Antecedents and consequences of traditional and virtual IT professionals' satisfaction with employment arrangements

ABSTRACT

As virtual work becomes more common among information technology (IT) professionals, it is important to understand the differences between traditional and virtual employment arrangements. Based on an examination of literature on psychological contracts and work arrangements and interviews with virtual IT workers and IT HR managers, six dimensions of employment arrangements -- length, depth, discretion, career development opportunities, compensation level, and risk -- are identified to illuminate these differences. How well employers meet IT professionals' preferences for the valued outcomes represented by these dimensions, i.e., IT professionals' satisfaction with their employment arrangements (or employment arrangement fit), is the central construct in the conceptual model elaborated here. A methodology for empirically investigating this conceptual model is outlined.

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INDEX TERMS

Keywords:
IT human resource management, managing information technology (IT) professionals