The purpose of this dissertation is to explicate the meaning of information systems (IS) success in the realm of a dynamic hierarchical structure model of IS success. Through an empirical study of 382 firms using internal and Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) systems, different characteristics of this model are examined via four hypotheses. / First, using linear structural modelling techniques, it is shown that successful information systems share certain properties common to all systems, in addition to certain properties specific to each class of systems. Four generic factors influencing IS success are identified as (i) output reliability, (ii) system's characteristics, (iii) efficiency outcomes, and (iv) users' requirements. Second, the role of time in the IS adoption and assessment process is explored. By comparing firms that have adopted EDI with those that have not adopted EDI, it is shown that the decision maker's perception of IS success changes during different stages of the adoption and assessment process. Third, the role of stakeholders in the assessment process is examined by comparing perceptions of different managerial groups based on their educational background, management echelon, and functional area. It is shown that different stakeholders evaluate the success of IS differently. Finally, through an examination of various types of evaluation functions, it is shown that IS success is a multi-dimensional construct. / Overall, cross-group comparisons of the dynamic hierarchical structural model of IS success provide sufficient evidence regarding the instability of IS success across time, type of system, and stakeholders involved in the evaluation process. / In addition to the major hypotheses, two corollaries have also been examined. It is shown that user involvement in an IS project has a positive effect on the system's success. Further, the results of the study indicate that respondents in smaller companies are more satisfied with the support and services of the MIS department than their counterparts in larger companies. / Finally, by comparing three versions of the questionnaire used in the study, it is shown that question order has a significant effect on responses. The implications of this finding for survey studies are discussed.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:QMM.39305 |
| Date | January 1992 |
| Creators | Farhoomand, Ali F. |
| Publisher | McGill University |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Coverage | Doctor of Philosophy (Faculty of Management.) |
| Rights | All items in eScholarship@McGill are protected by copyright with all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated. |
| Relation | alephsysno: 001269900, proquestno: NN74623, Theses scanned by UMI/ProQuest. |
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