Information Technology Management Roles: A Comparison of IT Executives and IT Project Managers

This study investigates the emphasis placed on different managerial roles of information technology (IT) executives and IT project managers. Six managerial roles from Mintzberg’s classic role model were applied in this research: resource allocator, leader, spokesman, monitor, liaison, and entrepreneur. Two surveys were conducted in Norway in 2000/2001 to investigate the management roles. The first survey, which focused on IT executives, obtained 128 usable responses, representing a response rate of 19 percent. Respondents emphasized the spokesman role significantly more than other managerial roles. The second survey, which focused on IT project managers, obtained 80 usable responses, representing a response rate of 14 percent. Respondents emphasized the leader role significantly more than other managerial roles. A comparison of IT executives and IT project managers found significant differences in four out of six managerial roles. IT executives emphasize the monitor role significantly more than IT project managers, while IT project managers emphasize the leader, resource allocator and entrepreneur roles significantly more than IT executives. The study found evidence that IT executives are more externally oriented than IT project managers, and that IT project managers are more internally oriented than IT executives.