User Influence and the Success of MIS Projects: A Contingency Approach

Abstract

In the present study we investigate alternative specifications of the relation-ship between user influence and the success of the management information system (MIS) project. The aim is to learn if success varies with the influence of different types of users, the phase of the development process during which influence is exerted, the effectiveness of the communication process, the characteristics of the task that the system is designed to support (task environment) and the characteristics of existing computer-based systems (system environment). Data are collected by structured interviews of key actors in the development process. The results indicate that the factors specified above are important contingencies for the relationship between user influence and the success of MIS projects. Tentative causal models are proposed to relate the important variables.