Ali F. Farhoomand

A structural model of end user computing satisfaction and user performance

Abstract The proliferation of end user computing has necessitated the development of reliable and valid instruments that measure satisfaction in this environment and evaluate its success when used in improving user performance. An instrument for measurement of end user computing satisfaction (EUCS) is developed. Using exploratory factor analysis, six attitudinal dimensions for measurement of EUCS are first identified. Structural equation modelling techniques are then used to explore the relationship between EUCS and user performance. It is shown that the six attitudinal dimensions of EUCS account for a significant portion of the variation in user performance.

Managerial information overload

Overwhelmed by the organizational imperative to collect every kind of information available, and finding technical solutions generally miss the point, knowledge workers need to improve their personal capacity for inquiry.

Barriers to global electronic commerce: a cross-country study of Hong Kong and Finland

Babson College So far electronic commerce has primarily been limited to electronic business-to-business transactions and small, but quickly growing, consumer-oriented activities on the Internet, such as electronic advertisements mated with the traditional mail-order operations. What lies ahead in the future is a concept of true global electronic commerce (GEC), in which firms will exploit a virtual value chain to migrate much of their value-adding activities from the physical marketplace to the virtual marketplace. The capability for business concerns to be able to reach out to a global business community at a relatively small cost is very attractive and promises to transform international business. Despite this realization, it has become increasingly evident that the proliferation of GEC is dependent on resolution of a myriad of technical, organizational, economic, cultural, political, and legal issues. In this study, field studies of 10 companies in Hong Kong and Finland were conducted with an eye toward identifying the major barriers that have hindered or slowed down the wide acceptance of electronic commerce across borders. In addition to several country-specific barriers to GEC, resistance to change, lack of education about the potentials of GEC, and lack of flexible software were found to be the key inhibitors to the orderly acceptance and deployment of computer-mediated commerce at the global level.

Innovation Diffusion and Implementation

Economic progress continues to be greatly influenced by the development and adoption of innovations. Maintaining momentum necessitates understanding factors that influence the choices made by organisations. Diffusion and implementation research have each sought to understand necessary conditions and motivations and to identify obstacles. Whether these two areas of research have the same determinants, overlap, or are separate is controversially affecting the interpretation of current research. This issue is the subject of this paper. The empirical investigation compares variables of the diffusion chronology with the choice decision in implementation. This macro-level analysis reveals that the two areas are connected but there are also substantial differences. The results of this study reconfirm the emerging evidence in the literature that the innovation adoption decision should not be treated as a dichotomous organisational choice. Furthermore, the evidence strongly points to the need to develop integrative theories that include the chronological aspects of the innovation adoption process.

A Hierarchical Structural Model Of Information Systems Success

AbstractThe evaluation of successful systems assists in obtaining those properties, which should be emphasized, and others, which need to be corrected. Investigations regarding the structure of systems success will be of increasing importance in the future as organizations seek to maximize the benefits of new systems in an increasingly competitive world.The properties of successful systems have been the focus of investigations since the earliest systems implementations. Diverse approaches have been used to examine and measure success. In consolidating these past studies, Delone and McLean in 1992 proposed a generic structure. Subsequent research has provided progressive modifications.This paper extends the success structure of information systems (IS). A hierarchical structural model is introduced based on the premise that the behavior of successful systems is influenced by a universe of properties common to all successful systems, and by a unique set of properties specific to each class of systems. The e...

Factors influencing electronic data interchange success

With the rapid proliferation of electronic data interchange (EDI) in recent years, there has been a growing need for understanding various issues surrounding the adoption, implementation, and evaluation of such systems. In particular, as an increasing number of firms are piloting, implementing, or using EDI, it is becoming crucial to identify the factors that influence the success of EDI. Through a survey of 242 companies that were at different stages of adopting EDI, we show that EDI success is affected by four distinct factors relating to information quality, systems outcomes, user participation, and system quality. Evidence of reliability and validity of the scale, along with some practical standards and evaluation baseline, are provided.

Information technology push/pull reactions

Abstract Innovation has not only become the domain of a few progressive enterprises but the key to success of many others. Innovative changes in management practices can assist in ensuring survival in an increasingly competitive world. Management information systems are critical to exploiting technological, process, and product innovations. Improvements in information technology continue to have a major impact on information systems. The relationships between different sources of new information technology and reactions of organizations are critical to adopting and exploiting innovations. These relationships are empirically tested using a growing and important systems innovation, Electronic Data Interchange. Two principal types of impetus are explored, technological-push and demand-pull forces. They are found to produce different external, internal, and cost/benefits. Further, the impetus for the usage of the system affects evaluations of systems, information, and management of systems. Technological-push requires user accessibility and support. The benefits are more clearly identifiable with demand-pull. Internal demand-pull results in the highest levels of benefits but is infrequently the major source of impetus. Comparisons of organization reactions to technological-push and demand-pull indicate that different management strategies and practices are required. Industries are affected differently depending on the impetus for change. Recommendations are made for managing the changing pattern of information technology innovation.

Building a successful e-business: the FedEx story

The company famous for transporting goods from anywhere to anywhere around the globe has used its impressive information infrastructure to expand into a channel logistics business.

The Building of a New Business Ecosystem: Sustaining National Competitive Advantage Through Electronic Commerce

Despite the high level of interest in the role of governments in building national information infrastructure (NII) as a source of competitive advantage, it is still not clear how major information technology initiatives can help leverage national economies into the global marketplace. In light of the recent rollout of one of the worlds largest electronic commerce initiatives, we examine the role of private-public partnerships in the success of such initiative in Hong Kong. Furthermore, we trace the 3 stages of the project-development, implementation, and competitive entrenchment-to identify the difficulties and challenges encountered and how these were overcome. By drawing some comparisons with the Singapore approach, we identify the kind of government involvement appropriate to spur on national competitiveness. We show that in building the NII, the dual aspects of private-sector leadership and government involvement are mutually reinforcing. Government intervention is necessary in creating the initial supply push, whereas the demand pull engendered by the market is critical for leveraging the NII as a platform for national competitiveness. The ramification of the study for other countries is discussed.

Improving management information systems research: question order effects in surveys

This paper demonstrates the impact that question order can have in using survey research in management information systems (MIS). Using data from a survey of 379 companies concerning electronic data interchange (EDI), significant differences are found in the evaluation of successful implementations. The overall evaluation of success is increased (or decreased) depending upon alternative versions of question order. In addition, the analyses show that the main effects from question order interact in different ways with respondent characteristics, including functional area, educational background and being a systems user. The bias tends to be consistent for some types of respondents, such as systems users. However, other classes of respondents, especially persons with professional backgrounds in systems or MIS, are influenced in more complex ways by question order. The order in which queries regarding systems output and quality occur tends to be especially important in anchoring subsequent responses and overall assessments. The final section addresses corrective actions and future research.