Abstract
The aim of this study is to develop understanding of moral issues in project-based IT companies. Three corporate moral dilemmas, the dirty hands dilemma (balancing between the corporation’s efficiency needs and stakeholder interests), the many hands dilemma (integrating individual members’ actions into a cohesive whole), and the entangled hands dilemma (individual members’ responsibility for given assets), are studied in project-based IT companies. Experienced project managers and supervisors (n=16) were interviewed about the moral challenges of project-based IT companies, and the transcripts were analyzed through the three dilemmas. The results show how each dilemma is present in project-based IT companies. Most of the moral concerns were related to the dirty hands dilemma. Based on the findings, the implications for practice and research are presented.
Recommended Citation
Vartiainen, Tero, "Project-Based IT Companies and Three Corporate Moral Dilemmas" (2012). AMCIS 2012 Proceedings. 1.
https://aisel.aisnet.org/amcis2012/proceedings/ITProjectManagement/1
Project-Based IT Companies and Three Corporate Moral Dilemmas
The aim of this study is to develop understanding of moral issues in project-based IT companies. Three corporate moral dilemmas, the dirty hands dilemma (balancing between the corporation’s efficiency needs and stakeholder interests), the many hands dilemma (integrating individual members’ actions into a cohesive whole), and the entangled hands dilemma (individual members’ responsibility for given assets), are studied in project-based IT companies. Experienced project managers and supervisors (n=16) were interviewed about the moral challenges of project-based IT companies, and the transcripts were analyzed through the three dilemmas. The results show how each dilemma is present in project-based IT companies. Most of the moral concerns were related to the dirty hands dilemma. Based on the findings, the implications for practice and research are presented.