An Empirical Assessment of the Information Resource Management Construct

:The concept of information resource management (IRM) has been surrounded by confusion for almost two decades. This study first defines the IRM construct as a comprehensive approach to planning, organizing, budgeting, directing, monitoring, and controlling the people, funding, technologies, and activities associated with acquiring, storing, processing, and distributing data to meet a business need for the benefit of the entire enterprise.The study then operationalizes the IRM construct by developing a measurement instrument. The instrument demonstrates acceptable content validity as well as construct validity and reliability. Eight dimensions underlying the IRM construct were found via exploratory factor analysis: chief information officer, planning, security, technology integration, advisory committees, enterprise model, information integration, and data administration. The instrument serves two functions: (1) to create a coherent, theoretical foundation for further research on the IRM construct, and (2) to provide reference norms for practicing managers to use to assess the extent of IRM implementation in their organizations.