10
1x7 Research Microcomputer Applications: An Empirical Look at Usage * Magid Igbaria Department OJ Management & Organizational Sciences, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA Francis N. Pavri School of Business Admimstration, The University of Western Ontario, London. Ont., Canada N6A SK7 Sid L. Huff School of Business Administratron, The University of Western Ontario, London, Ont., Canuda N6A 3K7 Information Technology has assumed a role of growing importance in both private and public sector organizations during the 1980’s. It is no longer the private preserve of small groups of computer specialists; rather, the office automatic- and end-user computing trends are placing information tech nology into the hands of workers at all levels and in all areas. The emergence of the business microcomputer has played a central role in this trend. This study investigates microcom- puter usage among professionals and managers. Microcom- puter usage was found to be related to computer experience and anxiety about its impact. The results also indicate that a strong, significant, and positive relationship exists between participation in computer training programs and MIS success, as measured by microcomputer usage. Keywords; Microcomputers usage, Background factors. * The constructive comments provided by the reviewers, Jef- frey H. Greenhaus and Edgar H. Sibley on the earlier version of this paper acknowledged with thanks. North-Holland Information & Management 16 (1989) 187-196 Introduction The growth of microcomputers and the availa- bility of a wide variety of software applications for business [Guimaraes and Ramanujam (1986), Lee Magid lgbaria is an assistant processor of management information systems at Drexel University, Formerly. he lec- tured at Tel Aviv University, Hebrew University and Ben-Gurion University in Israel, and acted as the administra- tive director of the Center of Manage- ment Information Systems (CEMIS) at Tel Aviv University. He holds a B.A. in Statistics and Business Admin- istration, and an M.A. in Information Systems and Operations Research from Hebrew University: he received his Ph.D. in Management Information Systems from Tel AVIV University. He has published articles on management of MIS functions, economics of computers. computer performance evaluation, charging of computer services. compumetrical ap- proaches in MIS, and microcomputers in business in Com- munications of the ACM, Information & Management. and Computers & Operations Research. His current research inter- ests focus upon economics of computers, management of infor- mation systems, career development of MIS professionals, and microcomputers in business. Francis Pavri is an assistant professor at the National Univer- sity of Singapore. He received his Ph.D. degree in Information Systems from the School of Business Administration, the Uni- versity of Ontario. Prior to undertaken doctoral studies, Dr. Pavri served as an instructor in NUS, and also worked as a systems engineer for IBM Singapore. His research interests involve managerial use of information technologies. and infor- mation systems management. Sid Huff is an associate professor at the School of Business Administra- tion, the University of Western Ontario. His teaching and research is concerned with the organizational ab- sorption and competitive use of infor- mation technology, end user comput- ing. and information systems manage- ment. His publications have appeared in journals such as Information and Management. MIS Quarterly, Com- munications of the ACM. Business Quarterly. and Computerworld. He holds degrees in mathematics, electrical engineering and management from Queen’s University, and a Ph.D. in Infor- mation Systems from M.I.T. Dr. Huff has just returned from a one-year sabbatical leave spent at the University of British Columbia. 0378.7206/89/$3.50 6 1989, Elsevier Science Publishers B.V. (North-Holland)

Microcomputer applications: An empirical look at usage

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Page 1: Microcomputer applications: An empirical look at usage

1x7

Research

Microcomputer Applications: An Empirical Look at Usage *

Magid Igbaria Department OJ Management & Organizational Sciences, Drexel

University, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA

Francis N. Pavri School of Business Admimstration, The University of Western

Ontario, London. Ont., Canada N6A SK7

Sid L. Huff School of Business Administratron, The University of Western

Ontario, London, Ont., Canuda N6A 3K7

Information Technology has assumed a role of growing importance in both private and public sector organizations during the 1980’s. It is no longer the private preserve of small

groups of computer specialists; rather, the office automatic-

and end-user computing trends are placing information tech

nology into the hands of workers at all levels and in all areas.

The emergence of the business microcomputer has played a

central role in this trend. This study investigates microcom-

puter usage among professionals and managers. Microcom-

puter usage was found to be related to computer experience

and anxiety about its impact. The results also indicate that a

strong, significant, and positive relationship exists between

participation in computer training programs and MIS success,

as measured by microcomputer usage.

