Motivational Patterns among IT Specialists

Abstract

IT professionals are generally considered to be paradigmatic knowledge workers – ready to work long hours independently, with high internal motivation. However, only 1/3 of IT projects are successfully concluded and motivation is considered the key factor for success of IT projects. Analyses of the ways in which IT specialists are motivated, both in scientific research and in practice assume a uniform approach to motivating IT specialists. Recent research however has shown that three different profiles may be observed among IT specialists in the US. These studies, however, are based on samples in which ca. 50% respondents were IT managers; this may explain the unexpected set of motivational profiles. The objective of our research is to verify this assumption. Qualitative research, conducted in Poland in 2011 on IT professionals who do not hold managerial positions, identified the same three motivational profiles. The article describes motivational procedures for each of these three profiles.
Keywords: Motivational patterns, Motivation, IT specialist, IT management, Knowledge worker.