Information system success among manufacturing SMEs: case of developing countries

Abstract

This research develops an integrated model of Information System (IS) success based on the DeLone and McLean (2003. The DeLone and McLean model of information systems success: A ten-year update. Journal of Management Information Systems, 19(4), 9–30) IS success model and the technology–organization–environment framework of the firm to provide small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with the relative importance and knowledge of IS success. A questionnaire-based survey was conducted to collect data from 316 Iranian and Malaysian manufacturing SMEs. Our findings show that the determinants of IS success among SMEs are not limited to the technological factors identified in the DeLone and McLean (2003) IS success model. We in effect found that IS success among SMEs is also determined by some key organizational and environmental determinants. We observed that the involvement of both top management and employees in different stages of IS implementation is important and IS success among SMEs requires internal and external support. The study contributes to the theory by extending and empirically testing the DeLone and McLean IS success model in a different setting than in previous studies. The study can serve as a basis for future research in this field through advancing the theoretical development in the area of IS success.