Assessing the Impact From Information Systems Quality

The quality of information systems (IS) has been considered by many as critically important for companies to derive a return on their investments in IS technology. The literature contains many studies addressing the factors likely to lead to a host of surrogate measures of system success (that is, user satisfaction, usage, business benefits), but relatively few that attempt to assess the relationship of system quality and its main outcomes. The objective of this study is to explore the relationships of system quality with possible outcomes that have been proposed separately by different researchers. Specifically, the authors propose and test a more integrative model, which includes system quality as a determinant of the extent of system usage, the benefits derived from the system, and the system impact on the user's jobs. A sample of 228 systems was used to statistically test the proposed relationships. The results corroborate the importance of system quality as a determinant of system usage, company benefits derived from the system, and the system impact on the user's job. Last, managerial recommendations and opportunities for further research are discussed.