Knowledge that Transforms

Results of studies of the organizational impact of computer-based information systems (CBIS) are contradictory and uncertain. One reason is that what is meant by a CBIS differs from one study to another. In an effort to clarify linkages among CBIS designs and organizational contexts of use, a number of CBIS organization matches or “fits" are suggested based upon a four-part categorization of CBIS, consisting of centralized systems, distributed systems, decentralized systems, and stand-alone systems. Appropriate CBIS are then determined for different organizational configurations. The impact of CBIS on organization structure will depend on whether a CBIS structure fit exists. This approach should provide guidance for researchers in discussing CBIS-organization linkages as well as provide practitioners an additional criteria for ensuring CBIS success.

Today, corporations are placing increasing emphasis on the management of data. To learn more about effective approaches to “managing the data resource, ” case studies of 31 data management efforts in 20 diverse firms have been conducted. The major finding is that there is no single, dominant approach to improving the management of data. Rather, firms have adopted multiple approaches that appear to be very diverse in (1) business objective, (2) organizational scope, (3) planning method, and (4) “product,“ i.e., deliverable produced. The dominant business objective for successful action is improved managerial information; most data management efforts are “targeted“ without a formal data planning process; and the dominant product was “information databases.“ In addition, several key organizational issues must be addressed when undertaking any data management effort.

Recent research has shown that the difficulty of convincing top management of the potential strategic impact of information systems impedes information systems planning. Interviews with 20 top information systems executives revealed reasons for this difficulty and techniques that they use in attempting to overcome it. The results suggest the importance of information systems executives’ skills and activities necessary for the selling of information systems products and services. The research also raises three controversial questions for future investigators.

This article presents a model of the implementation process for dedicated packages and describes a research project to test the model undertaken with the cooperation of a major computer vendor. Data were collected from 78 individuals in 18 firms using the package and from the package vendor. The results of the study offer some support for the model, along with suggestions for package implementation for both the customer and package vendor.

This preliminary study was conducted to learn about the consequences of computer support for teams working on unstructured, high-level conceptual software design problems in face-to- face group settings. A networked workstation technology and electronic blackboard technology were contrasted with their conventional counterparts. Twenty-one software designers, assigned to three teams, performed team tasks that involved generating ideas and reaching consensus. Positive effects on the thoroughness of information exchange and quality of team performance were found in the meetings in which electronic blackboard technology was available. The networked workstations provided mixed results. Significant team differences were found in performance and interaction measures. The results and their implications are discussed in terms of the necessary future developments and nature of future research in computer-based meeting support technology.

Efforts to deploy information technology for competitive advantage in eleven industries are evaluated through a field study. Findings are based on analysis of interviews with senior executives of a major competitor in each industry. Findings indicate that competitive advantage depends on the interaction between industry conditions and internal capability to identify and exploit opportunities. Internal capabilities and conditions and the processes that created these capabilities are defined and described. A brief review of the value added chain model from economics is included based on the authors’ conclusion that this model is useful both for understanding the experience of companies in the study and as a guide in searching for opportunities.

An emerging body of research in group decision support systems (GDSS) provides evidence that computer technology can and does impact the quality of decision making in groups. Most GDSS research is oriented toward examining the effects of a computer system on group outcomes, typically decision quality or group consensus, with the process itself often treated as a "black box." The research reported in this article addresses the need for a closer, microlevel examination of group process. An important group variable, namely influence behavior, was isolated and examined at various levels and by multiple methods. A model of specific GDSS effects on influence behavior was developed, based on an information exchange view of decision making and on the impact of a GDSS as a communication channel. Based on the research questions of interest in the study, several propositions and hypotheses were advanced and empirically tested on a specific implementation of a GDSS. Results were analyzed both quantitatively and qualitatively. The major empirical findings of the study showed no significant difference between the overall amount of influence behavior attempted in computer-supported versus unsupported groups, although significant differences were found in the pattern of influence behaviors, i.e., the different types of behaviors used. In addition, the distribution of influence behavior was more even in GDSS groups than in unsupported groups on one of two measures used. Empirical findings partially supported the research model, with indications that decisionmaking groups need more active guidance in understanding how to adapt computer support technology to their view of decision-making processes.

There is very little empirical research available on the effectiveness of decision support systems applied to decision-making groups operating in face-to-face meetings. In order to expand research in this area, a laboratory study was undertaken to examine the effects of group decision support systems (GDSS) technology on group decision quality and individual perceptions within a problem-finding context. A crisis management task served as the decisionmaking context. Two versions of the experimental task, one higher in difficulty and the other lower in difficulty, were administered to GDSS-supported and non-supported decision-making groups, yielding a 2 X 2 factorial design. Decision quality was significantly better in those groups that received GDSS support. The GDSS was particularly helpful in the groups receiving the task of higher difficulty. Members’ decision confidence and satisfaction with the decision process were, however, lower in the GDSS- supported groups than in the nonsupported groups. These findings expand knowledge of the applicability of GDSS for decision-making tasks and suggest that dissatisfaction may be a stumbling block in user acceptance of these systems.

User involvement has long been considered a critical component of effective system implementation. However, the perspective has suffered from mixed results of empirical tests and the lack of a theoretical explanation for the relationship (Ives and Olson, 1984; Baroudi, et al., 1986). Our purpose is to present a theoretically- grounded perspective to account for effects of involving users during implementation, and to provide an initial test of this perspective. We propose that: (1) system implementation represents a threat to users’ perceptions of control over their work and a period of transition during which users must cope with differences between old and new work systems; (2) user involvement is effective because it restores or enhances perceived control. Results of a field experiment designed as a preliminary test of this perspective are discussed.

This study reports an empirical investigation of some of the relationships that exist between organizational characteristics and end-user satisfaction associated with computer-based information systems (CBIS) in small businesses. Eight hypotheses were tested using data collected in a two-phase study of 83 small firms. The major findings show that end-user satisfaction is correlated with the number of systems analysts present within a firm, with the degree of analysis of information requirements, with the level of participation, and with end users’ level of computer literacy. In addition, it was found that decentralization of the decision-making process tends to create a need for more effective CBIS. As a result, end-user satisfaction was found to be higher in firms that were less centralized. Furthermore, there was a strong correlation between the end users and data processing personnel’s satisfaction with the CBIS environment.