TY - JOUR T1 - A Normative Model for Assessing SME IT Effectiveness JF - Communications of the IIMA Y1 - 2017 A1 - Curry,Michael A1 - Marshall,Byron A1 - Kawalek,Peter KW - Accounting KW - BIS AB - Information technology (IT) is a key enabler of modern small businesses, yet fostering reliably
effective IT systems remains a significant challenge. This paper presents a light weight IT
effectiveness model for small businesses to assess their IT and formulate strategies for
improvement. Employing an action research approach we investigate a mixed method analysis of
120 survey responses from small family businesses and user participation in 10 semi-structured
interviews. We then conduct critical reflection to identify refinements which are validated using
72 survey responses from university students. The results present compelling evidence that
employees’ normative patterns (norms) are a significant driver of IT effectiveness in a second
order PLS predictive model able to explain 26% of observed variance.
A norms-based approach to IT effectiveness helps fill a significant research and managerial gap
for organizations unable or unwilling to adopt IT best practice frameworks used by large
organizations. Our findings imply that comparing norms to IT best practices may offer a less
technical approach to assessing IT operations, which may be well suited to small businesses.
Although further investigation cycles are needed to systematically test this model, we encourage
small business managers to: 1) anticipate IT risks and mitigate them; 2) identify measures of IT
performance, and monitor them, and 3) review/synchronize business and IT goals. VL - 15 UR - http://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/ciima/vol15/iss1/3 CP - 1 U2 - a U4 - 136324909056 ID - 136324909056 ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Improving IT Assessment with IT Artifact Affordance Perception Priming JF - International Journal of Accounting Information Systems Y1 - 2015 A1 - Curry,Michael A1 - Marshall,Byron A1 - Kawalek,Peter KW - Accounting KW - BIS AB - Accurately assessing organizational information technology (IT) is important for accounting professionals, but also difficult. Both auditors and the professionals from whom they gather data are expected to make nuanced judgments regarding the adequacy and effectiveness of controls that protect key systems. IT artifacts (policies, procedures, and systems) are assessed in an audit because they “afford” relevant action possibilities but perception preferences shade the results of even systematic and well-tested assessment tools. This study of 246 business students makes two important contributions. First we demonstrate that a tendency to focus on either artifact or organizational imperative systematically reduces the power of well-regarded IT measurements. Second, we demonstrate that priming is an effective intervention strategy to increase the predictive power of constructs from the familiar technology acceptance model (TAM). VL - 19 UR - http://people.oregonstate.edu/~marshaby/Papers/IJAIS%20-%20IT%20Artifact%20Affordance%20Perception%20Priming.pdf U2 - a U4 - 106888814592 ID - 106888814592 ER - TY - JOUR T1 - IT Artifact Bias: How exogenous predilections influence organizational information system paradigms JF - International Journal of Information Management Y1 - 2014 A1 - Curry,Michael A1 - Marshall,Byron A1 - Kawalek,Peter KW - Accounting KW - BIS AB - Efforts in IS research have long sought to bridge the gap between the information technology (IT) function and strategic business interests. Efforts in IS research have long sought to bridge the gap between the information technology (IT) function and the strategic business interests. People perceive affordances (possibilities for action) in information technology artifacts differently as cognitive structures (schema) which bias individual focus. This study explores how an individual’s tendency to perceive the ‘trees’ in an IT ‘forest’ (artifact preference), affects their assessment of efforts to achieve more effective IT outcomes. The effect is demonstrated using a relatively simple IT success model. Further, in a sample of 120 survey responses supported by ten semi-structured interviews we demonstrate that job role and organizational IT complexity systematically impact artifact perception. A better understanding of IT artifact bias promises to help organizations better assess information systems. VL - 34 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2014.02.005 CP - 4 U2 - a U4 - 86233214976 ID - 86233214976 ER - TY - CONF T1 - The Moderating Power of IT Bias on User Acceptance of Technology T2 - Sixth Annual Pre-ICIS Workshop on Accounting Information Systems Y1 - 2014 A1 - Marshall,Byron A1 - Curry,Michael A1 - Kawalek,Peter KW - Accounting KW - BIS JA - Sixth Annual Pre-ICIS Workshop on Accounting Information Systems CY - Auckland U2 - b U4 - 105740615680 ID - 105740615680 ER -