rather forms itself around specific expertise, similar tasks, and a sense of itself as a distinct occupational group. In Part I, the ‘strong program’ of cultural sociology is used to examine and interpret the meaning of the core values of the IT occupation through the framework of shared language, shared history, and shared context. The interview results informed the creation of a survey instrument in Part II to measure six occupational values, Autonomy, Structure, Precision, Innovation, Reverence for Knowledge, and Enjoyment, and ten typical business management values. Significant differences were found between responses of IT professionals and non-IT business managers in 32 companies in the U.S. An additional executive survey measured the level of IT/Business Alignment and IT Value for each firm in Part III. A PLS model provides evidence that occupational cultural differences do significantly impact both IT/Business alignment and IT Value. AN EXAMINATION OF IT OCCUPATIONAL CULTURE: INTERPRETATION, MEASUREMENT, AND IMPACT by Timothy Jacks A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of The Graduate School at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy Greensboro 2012 Approved by Prashant Palvia_____________ Committee Chair © 2012 Timothy Jacks To Priscilla, Lynsey, and Alec ii APPROVAL PAGE This dissertation has been approved by the following committee of the Faculty of The Graduate School at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Committee Chair ___Prashant Palvia_________________ Committee Members ___Lakshmi Iyer___________________ ___Riikka Sarala___________________ ___Sarah Daynes___________________ __June 1, 2012_______________ Date of Acceptance by Committee __June 1, 2012_______________ Date of Final Oral Examination iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The author would like to recognize the invaluable support and assistance of the dissertation committee chair, Dr. Prashant Palvia, as well as the other members of the dissertation committee: Dr. Sarah Daynes, Dr. Lakshmi Iyer, and Dr. Riikka Sarala. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Page CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................ 1 II. THEORETICAL FOUNDATIONS ................................................................... 10 2.1 What is Culture? ................................................................................. 10 2.2 Values are the Core of Culture ............................................................ 12 2.3 Sociological Literature ........................................................................ 13 2.3.1 Durkheim and Weber ........................................................... 15 2.3.2 The Strong Program of Cultural Sociology ......................... 22 2.4 Theory of Occupational Culture ......................................................... 24 2.5 Theory of IT Archetypes ..................................................................... 26 2.6 Theory of IT-Culture Conflict ............................................................ 27 2.7 IT/Business Alignment and IT Value ................................................. 29 2.8 Motivation for Research ..................................................................... 32 III. OVERALL RESEARCH MODEL AND RESEARCH OBJECTIVES............. 36 3.1 Overview ............................................................................................. 36 3.1.1 Research Questions .............................................................. 38 3.1.2 Full Research Model ............................................................ 38 3.2 Initial Pilot .......................................................................................... 39 3.2.1 Instrument Creation ............................................................. 39 3.2.2 Qualitative Results ............................................................... 41 3.2.3 Communication .................................................................... 43 3.2.4 Control ................................................................................. 45 3.2.5 Alignment ............................................................................ 46 3.2.6 Risk ...................................................................................... 47 3.2.7 Structure of Power ............................................................... 49 3.2.8 Reverence of Knowledge ..................................................... 50 3.2.9 Enjoyment ............................................................................ 51 3.2.10 Quantitative Results ........................................................... 54 3.2.11 Reliability Results .............................................................. 56 3.2.12 Construct Validity .............................................................. 58 3.2.13 Norms ................................................................................. 61 3.2.14 Discussion .......................................................................... 62 v IV. PART I – INTERPRETATION OF ITOC.......................................................... 65 4.1 Part I Research Objectives .................................................................. 65 4.1.1 Part I Research Model .......................................................... 66 4.1.2 Shared Values ...................................................................... 67 4.1.3 Shared Language .................................................................. 68 4.1.4 Shared History ..................................................................... 69 4.1.5 Shared Context ..................................................................... 70 4.2 Part I Methodology ............................................................................. 71 4.2.1 Data Collection .................................................................... 72 4.2.2 Interview Protocol ................................................................ 74 4.2.3 Qualitative Analysis ............................................................. 78 4.2.4 Coding .................................................................................. 79 4.2.4 Content Analysis for Thematic Coding ............................... 92 4.3 Part I Results ....................................................................................... 97 4.3.1 Sample Demographics ......................................................... 97 4.3.2 Codes.................................................................................... 99 4.3.3 Categories .......................................................................... 100 4.3.4 Value Themes .................................................................... 102 4.3.5 Qualitative Validity and Reliability ................................... 103 4.4 The ASPIRE Values ......................................................................... 104 4.4.1 Autonomy .......................................................................... 105 4.4.2 Structure ............................................................................. 109 4.4.3 Precision in Communication .............................................. 118 4.4.4 Innovation .......................................................................... 123 4.4.5 Reverence for Knowledge.................................................. 127 4.4.6 Enjoyment .......................................................................... 135 4.5 Shared Context .................................................................................. 140 4.6 Shared Language ............................................................................... 144 4.7 Shared History .................................................................................. 145 4.7.1 Shared Economic History .................................................. 146 4.7.2 Shared Political History ..................................................... 146 4.7.3 Shared Technological History............................................ 147 4.7.4 Shared Personal History ..................................................... 147 4.8 Relationships in the Web of Culture ................................................. 150 4.8.1 Share Context and Shared Language ................................. 150 4.8.2 Shared History and Shared Context ................................... 151 4.8.3 Shared Context and Shared Values .................................... 151 4.8.4 Shared Language and Shared History ................................ 152 4.8.5 Shared Language and Shared Values ................................. 153 4.8.6 Shared History and Shared Values .................................... 154 4.9 Hermeneutic Interpretation – The Sacred and the Profane ........................... 160 4.10 Evaluating the Interpretation ....................................................................... 172 vi 4.11 Next Steps ................................................................................................... 173 V. PART II – MEASURING ITOC