A STRUCTURAL MODEL OF THE INFORMATION SYSTEMS PROFESSIONAL

摘要

This paper reports the identification and modelling of four latent variables in the makeup of the professional repertoire of information systems professionals. The relative importance of work experience, soft skills, IS education, and non-IS education to four stakeholder groups, IS employers, professionals, students, and academics, is graphically and quantitatively represented through a second-order structural equation model. The model is simultaneously tested against the four stakeholder groups, the fit measures are the same for each of them, providing a commensurate basis for comparison. The fit measure values indicate an excellent fit, within accepted limits. The model provides a quantitative basis for identification of the relative importance of the respective variables to the education and career development of IS professionals. The model also includes features of the working environment which may influence the career choices and progress of IS graduates. Analysis of the shifts in importance attached to latent variables between groups may provide improved understanding of changing values and perceptions of IS professionals as careers develop and as individuals change stakeholder group membership.