Management of information technology evaluation ‐ the development of a managerial thesis

Abstract

The aim is to address the approach and identify the assessment of the effectiveness of IT investment used by organisations, to develop a thesis of good practice in this area; and to test this thesis by reference to a focus group consisting of practitioners.The research began using the case study method to collect evidence and then content analysis was employed to analyse this evidence to identify empirical generalisations and thus develop a theory of IT investment, IT investment evaluation and IT benefit identification. Correspondence analysis was used on the case study data as one step in establishing the theory. A focus group was used to present the relevant theory and the models that were created. Finally, the practical management guidelines suggested by the research and the models and content analysis figures were presented to practitioners as a cross‐validation process and the results reported. The results of this research are an objectively developed theory of how IT investments are formulated and evaluated and how IT investment benefits are identified.