Conclusions

---

This study looked at the indirect effects of the planning culture on IT planning effectiveness through the mediating effects of knowledge workers' empowerment. Strong support was garnered for the three hypotheses of the study based on data collected among IT professionals in Bahrain. The planning culture empowers knowledge workers by increasing their motivation to participate in the planning process, hence yielding a successful outcome of IT planning. Beyond the probing result, the major contribution of the study is the conceptual definition and empirical validation of the planning culture construct. In this study we used a model of culture's impact on performance to illustrate the peculiar effects of the planning culture on IT planning effectiveness. To the researcher's knowledge, there has not been such an adaptation to date. Future research along the same lines ought to focus on other social antecedents to IT planning effectiveness. Further validation of the planning norms scale is also required. Qualitative inquiries should thus be undertaken to identify other critical dimensions of the planning culture construct.

---