Week 6 Kirsch et al. (2002)_Yiran

Firms have begun to utilize a client liaison role as a means of fostering business unit ownership and leadership of IS projects, which exercise control of IS project leaders to ensure that IS projects make progress in conformance with the business value propositions and proposed schedules and budgets. This paper aims to examine the exercise of project control across the client-Is relationships that may take on a variety of forms (hierarchical and lateral settings). The author defined control as all attempts to motivate individuals to achieve desired objectives, and it can be exercised via formal and informal modes.

The research model suggests that the client liaison’s choice of control mode is dependent on behavior observability and outcome measurability. This relationship between antecedent conditions and control modes is moderated by the client liaison’s understanding of the information. Based this mode, four hypotheses are developed

HYPOTHESIS1. High levels of outcome measurability will be associated with the exercise of outcome control. (Supported)

HYPOTHESIS2. High levels of behavior observability and client’s understanding of the IS development process will be associated with the exercise of behavior control. (No interaction, but main effect)

HYPOTHESIS3. High levels of behavior observability and low levels of client understanding of the IS development process will be associated with the exercise of clan control. (Supported)

HYPOTHESIS 4A. Low levels of outcome measurability will be associated with the exercise of self-control. (Partial supported)

Data were gathered from a questionnaire survey of 69 pairs of clients and IS project leaders. Regression analysis was used for hypothesis testing. The results of this study provide support for most of the hypothesized antecedents of the exercise of control by client liaisons. The distinctive finding of this study is that high behavior observability is associated with the use of either behavior or clan control. However, the key limitation is the moderate sample size.