THE REPRESENTATION, RECRUITMENT, AND RETENTIONOF HISPANICS IN U.S. IT EMPLOYMENT

摘要

This paper presents a brief literature review, conceptual model and research design intended to explore issuesrnregarding the representation, recruitment and retention of Hispanics in information technology (IT)rnemployment in the US. Hispanics are the second largest cultural subcategory in terms of the US population,rnyet data seem to indicate that Hispanics are proportionally underrepresented in terms of informationrntechnology education, use and employment. Remarkably, there is little prior research extant in the informationrnsystems management literature on the specific topic of Hispanics and IT employment. This paper discussesrnthree key points: 1) the paper will first explore current sociological literature on Hispanics and the I叧DigitalrnDivide; 2) second, the paper will discuss theoretical work from the similar topics of women and AfricanrnAmericans and IT employment, as well as cover the cultural relevance of the Internet for Hispanics, ethnic andrnminority self-identity, and concepts from the recruitment and retention literature; 3) the paper presents arnconceptual model that relates the literature to the research problem in order to establish the theoreticalrnfoundations of the research; 3) the paper will briefly describe the research question and research design forrnthe proposed research agenda. Finally, the paper will conclude by discussing the larger considerations of thisrnresearch, including any relevant policy concerns and potential implications in terms of good business practices.rnAs an added incentive, it may be that those firms actively seeking and promoting the development, hiring andrnretention of Hispanic employees as an internal policy of social responsibility are subsequently more successfulrnin understanding this important and growing business market, thus adding to firm performance.