Keywords; Microcomputers usage, Background factors.

* The constructive comments provided by the reviewers, Jef- frey H. Greenhaus and Edgar H. Sibley on the earlier version of this paper acknowledged with thanks.

North-Holland

Information & Management 16 (1989) 187-196

Introduction

The growth of microcomputers and the availa- bility of a wide variety of software applications for business [Guimaraes and Ramanujam (1986), Lee

Magid lgbaria is an assistant processor of management information systems at Drexel University, Formerly. he lec- tured at Tel Aviv University, Hebrew University and Ben-Gurion University in Israel, and acted as the administra- tive director of the Center of Manage- ment Information Systems (CEMIS) at Tel Aviv University. He holds a B.A. in Statistics and Business Admin- istration, and an M.A. in Information Systems and Operations Research from Hebrew University: he received

his Ph.D. in Management Information Systems from Tel AVIV University. He has published articles on management of MIS functions, economics of computers. computer performance evaluation, charging of computer services. compumetrical ap- proaches in MIS, and microcomputers in business in Com- munications of the ACM, Information & Management. and Computers & Operations Research. His current research inter- ests focus upon economics of computers, management of infor- mation systems, career development of MIS professionals, and microcomputers in business. Francis Pavri is an assistant professor at the National Univer- sity of Singapore. He received his Ph.D. degree in Information Systems from the School of Business Administration, the Uni- versity of Ontario. Prior to undertaken doctoral studies, Dr. Pavri served as an instructor in NUS, and also worked as a systems engineer for IBM Singapore. His research interests involve managerial use of information technologies. and infor- mation systems management.

Sid Huff is an associate professor at the School of Business Administra- tion, the University of Western Ontario. His teaching and research is concerned with the organizational ab- sorption and competitive use of infor- mation technology, end user comput- ing. and information systems manage- ment. His publications have appeared in journals such as Information and Management. MIS Quarterly, Com- munications of the ACM. Business Quarterly. and Computerworld. He

holds degrees in mathematics, electrical engineering and management from Queen’s University, and a Ph.D. in Infor- mation Systems from M.I.T. Dr. Huff has just returned from a one-year sabbatical leave spent at the University of British Columbia.

0378.7206/89/$3.50 6 1989, Elsevier Science Publishers B.V. (North-Holland)

Page 2: Microcomputer applications: An empirical look at usage

(1986)] reinforce the importance of gaining a more thorough understanding of the factors related to microcomputer usage. While microcomputers were viewed largely as a technological curiosity in the 1970’s. the growth of end-user computing repre- sents a significant development in the field of information systems in the 1980s’ [Benson (1983)]. Today, microcomputers represent an increasingly important component of management information systems in the large complex organization [Strass- man (1985)]. Engstrom (1984) estimated that the number of microcomputers in U.S. businesses rose from 2.6 million in 1982 to 4.6 million in 1984. and is expected to reach 13 million by 1990.

There are three underlying reasons for this growing presence of the computer in organiza- tions.

There has been a vast improvement in the capability and cost of office workstations and microcomputers. The rapid advances in micro- computer technology have consistently pushed the cost/performance ratio of microcomputers along a 30-40% annual reduction [Benjamin, Rockart, Scott-Morton and Wyman (1984)]. The power and simplicity of the new software tools have increased dramatically. The availability and capability of networks, which connect workstations to one another and to the mainframe systems, have also increased [Grindlay (1986)].

This proliferation of microcomputers in business and other organizations, is evidence that the ac- tual use of these machines is not as widespread as the numbers would suggest [Guimaraes and Ramanujam (1986)].

While the limited use of microcomputers may be ascribed partly to knowledge of how they oper- ate or to concerns about their capabilities [How- ard (1986)], a major factor inhibiting wider use appears to be the way they are introduced and applied within the organization and the individual context. Many people have found computers to be difficult to apply and therefore use them very reluctantly, if at all. The optimistic scenario pro- posed by Rockart (1979), and Rockart and Treaty (1982) of an increasing number of executives doing their own computing has not yet materialized.

