have to solve new problems with new methods for customers. Often, several persons are involved in the innovation, and together they have gone through a learning process. When a knowledge worker starts on a new project, the person will use the intraorganizational and interorganizational network to find information on work processes and learning environments, which colleagues have used successfully in previous innovation processes.
There is a strong link between these three knowledge management strategies and the three alternatives of expert-driven, experience-driven and efficiency-driven busi- nesses. In Figure 6.5, characteristics of the three strategies are presented. Typically, efficiency-driven businesses will apply the stock strategy, while experience-driven businesses will apply the flow strategy and expert-driven businesses will apply the growth strategy.
Research.on.Leadership...
Information technology (IT) functions of all sizes and in all industries face many new challenges in today’s rapidly changing environment. Multiple and flexible ways of working require organizational structures to be flexible as well. Projects are a flexible and efficient way of working, whether the goal is to design, install, reengi- neer or reorganize technology initiatives. However, IT projects are often driven by aggressive deadlines and periods of frequent change (Murch, 2000). Projects are temporary organizational structures and unique, goal-oriented work systems where technical, procedural, organizational and human elements are integrated. To get the job done, resources must be identified and allocated, and activities must be properly organized and structured in accordance with business and technical requirements.
The project management approach to solving IT problems and opportunities involves stakeholders such as CEOs, clients, IT managers, project managers, end-users and consultants (Ko et al., 2005). Each role and responsibility of these stakeholders must be clearly defined in making the most of the potential of information technology.
Information technology projects come in many different shapes and sizes. In this sec- tion we are studying two types: internal IT projects and IT outsourcing projects.
Internal IT projects are performed within the IT department. Both the project man- ager and the staff are members of the department (Gottschalk & Karlsen, 2002).
The results of this type of project are typically used within the IT department or the user organization. Examples of internal IT projects include feasibility studies, development projects, design projects, implementation projects, upgrade projects, migration projects and support services projects.
IT outsourcing is typically organized as a project. The project is concerned with turning over all or parts of an IT activity to an outside vendor. The user organization (client) transfers property decision rights over information technology functions to an external (vendor) organization (Koh et al. 2004). The project is a process whereby an organization decided to contract-out or sell the firm’s IT assets, people and/or activities to a third party supplier, who in exchange provides and manages these assets and services (Kern & Willcocks, 2002).
This section investigates project management roles in internal IT projects vs. IT outsourcing projects. We are studying how project managers in these two groups of projects perceive their leadership roles, and discuss the implications of the differ- ences between them. The following research question is addressed: What leadership roles are emphasized in internal IT projects vs. IT outsourcing projects? This IT management research is important because the contingent approach to leadership roles implies that the significance of each role is dependent on the situation. This section discusses a very important and interesting aspect of leadership roles and types with IT projects.
Management.Roles
A manager’s job is complicated and demanding. Managers must undertake several types of activities to achieve the objectives of their organization. To better understand the manager’s activities, we will use the concept of management roles, which was introduced by Mintzberg (1990, 1994).
A manager’s job consists of several parallel roles. At a certain point in time, the manager may perceive one role as more important than the others. Mintzberg (1994) found that it is a peculiarity of the management literature that its best-known writ- ers all seem to emphasize one particular part of the manager’s job to the exclusion of the others. Together they cover all the parts, but even that may not describe the whole task of managing.
Mintzberg’s role typology is frequently used in studies of managerial work. In the context of information technology management, Grover et al. (1993) identified the relevance of six roles from Mintzberg’s role typology: personnel leader, resource allocator, spokesman, entrepreneur, liaison and monitor. In this research, the same six roles are applied, both to internal IT projects and to IT outsourcing projects.
The role terminology is commonly in use and is genderless. We will employ the following role descriptions:
• Personnel.leader: As a leader, the manager is responsible for supervising, hiring, training, organizing, coordinating and motivating a cadre of personnel to achieve the goals of the organization (which may be the IT department or the IT project). This role is mainly internal.
• Resource.allocator: The manager must decide how to allocate human, finan- cial and information resources to the different tasks of the project. This role emphasizes planning, organizing, coordinating and controlling tasks, and is mainly internal.
• Spokesman: As a spokesman, the manager extends organizational contacts to areas outside his or her own jurisdiction. This role emphasizes promoting acceptance of the IT department or the IT project within the organization of which they are part. For the IT executive, it means contact with the rest of the organization, for the project manager, contact with the base organization.
Frequently, he or she must move across traditional departmental boundaries and become involved in production, distribution, marketing and financial matters.
• Entrepreneur: The manager identifies the users’ needs and develops solutions that change business situations. A major responsibility of the manager is to ensure that rapidly evolving technical opportunities are understood, planned, implemented and strategically exploited in the organization.
• Liaison: In this role, the manager communicates with the external environ- ment, and it includes exchanging information with IS/IT suppliers, customers, buyers, market analysts and the media. This is an active, external role.
• Monitor: This role emphasizes scanning of the external environment to keep up with relevant technical changes and competition. The manager identifies new ideas from sources outside his or her organization. To accomplish this task, the manager uses many resources, including vendor contacts, professional relationships and a network of personal contacts.
These six leadership roles are illustrated in Figure 6.6 (Karlsen & Gottschalk, 2002).
The personnel leader and resource allocator are roles internal to the project for the project manager. The spokesman and entrepreneur are roles directed toward the base organization, and the liaison and monitor roles are external to the base organization for the project manager.