Job histories as predictors of career success in management information systems

Abstract

This research recognizes the lack of knowledge about career issues in data processing and proposes a way of examining the job histories of MIS managers to predict their career success. Job history is defined as a series of job experiences over the span of the person's work life. Results from research in other professional groups suggests that job histories are critical determinants of overall career success. When tested in the MIS environment, the results are expected to show that the series of jobs throughout a data processing manager's career affects the overall level of success achieved and that ability and job history predict career success in an additive rather than an interactive way. These results are discussed in terms of their implications for researchers and practitioners in the MIS area.