Information systems (IS) projects are notoriously difficult to control, especially under conditions of uncertainty. This difficulty is particularly pronounced for senior IS managers, such as CIOs and IT Vice Presidents, who tend to have scarce time and limited project-related knowledge but are ultimately held accountable for IS project performance. Focusing on this under-researched controller category, the study at hand contributes new insights into the enactment of controls by exploring how IS project uncertainty affects senior IS managers' control-style choices, as well as how it moderates the impact of such choices on process and product performance. Based on a survey of 150 senior IS managers, we find that IS project uncertainty increases managers' use of an authoritative control style but is unrelated to their use of an enabling control style. Further, in IS projects characterized by uncertainty, an authoritative control style is found to be effective for process performance, whereas an enabling style is found to be effective for product performance. Moreover, the results of a post-hoc analysis show that using the two control styles simultaneously under uncertainty delivers no discernible benefits, suggesting a decision-related control dilemma. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

众所周知，信息系统 (IS) 项目难以控制，尤其是在不确定的情况下。这种困难对于 IS 高级经理（例如 CIO 和 IT 副总裁）来说尤其明显，他们往往时间紧缺，项目相关知识有限，但最终要对 IS 项目绩效负责。关注这一研究不足的控制器类别，手头的研究通过探索 IS 项目的不确定性如何影响高级 IS 经理的控制方式选择，以及它如何缓和这种选择对过程的影响，为控制的制定提供了新的见解和产品性能。基于对 150 名高级 IS 经理的调查，我们发现 IS 项目的不确定性增加了经理们的 使用权威控制风格，但与他们使用启用控制风格无关。此外，在以不确定性为特征的 IS 项目中，发现权威控制风格对过程绩效有效，而授权风格被发现对产品绩效有效。此外，事后分析的结果表明，在不确定的情况下同时使用两种控制方式不会带来明显的好处，这表明决策相关的控制困境。讨论了理论和实践意义。事后分析的结果表明，在不确定的情况下同时使用两种控制方式不会带来明显的好处，这表明决策相关的控制困境。讨论了理论和实践意义。事后分析的结果表明，在不确定的情况下同时使用两种控制方式不会带来明显的好处，这表明决策相关的控制困境。讨论了理论和实践意义。