The management of end-user computing

Abstract

The development of computing applications by the people who have direct need for them in their work has become commonplace. During the 1980s, development of applications by “end users” accelerated and became a key management and research concern. Known as “end-user computing,” the phenomena and research associated with this trend cross a variety of disciplines. This article critically surveys the published literature on end-user computing (EUC) management according to a comprehensive research model. The article introduces the EUC management research model, identifies prior research contributions, and offers guideline for the future. The focal points of the model are two EUC management components which represent two different levels of theorizing found in the literature. The first level focuses on the organization factors of strategy, technology, and management action. The second level focuses on the individual factors of end user, task, tool, and end-user action. The remainder of the model includes factors typically investigated as the antecedents (context) and consequences (outcomes) of EUC. More than 90 English-language articles published from 1983-1990 are mapped into the model. Specific variables for each factor are identified; research streams are interpreted; findings are synthesized; and gaps in our knowledge are highlighted. We then raise a number of substantive and methodological issues that need to be addressed and suggest two themes we envision as important for EUC management research in the 1990s: EUC as an extension of organizational computing and EUC as a social learning phenomenon. Guidance is offered for using these theme to inform future research.