ABSTRACT
Organizational attitudes and expectations regarding end-user computing (EUC) have changed radically in the past 25 years and have researchers describing end-user computing as a vital component of the overall information resource in the organization. Throughout this period of unprecedented growth from limited desktop computing to near-saturation desktop and mobile EUC, companies have struggled to formulate appropriate EUC strategy and researchers have suggested that the development of an effective EUC strategy "may be the most important short-term decision the organization can make if it hopes to benefit from its investments in end-user-based technologies" (Alavi, M., Nelson, R. R., and Weiss, I. R., 1987-88, p. 29). Using the EUC Strategy Grid proposed by Munro, Huff, and Moore (1987-88), this research explores the issue of EUC management by examining (1) the relationship between EUC strategy and end-user satisfaction, and (2) the influence of end-user satisfaction with organizational satisfaction. The results indicate that organizations can increase the level of satisfaction of employees engaged in EUC activities by adopting an EUC strategy high in expansion tactics and that the level of dissatisfaction experienced by higher-level end-users can be decreased by avoiding or modifying the containment EUC strategy, characterized by high control and low expansion. Additionally, the EUC strategy can be expected to have a positive influence on user behavior.
INTRODUCTION
Organizational attitudes and expectations regarding end-user computing (EUC) have changed radically in the past 25 years. Initially, EUC was perceived as a departmental-level management issue for MIS. From 1982 until 1991, MIS managers consistently ranked "the facilitation and management of end-user computing" in their lists of top twenty issues (Ball and Harris, 1982; Dickson, G. W., Leitheiser, R. L., Wetherbe, J. C., and Nechis, M., 1984; Brancheau and Wetherbe, 1987; Niederman, F., Brancheau, J. C., and Wetherbe, J. C., 1991). During that same period, as large numbers of organizations made the transition from centralized mainframe technology to decentralized desktop technology, spending for end-user computing in some organizations increased from between 40% and 50% of the computing resources (Rockart and Flannery, 1983) to between 60% and 80% of the IT budget (Amoroso and Cheney, 1991). In less than 10 years, however, EUC had spread so broadly throughout most organizations that it could no longer be considered a management issue solely for MIS managers (Reed, 1989). In 1992, research by Harrison and Rainer confirmed that end-user computing had emerged as a vital component of the overall information resource in the organization. EUC in some organizations was consuming nearly 90% of the computing resources (Amoroso and Cheney, 1992). Increased funding translated to greater numbers of end-users. In a 1994 survey, Nord and Nord found that 98% of those interviewed used a computer in their jobs. Today, end-user computing is part and parcel of the work place; moreover, EUC is now expanding beyond the confines of the office. One writer recently used the term "explosion" to describe the ever growing number of end-users, freed from their desktops by wireless connectivity, engaged in mobile EUC activities (Saran, 2006).
From the beginning, end-user computing has changed the way people worked, improving the collection and organization of data, and allowing them to focus on their basic job responsibilities. At first, early organizational expectations for EUC were primarily to expedite the entry of data into the organization's centralized mainframe system and to facilitate personal productivity by providing mostly word processing and/or spreadsheet application software on the desktop. By 1990, Boyer suggested that the organization had to achieve a better understanding of end-user computing because it presented such important advantages and disadvantages in areas of time, cost, and quality. Today, in their fast-paced, global environment, businesses actively seek employees with increased technical skills and knowledge, and expect these end-users to utilize the technology for the maximum benefit to the organization (Jawahar and Elango, 2001).
Throughout this period of unprecedented growth in end-user computing, from limited desktop computing to near-saturation desktop and mobile EUC, companies have struggled to formulate appropriate EUC strategy. As early as 1983, while studying the status of end-user computing in corporate America, Rockart and Flannery were surprised to find that the organizations participating in their study did not have a strategy for the management of EUC. The authors suggested that organizations would be required to establish appropriate strategies for the development and management of EUC if they were to take advantage of its immense potential. Since that study, other researchers have suggested that the development of an effective EUC strategy "may be the most important short-term decision the organization can make if it hopes to benefit from its investments in end-user-based technologies" (Alavi, M., Nelson, R. R., and Weiss, I. R., 1987-88, p. 29). A study conducted under the auspices of The Institute of Internal Auditors Research Foundation revealed that only 31 percent of the organizations surveyed had developed their end-user computing in a systematic fashion (Rittenberg and Senn, 1993). In a commentary appearing in Computerworld in 1995, de Jager stated that companies had little to show in the way of increased productivity for the billions of dollars being spent annually on computers, and that the fault rested with the management (or lack thereof) of end-user computing. Reminiscent of Rockart and Flannery's (1983) findings, de Jager (1995) found that most businesses still had no formal EUC policies, guidelines, or audit procedures to monitor the productivity of their EUC resource.
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