Beyond Perceptions and Usage: Impact of Nature of Information Systems Use on Information System-Enabled Productivity

Abstract

Assessing individual performance impacts from information system (IS) use has been a key area of concern for IS researchers for many years. However, past researchers have reported mixed results about the relationship between IS use and performance effects at the individual level. The research reported in this article has 2 primary objectives: (a) to propose a model of individual IS-enabled productivity that focuses not only on the usage of information systems but also the nature of this usage, and (b) to empirically test the model across 2 IS applications. The key premise in this research is that IS use is necessary, but not sufficient to observe productivity gains, and that the nature of information systems use (NU) potentially mediates the relationship between IS use and IS-enabled productivity. The authors validated the research model through a survey of 486 people across 6 organizations. Results from this study confirm the proposition that the NU is as important as the duration of use of an information system as a determinant of IS-enabled productivity. Based on the findings, this research provides theoretical and managerial implications of the relationship between IS-enabled productivity and IS use.