Just Let Me Do My Job: Exploring the Impact of Micromanagement on IT Professionals

• Published in: ACM SIGMIS Database: the DATABASE for Advances in Information Systems 2021-08, Vol.52 (3), p.77-95
• Main Authors: Irani-Williams, Feruzan, Tribble, Lori, Rutner, Paige S., Campbell, Constance, McKnight, D. Harrison, Hardgrave, Bill C.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Corporate culture; Human resource management; Information technology; Job satisfaction; Organizational aspects; Trust
• ISSN: 0095-0033; 1532-0936; 1532-0936
• DOI: 10.1145/3481629.3481635

This study seeks to broaden our understanding of the popular, yet under-researched, concept of micromanagement in the IT workforce by exploring IT professionals' trust in the competence of their supervisor as an antecedent to their perceptions of being micromanaged. The study also explores whether felt responsibility is the mechanism via which micromanagement negatively affects IT professionals' job satisfaction and organizational commitment, both proximal factors of turnover. These relationships are explored under the aegis of the Management Control Systems models, leader-member exchange theory, and the job characteristics model. Results indicate that trust in supervisor competence is a significant antecedent to IT professionals' perceptions of being micromanaged and that felt responsibility fully mediates the relationship between micromanagement and organizational commitment. The findings underscore the importance of building IT professionals' trust in their supervisor's competence and suggest that organizations proactively provide early intervention to negate the potential adverse impact on organizational outcomes.