Uttal (1982) found that most executives are still “ technophobic” (fear from technology). Other studies also found that many corporate executives

are still intimidated by computers [Djurdjevic (1986)]. Lee (1986) and Sanders (1981) believe that the basic challenge to organizations is to foresee and manage the flood of technologically induced changes that will face them in such a way that the business gains a competitive advantage.

This “flood” is affecting many organizations. Companies have acquired large numbers of micro- computers for their managers, in the hope that they will use them for a number of tasks. The levels of usage by different people vary greatly.

This study reports the findings of a field study of microcomputers in organizations and identifies the current state of microcomputer usage. This article also focuses on the relationships between system usage and demographic variables, organi- zational level, and user training and computer experience, as well as computer anxiety (Building on the work of Howard and Smith (1986), com- puter anxiety was defined conceptually as the tendency of an individual to be uneasy, apprehen- sive, or fearful about current or future use of computers in general). Specifically, the objective of this study is to investigate microcomputer usage in five dimensions: (i) Actual time spent on the computer. (ii) frequency of use, (iii) number of packages used, (iv) level of sophistication of usage and inclusion of computer analysis in decision making. and (v) the relationship between micro- computer usage and the individual’s background and characteristics. and data on system and the organizational characteristics of respondents.

Method

Sample und Procedure

A questionnaire was distributed to managers of professionals who had microcomputers on their desks, or who had easy access to a microcomputer in the daily execution of their job. They were drawn from a sample of 54 large corporations operating in North America.

Seven hundred and sixty-six questionnaires were sent to persons in these companies. Completed questionnaires were received from 519 managers and professionals (response rate of 67.7%). The final sample consisted of 471 managers and pro- fessionals; it excluded incomplete questionnaires and responses from non-microcomputer users. Of

Page 3: Microcomputer applications: An empirical look at usage

Information & Management M. Ighcrru et al. / Microcomputer Apphcotious 189

Table 1

Profile of Respondents.

Age. Mean = 38.2 Median = 37.0

Gender: Male = 84% Female = 16%

Education.

Completed high school

Community college/Technical program

Some university

College graduate

Graduate degree

Orgunizutiona[ Level:

First line manager

First level supervisor

Range = 21- 63

4.0%

13.9%

14.3%

37.2%

30.6%

8.4%

17.4%

65.8%

8.4% Department heads and middle managers

Strategic management (Executives)

these usable questionnaires, 84% were received from men, and 16% from women. The managers were employed in a variety of manufacturing, service, merchandising, insurance, and finance organizations, and held managerial and profes- sional positions in a wide range of functional areas, including accounting, finance, MIS, market- ing, sales, operations and production, general management, research and development, and en- gineering. The average age of the respondents was 38.2 years. Table I shows a profile of the respon- dents.

Measures

Computer anxiety, reflecting generalized anxiety about computers, was measured by the scale de- veloped by Raub. The instrument asked individu- als to indicate their agreement or disagreement with 10 statements reflecting anxiety, apprehen- sion, confusion, hesitation, etc. in using com- puters. The response options are anchored on a five-point Likert-type scale ranging from (1) strongly disagree to (5) strongly agree. The inter- nal consistency reliability (coefficient alpha) of the scale as used in this study was 0.94.

System Usage: Based on previous research on MIS usage [DeLone (1988), Lee (1986) Pavri (1988) Srinivasan (1985)], five dimensions of mi- crocomputer usage were included in this study:

1. Inclusion of computer analysis in decision making. This dimensions was suggested by Che- ney and Dickson (1982) and Lucas (1973) and has been used by Amoroso (1986). The scale was developed for measuring eight tasks: looking for trends, finding problems, planning, forecasting,

budgeting, communicating with others. controlling and guiding activities, and making decisions. For each of the eight tasks, respondents were asked to indicate the extent to which they used microcom- puters. The number of these tasks was used as an index for this measure.

2. Actual daily use of microcomputers. This dimension is widely used in MIS studies. Mittman and Moore (1984) and others measured the actual use of computers. For the purpose of this study, self reported time was used, as measured on a six point scale ranging from “almost never” to “more than 3 hours per day.”

