An exploratory contingency model of user participation and MIS use

A model is proposed of the relationship between user participation and degree of MIS usage. The model has four dimensions: participation characteristics, system characteristics, system initiator, and the system development environment. Stages of the System Development Life Cycle are considered as a participation characteristics, task complexity as a system characteristics, and top management support and user attitudes as parts of the system development environment. The data are from a cross-sectional survey in Korea, covering 134 users of 77 different information systems in 32 business firms. The results of the analysis support the proposed model in general. Several implications of this for MIS managers are then discussed.     

Encouraging user management participation in systems design

Although the need for managers of user functions to be involved in the design of information or decision support systems (DSS) is broadly accepted as one of the essential principles of information systems development, we know little about why some firms have been able to achieve high levels of such managerial participation while others have been less successful. Though field interviews with MIS directors, it was possible to identify three widely held assumptions concerning the organizational level factors which might facilitate middle management participation from user organizations in systems design. To explore the relationship between these factors and user middle management participation, 152 user managers (functional area department heads) were studied from 55 firms. The results suggest that many firms may, unknowingly, manage their information system function in a manner which does not encourage user middle management involvement in the design of the systems they use.     

The impact of DSS on organizational communication

There is some controversy in the MIS literature concerning the potential impact of computer systems on interpersonal communication in organizations. Generally, MIS researchers have found that effective communication between users and designers is an important factor in determining user satisfaction and MIS success.Recently, however, Naylor [8] has argued that decision support systems (DSS) may isolate managers from interaction with others. This is in marked contrast to the contentions of Wagner [16] and Huber [6] that DSS may lead to more effective managerial communication.We would argue that DSS encourage communication for several reasons: adaptive DSS development requires continued manager-analyst interaction; DSS-based decisions often require groups of managers; and there is a greater need for human information processing in a DSS environment.This paper reports the results of a study of the relationships between DSS usage and organizational communications. It was found that users in three different categories (managers, financial or planning analysts (FPAs), and “others”) felt that DSS usage encouraged communication. Also, significant positive relationships were found between increased communication and overall satisfaction with the DSS for all three groups. Finally, for managers and FPAs, significant positive relationships were found between increased communication and satisfaction with the DSS in decision-making activities.     

Dysfunctional User Behavior in Systems Development

Because extensive user involvement in systems development projects is essential to successful systems implementation, MIS managers should be aware of the various factors that can cause users to avoid participation in systems development. This column discusses three factors -senior management behavior, corporate culture, and user personalities - and provides examples of how these factors can adversely affect users' attitudes toward systems development.     

Change, attitude to change, and decision support system success

It is generally recognized that user attitudes are important determinants of success in the implementation of information systems. Among these, users' attitudes towards the changes introduced by a system are thought to be especially important in the implementation of MIS and OR/MS applications. Based on the results of a survey of 32 decision support systems (DSS), this study investigates the relationships between the extent of changes caused by the systems to users' work environments, the users' attitudes towards work related changes, and four measures of DSS success. The results indicate that DSS users are more satisfied with, and use more extensively, those DSS that bring change than DSS that do not result in substantial changes to their work environment. Implications for the measurement of DSS success are also discussed.     

Local Area Networks: Compatibility Versus Connectivity

Because extensive user involvement in systems development projects is essential to successful systems implementation, MIS managers should be aware of the various factors that can cause users to avoid participation in systems development. This column discusses three factors -senior management behavior, corporate culture, and user personalities - and provides examples of how these factors can adversely affect users' attitudes toward systems development.     

Perceived importance of information system success factors: A meta analysis of group differences

Factors influencing the success or failure of an information system (IS) have been discussed frequently in the literature. This study identifies several additional factors and proposes that the existing ones be classified into eight different dimensions. These encompass, not only the system aspect, but also the human aspect of IS success (ISS). The study further uses data from past ISS studies and also those collected from a field survey to analyze the differences in the perceived importance of ISS factors between four groups of subjects from North America, namely, the user staff, the IS staff, and the managers of the two groups. It reveals that the rank orders of ISS factors between IS staff and IS managers and between user staff and user managers are not significantly different. However, the rank orders between IS personnel and user personnel are significantly different. Based on these, the top and the least important ISS factors are identified. The findings have several implications for IS management practice.     

Determinants of user participation: a Finnish survey

The relationship between user participation and information systems success has intrigued researchers for two decades. Despite this history there is minimal research on the antecedents of user participation. The tenet of the present paper is that the conditions of user participation are essentially changing. Especially, the European tradition of user participation has focused on blue collar workers rather than professionals and managers. Users are normally assumed to be computer illiterate. The North American tradition has almost exclusively focused on the impact of user participation on information systems success. The present paper examined the significance of organizational level of users, their task variety and computer experience as determinants of user participation including age, gender, education, computer training, organizational tenure and job tenure as control variables. The three determinants were found to have a significant positive effect on user participation, computer experience emerging as the most dominant factor. Gender, education and computer training were discovered to have significant effects mediated by organizational level, task variety and computer experience.     

