Organisational Theory: Did IT Outgrow Management Theory? A Case Study of the African Oil and Gas Industry

IT leadership is blamed for being rigid and unable to service the evolving needs of their organisations. Theory guides management what technical skills the IT department requires. However it does not mention what people skills are required. Many management theories have been developed during the last century. The implementation of an effective and efficient IT department remains problematic for business and IT management as traditional management theory does not necessarily support the implementation of IT within organisations in the African Oil and Gas industry. This paper explores the disconnect between traditional management theory and the way that IT implementation work within the African Oil and Gas industry. The research seeks to understand how and why people react in a specific way and how they manage the complex environment they function in. A mixed-model research design was used to add depth and detail to the research findings. Data were collected sequentially through questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. Senior representatives (47) of the IT population in the African Oil and Gas industry were selected using the cluster sampling technique. Convenience sampling was used to test the results from the targeted population against a group of CIO´s and IT executives (31) at the CIO Africa Summit held in June 2014.. The results show that traditional management theory has become insufficient to deal with the fast changing and complex environment of the Oil and gas industry. C-level executives and CIO´s agree that IT professionals need more EI development and business acumen to execute their mandate. The research proposes a management framework to support a successful IT implementation in the African Oil and Gas industry.