Blake Ives

The measurement of user information satisfaction

This paper critically reviews measures of user information satisfaction and selects one for replication and extension. A survey of production managers is used to provide additional support for the instrument, eliminate scales that are psychometrically unsound, and develop a standard short form for use when only an overall assessment of information satisfaction is required and survey time is limited.

The information system as a competitive weapon

Avec laide de la technologie dun systeme dinformation, une compagnie peut devenir competitive dans toutes les etapes de ses rapports de consommateur. Le modele de cycle de vie de ressource du consommateur rend cela possible pour de telles compagnies, afin de determiner non seulement quand il existe des opportunites pour des applications strategiques mais aussi que des applications specifiques pourraient etre developpees

An empirical study of the impact of user involvement on system usage and information satisfaction

User involvement in information system development is generally considered an important mechanism for improving system quality and ensuring successful system implementation. The common assumption that user involvement leads to system usage and/or information satisfaction is examined in a survey of 200 production managers. Alternative models exploring the causal ordering of the three variables are developed and tested via path analysis. The results demonstrate that user involvement in the development of information systems will enhance both system usage and the users satisfaction with the system. Further, the study provides evidence that the users satisfaction with the system will lead to greater system usage.

Executive involvement and participation in the management of information technology

Executive support is often prescribed as critical for fully tapping the benefits of information technology (IT). However, few investigations have attempted to determine what type of executive support is likely or organizationally appropriate. This article puts forward alternative models of executive support. The models are tested by examining chief executive officers behaviors in and perceptions of IT activities. CEOs and information systems executives are surveyed and further data collected from industry handbooks and from chairmens annual letters to shareholders. The results suggest that executive involvement (a psychological state) is more strongly associated with the firms progressive use of IT than executive participation (actual behaviors) in IT activities. Executive involvement is influenced by a CEOs participation, prevailing organizational conditions, and the executives functional background. CEOs perceptions about the importance of IT in their firms were generally positive, although they participated in IT activities rather infrequently.

Applications of global information technology: key issues for management

Carefully crafted investments in global information technology offer firms an opportunity to increase control and enhance coordination, while opening access to new global markets and businesses. But engineering such global systems presents numerous challenges to management. In this article, we relate these challenges as they were described to us by 25 senior managers from Fortune 500 firms responsible for implementing and managing global applications of information technology. Among the findings of the interviews are four common approaches for managing global information technology.

The global network organization of the future: information management opportunities and challenges

The key information processing building blocks for yesterdays organizations were typewriters, carbon paper, filing cabinets, and a government mail service. The constraints of these crude information processing technologies often required workers to be located under one roof and organizations to arrange themselves as efficient, but relatively change-resistant, management hierarchies. Those legacy organization designs have persisted despite fundamental changes in information processing technology. Tomorrows successful organizations will be designed around the building blocks of advanced computer and communications technology. The success of these organizations will come from the ability to couple to, and decouple from, the networks of knowledge nodes. These networked organizations will link, on an as-needed basis, teams of empowered employees, consultants, suppliers, and customers. These ad hoc teams will solve one-time problems, provide personalized customer service, and then, as lubricant for subsequent interactions, evaluate one anothers performance. In the network organization, structure will dominate strategy, credentials will give way to performance and knowledge, and human resources will be the only sustainable advantage. Despite the promise, networked organizations present difficult information management challenges. Among these are developing a flexible and efficient information architecture, establishing new values, attitudes, and behaviors concerning information sharing, building databases that can provide integrated customer support on a worldwide basis, and protecting personal freedoms and privacy. Here, we explore the opportunities and challenges that networked organizations will present for information technology management.

In search of sustainability: Reaping long-term advantage from investments in information technology

Abstract:We have raised executive management’s awareness, and expectations of the strategic role of information systems technology. Teams of managers are commonly involved in workshops or planning processes designed to identify such applications. Conceptual frameworks to assist in such “idea-generation” sessions are widely cited in the literature and used in practice. Less well understood is the process used to evaluate the sustainability of proposed applications. We present a framework for evaluating sustainability based on the competitor’s anticipated response time, differences among competitors, and the potential of the application to preempt competitive responses. Such an analysis is proposed as an evaluation tool for intended strategic applications of information technology.

User Involvement in System Design: An Empirical Test of Alternative Approaches

User involvement in the development of informationsystems is often assumed to be key to successfulimplementation. However, few empirical studies have clearlydemonstrated a relationship between user involvement and twokey indicators of system success: system usage and userinformation satisfaction. The authors test the generalhypothesis that user involvement is a more complex conceptthan previous research would indicate; there are differenttypes of involvement and different stages in the systemdevelopment life cycle in which users may become involved.In a study of 83 users and 23 information systems managersin 23 companies, they found that only the activity of usersign-offs on project phases had a significant correlationwith both user information satisfaction and satisfaction with the information systems group. The authors concludethat there is a complex relationship between the type anddegree of user involvement and other organizational andindividual factors; this relationship affects both usersatisfaction with and usage of the resulting systems. Somesuggestions for further research taking this complexity intoaccount are given.

Information technology and corporate strategy: A view from the top

Letters to shareholders in 649 annual reports published between 1972 and 1987 were analyzed for CEOs views about information technology. Significant differences were found across industries—banking, publishing, petroleum, and retailing—in the number of times information technology was mentioned, the types of applications discussed, and the content of the discussion. The results of the industry analysis were in keeping with expectations based on the relative information intensity of the various industries. An analysis of the letters over time suggests that the position of IT in the firm, at least as seen by the CEO, was not much different in 1987 than it had been in 1982, but has expanded considerably from its position in 1972 and 1973. Reassuringly, we also found that the number of IT related phrases in the CEOs letters to the shareholders was positively correlated with the firms yearly net profits as a percentage of sales. A lagged analysis on profitability data could not, however, resolve the competi...

Manager or technician? the nature of the information systems manager's job

The role of the information systems manager has evolved in twenty years from that of a technician managing a relatively unimportant service function into that of a vice presidential-level, general manager whose department can substantially impact the entire organization. In this article we trace, by example, the historical evolution of the job, and through an observational study of six information systems managers, examine the position today. The analysis includes the daily activities of the managers, the nature of the oral contacts that constitute 76% of their day, and the other notable observations. The information systems managers role is depicted as one of coordinator, motivator, and planner, with a cadre of experts, both internal and external, who provide technical expertise.