Discriminative effect of user influence and user responsibility on information system development processes and project management

Context

User participation in information system (IS) development has received much research attention. However, prior empirical research regarding the effect of user participation on IS success is inconclusive. This might be because previous studies overlook the effect of the particular components of user participation and other possible mediating factors.

Objective

The objective of this study is to empirically examine how user influence and user responsibility affect IS project performance. We inspect whether user influence and user responsibility improve the quality of the IS development process and in turn leads to project success, or if they have a direct positive influence on project success.

Method

We conducted a survey of 151 IS project managers in order to understand the impact of user influence and user responsibility on IS project performance. Regression analysis was conducted to assess the relationship among user influence, user responsibility, organizational technology learning, project control, user-developer interaction, and IS project management performance.

Results

This study shows that user responsibility and user influence have a positive effect on project performance through the promotion of IS development processes as mediators, including organizational technology learning, project control, and user-IS interaction.

Conclusion

Our results suggest that user responsibility and user influence respectively play an important role in indirectly and directly impacting project management performance. Results of the analysis imply that organizations and project managers should use both user participation and user influence to improve processes performance, and in turn, increase project success.     

Decision-making styles of MIS managers: A comparative evaluation

MIS managers must be capable leaders and decision-makers; individuals who can effectively manage subordinate specialists, manage tasks that possess a wide range of characteristics, and work with others in the organization to integrate computer technology into their activities. Recently Biggs proposed that the Vroom/Yetton normative model can be applied to problems or decisions encountered by the MIS manager. This article examines how 50 MIS managers dealth with a set of 30 case situations developed by Vroom and Yetton. When compared to 1647 managers in other organizational functions, the MIS sample is found to display decision-making styles similar to a simple average of the divergent styles found in other disciplines. The styles of MIS managers emphasize the efficient use of time and resources and tend to place a greater emphasis on criteria of decision quality than on criteria of decision acceptance.     

The user–developer communication process: a critical case study

Abstract. Although user participation in systems development is widely believed to have positive impacts on user acceptance, it does not guarantee success and there is still much that we do not know about how and why user participation sometimes delivers positive benefits, but not always. Much of the prior research on user participation assumes that user–developer communication will ensure that the resulting system will be designed to meet users' needs and will be accepted by them. The nature and quality of the communication between users and developers, however, remains an understudied aspect of user participation. In this paper, we focus on the user–developer communication process. We propose a process model that delineates four stages of communication between users and software developers, and we argue that these stages must occur for user participation to lead to effective outcomes. To illustrate our model, we apply it to analyse a 'critical case study' of a software project that failed despite high levels of user involvement. We show that when 'communication lapses' occurred in several of the user–developer communication stages, developers failed to be informed regarding the underlying reasons that users avoided the system. Based on the insights from this case study, we advise researchers and practitioners how to leverage the potential benefits of user participation, rather than take them for granted.     

The relative influence of management control and user–IS personnel interaction on project performance

Research has failed to establish a conclusive link between levels of user involvement and information system project success. Communication and control theories indicate that the quality of interactions between users and inofrmation personnel may serve to better the coordinaton in a project and lead to greater success. A model is developed that directly relates management control to the quality of interaction and project success, with interaction quality as a potential intermediary. These variables provide a more distinct relationship to success as interactions are more structurally defined and controlled. A survey of 196 IS professionals provides evidence that management control techniques improve the quality of user–IS personnel interactions and eventual project success. These formal structures provide guidelines for managers in controlling the critical relations between users and IS personnel.     

The effect of user engagement on system success: A meta-analytical integration of research findings

The effect of user involvement on system success is an important topic yet empirical results have been controversial. Many methodological and theoretical differences among prior studies have been suggested as possible causes for inconsistent findings. This research is an attempt to resolve inconsistent data despite differences that may exist in prior studies. Data from 25 studies were meta-analyzed to test the separate effects of user participation and user involvement on six system success variables. Results showed that user participation had a moderate positive correlation with four success measures: system quality, use, user satisfaction, and organizational impact. The correlation between user participation and individual impact was minimum. User involvement generally had a larger correlation with system success than did user participation. Overall, these findings indicate that both user involvement and user participation are beneficial, but the magnitude of these benefits much depends on how involvement and its effect are defined.     

