Validating and applying user satisfaction as a measure of MIS success in small organizations

Abstract

Measurement of user satisfaction is a methodological problem crucial to information systems research. As the impact of an MIS upon organizational effectiveness is basically unmeasurable, measures of user satisfaction provide the most useful assessments of system success. This paper investigates the measurement of user satisfaction in the specific context of small organizations. An analysis of the potential impact of this specificity upon user satisfaction served as a basis for the selection and adaptation of a previously validated instrument. A modified version was developed and pretested; results of previous research were then replicated and extended by administering the instrument to 464 financial managers in small firms. The data obtained was analyzed and discussed in terms of reliability and validity. The validated instrument is applied to demonstrate its potential uses.