Although user satisfaction is widely used by researchers and practitioners to evaluate information system success, important issues related to its meaning and measurement across population subgroups have not been adequately resolved. To be most useful in decision-making, instruments like end-user computing satisfaction (EUCS), which are designed to evaluate system success, should be robust. That is, they should enable comparisons by providing equivalent measurement across diverse samples that represent the variety of conditions or population subgroups present in organizations. Using a sample of 1,166 responses, the EUCS instrument is tested for measurement invariance across four dimensions--respondent positions, types of application, hardware platforms, and modes of development. While the results suggest that the meaning of user satisfaction is context sensitive and differs across population subgroups, the 12 measurement items are invariant across all four dimensions. The 12-item summed scale enables researchers or practitioners to compare EUCS scores across the instrument's originally intended universe of applicability.
The recent dramatic impact of information technology (IT) on organizational performance has necessitated appropriate strategies for managing this organizational resource. IT impacts firms in different ways, and management needs a clear and systematic understanding of both the current and future relevance and impact of its IT before selecting management tools and approaches. The strategic grid framework, developed for the purpose of helping management gain this understanding, is one of the most highly recognized and quoted conceptual frameworks in information systems literature. Despite such recognition, valid operational measures of this construct are not available for use in empirical research studies. The research reported in this paper is an attempt to develop and validate operational measures for the dimensions of the strategic grid, with the understanding that the availability of such measures will promote future empirical studies. Data for this study consist of the responses of 231 IS executives to a survey instrument. Operational models of the grid dimensions are specified and the measurement properties of the models are assessed using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) within the LISREL framework. Measures resulting from the analysis are shown to meet the requirements of rigorous tests of measurement properties. The CFA results also show that the current portfolio dimension of the strategic grid is unidimensional, while the future portfolio dimension has three factors: management support, differentiation, and enhancement.
The structure and dimensionality of the user information satisfaction (UIS) construct is an important theoretical issue that has received considerable attention. Building upon the work of Bailey and Pearson (1983), Ives et al. (1983) conduct an exploratory factor analysis and recommend a 13-item instrument (two indicators per item) for measuring user information satisfaction. Ives et al. also contend that UIS is comprised of three component measures (information product, EDP staff and services, and user knowledge or involvement). In a replication using exploratory techniques. Baroudi and Orlikowski (1988) confirm the three factor structure and support the diagnostic utility of the three factor model. Other researchers have suggested a need for caution in using the UIS instrument as a single measure of user satisfaction; they contend that the instrument's three components measure quite different dimensions whose antecedents and consequences should be studied separately. The acceptance of UIS as a standardized instrument requires confirmation that it explains and measures the user information satisfaction construct and its components. Based on a sample of 224 respondents, this research uses confirmatory factor analysis (LISREL) to test alternative models of underlying factor structure and assess the reliability and validity of factors and items. The results provide support for a revised UIS model with four first-order factors and one second-order (higher-order) factor. To cross-validate these results, the authors reexamine two data sets, including the original Baroudi and Orlikowski data, to assess the revised UIS model. The results show that the revised model provides better model-data fit in all three data sets. Thus, the evidence supports the use of: (1) the 13-item instrument as a measure of an overall UIS; and (2) four component factors for explaining the UIS construct.
The research reported here is an adaptation of a model developed to measure Planning Systems Success, to the information systems (IS) context. This study is motivated by the increasing importance given to IS planning in recent years. the lack of an empirical model in the IS literature to measure a construct as important as IS planning system success, and the usefulness of developing such a mode! to help guide future research efforts addressing the issue of IS planning effectiveness. An operational model for measuring IS planning system success is developed in terms of two interrelated dimensions: IS planning system capabilities and extent of fulfillment of key IS planning objectives. Due regard is paid to the call lot greater attention to methodological issues in developing such measures. The model meets the measurement criteria suggested in the literature.
The organizational rank of the senior Information Systems (IS) officer has been suggested to influence the effectiveness of the organizational IS effort. As IS continues to gain increasing recognition as a key organizational system, a study of the various factors that contribute to its effectiveness should be particularly useful. This research explores the relationship between the reporting level of the senior IS executive and two specific aspects of IS, namely, IS organizational role and IS planning. The analysis is based on the responses of IS executives to a survey instrument. Results support the existence of significant linkages between the rank of the IS executive and the IS aspects addressed in the study. This suggests that the reporting level of the IS executive may be a key variable that management should focus on in efforts to increase the effectiveness of their information systems.