Information Centers: A Survey of Services, Decisions, Problems, and Successes

As end-user computing becomes increasingly important in all kinds of businesses, many organizations are responding by installing information centers. This study, based on a survey of 25 diverse organizations within a large metropolitan area, investigates the services, user decisions, problems, and successes of their information centers. The results should prove useful to information center managers and MIS executives attempting to cope with the growth of end-user computing in their organizations.     

Strategies for managing user developed systems

The arrival of microcomputers, user-friendly languages, and improved telecommunications have made information more directly accessible to end-users. This increased accessibility has caused an evolution from traditional systems development done solely by MIS professionals to a growing amount of development by end-users. User system development presents new management challenges for both MIS and user departments. These challenges are not different in kind from problems encountered by MIS in the past, but they are different in magnitude. Unless companies educate users and manage user development, they will endure the same slow evolution. Only this time the problems will be multiplied manyfold by the sheer number of users, and will be further exaggerated by users' lack of technical expertise. This paper examines the conflicts created by the emergence of user development. It focuses on the symptoms of mismanagement and suggests key areas to be addressed by an effective management strategy. The evolution of user computing is described in terms of Nolan's stage theory. These issues are illustrated through a case study of policies, practices, and attitudes toward user system development at a steel company.     

The relationship between user participation and system success: a simultaneous contingency approach

The relationship between user participation and information system (IS) success has drawn attention from researchers for some time. It is assumed that strong participation of future users in the design of IS would lead to successful outcomes in terms of more IS usage, greater user acceptance, and increased user satisfaction. However, in spite of this, much of the empirical research so far has been unable to demonstrate its benefits. This paper examines the participation–success relationship in a broader context, where the effects of user participation and two other factors, user attitudes and user involvement, on system success occur simultaneously. Other contingency variables considered here are: system impact, system complexity, and development methodology. The theoretical framework and the associated hypotheses are empirically tested by a survey of 32 organizations. Empirical results corroborate the positive link between user participation and user satisfaction and provide evidence on the interplay between user attitudes and user involvement.     

基于Windows NT集成技术的信息管理系统用户安全管理的数据库设计

文章阐述了基于WindowsNT操作系统的用户安全管理和MIS系统用户管理集成的新方案,该方案用户认证安全可靠,同时保留了一定的灵活性。该方案已应用在广州市经济技术开发区管委会经济管理信息系统中并为网上的MIS系统用户管理提供了新的思路。     

大型MIS系统开发及原型仿真

大型MIS系统在企中的广泛应用，不仅使企业的运作更加规范化，而且还大大提高了企业的生产效率。随着越来越多的企业使用MIS系统处理日常的工作，人们对大型MIS系统提出了更高的要求。这对于设计、开发大型MIS系统的人们来说，提出了一个新的课题。该文针对开发大型MIS系统时要注意的几个问题，如数据库设计、基础类库设计、文档管理、数据处理、用户界面规范等做了详细的论述；同时，采用系统原型仿真的方法对MIS进行开发。这些经验对大型MIS系统的开发工作有很强的指导意义。     

Validating and applying user satisfaction as a measure of MIS success in small organizations

Measurement of user satisfaction is a methodological problem crucial to information systems research. As the impact of an MIS upon organizational effectiveness is basically unmeasurable, measures of user satisfaction provide the most useful assessments of system success. This paper investigates the measurement of user satisfaction in the specific context of small organizations. An analysis of the potential impact of this specificity upon user satisfaction served as a basis for the selection and adaptation of a previously validated instrument. A modified version was developed and pretested; results of previous research were then replicated and extended by administering the instrument to 464 financial managers in small firms. The data obtained was analyzed and discussed in terms of reliability and validity. The validated instrument is applied to demonstrate its potential uses.     

Knowledge-based management support: an application to the IS change agent role problem

This paper explores how the change agent role problem can be detected and alleviated with the help of a knowledge-based support tool. The mismatch between MIS specialist change agent role style and IS environment is a complex problem to solve. The problem results when the MIS specialist's role outlines responsibilities that cannot possibly manage the change and related uncertainty surrounding an IS initiative. MIS specialists are classified by change agent roles that reflect varying types of responsibility for social and technological change. Evaluation of IS environment constructs provide the MIS specialist with a formal way to compare the different IS change agent roles to moderate IS uncertainty, thereby increasing the likelihood of IS success. The relevant IS change agentry relationships are identified from a literature review. Results from a multiple case study were used to develop and validate a conceptual model of the IS change agentry application domain. Based on this model, a suitable knowledge representation scheme is developed that provides a high level structure to the IS change agent role application domain and also guides the reasoning process. The proposed approach supports the interpretation of domain relationships applicable when choosing among change agent roles. Therefore, it could be used by IS specialists proactively to facilitate the analysis of complex domain facts prior to committing resources to a change agent role. The approach is illustrated with case data. Managerial implications of the study are discussed.