Omnificence or Differentiation? An Empirical Study of Knowledge Structures and Career Development of IT Workers

Abstract

Amid the growing importance of information technology (IT) in the business landscape, the pivotal role of IT knowledge in the demand side of the labor market, at both industry and firm levels, is well-documented. However, the important labor supply side concerning IT workers has remained largely underexplored. This raises challenges about how IT professionals can strategically cultivate their IT knowledge structures toward a sustainable, well-compensated career path. This paper bridges this gap by examining how different types of IT knowledge structures of IT workers impact their salaries and job security over time. We theorize, define, and operationalize two new metrics to characterize the knowledge structures of an IT worker. Knowledge omnificence measures the breadth of an IT worker’s own knowledge structure, while knowledge differentiation assesses the extent of difference between the one’s knowledge set and that of their peers. By analyzing extensive career data of IT workers from 2000 to 2016, we demonstrated that, on average, a high level of IT knowledge differentiation or omnificence yields positive economic returns for IT workers. However, our findings revealed an intriguing twist: such a positive relationship is not monotonic. It turns out that the most advantageous stance lies in acquiring IT knowledge exhibiting moderate levels of knowledge omnificence or differentiation. Furthermore, we found that both knowledge omnificence and differentiation reduced gender disparity in the labor market. In particular, females benefited more, with a 13.75% (or 1.38%) increase in salary, from having a one-unit increase in knowledge omnificence (or differentiation). Furthermore, our results revealed another intriguing twist that to increase salary potential or pursue a better position, one should aim for knowledge omnificence, while those valuing job security should aim for knowledge differentiation. This study holds critical managerial implications for IT workers, firms, and policymakers. It emphasizes the importance of strategic management of IT knowledge structure in enabling IT workers to thrive in the dynamic and competitive IT job market.

Keywords: IT Knowledge Structure; Knowledge Omnificence; Knowledge Differentiation; IT Trends; Knowledge Dynamics; Career Development