Much has been said about opportunities for the strategic use of information technology by organizations aiming to gain a competitive advantage. However, not much is known about the actual process by which opportunities for the use of strategic information systems are identified. While various planning methodologies have been proposed, there is at present a paucity of in formation on empirical results obtained from applying them, and on their effectiveness, efficiency, and specificity. This article presents the results of a field experiment aimed at applying and comparing two well-known methodologies for identifying in formation systems opportunities from a competititve advantage perspective--Porter's value chain and Wiseman's strategic thrusts methodology. An instrument was prepared to operationalize each methodology, which was then applied in two matched sets of 10 medium-sized enterprises. Both methodologies were found to be effective in generating a significant number of ideas for information systems worthy of implementation. Similarities and differences are analyzed and disussed in terms of the number, estimated implementaton costs and duration, managerial level, and decision to implement the applications identified by the two methodologies. These applications are also classified from the perspective of both Porter's and Wiseman's framework. The results seem to indicate that while there is an overall similarity between the two methodologies, there are certain differences that show the more outward orientation of the strategic thrusts framework and its greater attractiveness for organizations in unstable environments.
During the past decade, end-user computing has been subject to several research efforts. One result is common to nearly all the studies on that topic: the importance of providing support to users. Descriptive studies have identified this result as a major issue; critical success factor studies have reported it as a key element, and models of factors of success have found that it is significantly related to user satisfaction with end-user computing. This article reports the results of a study that further investigates user support, in the particular context of the information center. The study examines the relationships among some of the key features of the information center in its support role and reports on user satisfaction. The results are based on the data provided by 172 users and 19 information center managers In 19 organizations. Analysis of the data suggests that the number of information center employees, the number of databases, and the number of software tools provided to users are negatively correlated with user satisfaction, while the proximity of the information center, the diversity of services offered, and the proportion of the information systems budget devoted to the information center are positively related with the various dimensions of user satisfaction.