3. Frequency of use. Suggested by Raymond (1985) and DeLone (1988) this provides a slightly different perspective than duration of use. Srinivasan (1985) included actual daily use of microcomputers and frequency of use microcom- puters in his measure of usage. Frequency of use was measured on a six point scale ranging from “several times a day” to “less than once a month”.

4. Number of packages used. In a microcom- puter environment, unlike a mainframe setting, users have a much wider choice of packages to use. A good indication of overall usage and the variety of tasks performed on the microcomputer can be provided by measuring the number of different packages used by each manager [Lee (1986)]. A list of 10 different categories of packages was specified. The list consists of: word processors; communication (e.g., via electronic mail); spread- sheet for planning: budgeting and other functions; graphical presentation; or more specialized work, like programming in third (e.g., Fortran, COBOL, etc) or fourth generation languages (e.g., SQL); data management (e.g., dBase III); data analysis (e.g., SAS/PC); and modeling systems (e.g., IFPS/PC). For each of the ten applications re- spondents were asked to indicate to what extent they used microcomputer applications. The num- ber of these that respondents reported was used as a measure of this variable.

5. Level of sophistication of usage, used by Maish (1979). This serves to measure proficiency of use of the computer. For each of the 10 differ- ent categories of applications respondents were asked to indicate their level of expertise. Each item was measured on a five point scale ranging from (1) novice to (5) expert. The measure was the sum of the levels of expertise indicated for each category of package used.

Page 4: Microcomputer applications: An empirical look at usage

190 Research

Quality of the System: System quality was mea- sured along four different dimensions: functional- ity, equipment performance, interaction, and en- vironment [Bikson and Gutek (1983)]. The mea- sure of system quality in this study incorporated these dimensions as well as response time, presen- tation format, quality of user interface, accuracy and relevancy of output, quality of maintenance, and overall perception of quality. The lo-item scale in this sample had an internal consistency reliability of 0.88.

Computer Experience and Training: This was assessed by asking respondents to indicate whether they had experience in using different types of computer software, languages, and development of computerized information systems. Responses were coded 0 for no experience, and 1 for some or more experience. The total number that the re- spondents reported was used as a measure. Com- puter training was measured by individual’s re- sponses to a question which asked them to report the extent of training in microcomputers they had received from four sources: college courses; vendor training; in house training; and self trained. The response options ranged from (1) none to (4) extensive [Nelson and Cheney (1987)]. The mean of the responses to these four questions was used as an indicator of computer training. The internal consistency reliability of the scale was 0.86.

Single item questions were used to ascertain respondents’ gender, age, education, and organiza- tional position and division. Level in the organiza-

Informatron & Management

tional hierarchy consisted of 4 tiers, ranging from (1) first line manager to (4) president or CEO. Five categories of division were used: computer and technical, production and operations, sales and marketing, general management, and finance and accounting.

Results and discussion

A description analysis and zero order correla- tions were used to investigate the microcomputer usage along the five dimensions and the relation- ship between each dimension and demographic variables (e.g., gender, age, education, and organi- zational level), computer experience, user training, and computer anxiety.

System Usage

The distribution of each of the five dimensions is given as follows: 1. Inclusion of computer analysis in decision making. The frequency of this dimension of com- puter usage is shown in Fig. IA. Microcomputers were used primarily for planning. It was found that 84% of the respondents had used microcom- puters for planning. Respondents also used them for assisting in decisions (80%). This was followed by budgeting (79%) forecasting (76%) communi- cating with others (70%), looking for trends (68%). controlling and guiding activities (67%) and find- ing problems (66%). It is interesting to find that

Percent

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Number of Tasks

Fig. 1A. Information Inclusion

Page 5: Microcomputer applications: An empirical look at usage

Percent

40 -

30.1 30 . .

20 ..

Almost Never

Less than 112 - 1 Hour 1 2 Hours 2 3 Hours More Than 3 Half Hour Hours

Actual Dally Time Spent

Fig. 1B. Actual Daily Time Spent Using Computer.

31% of the respondents had used microcomputers for all eight tasks, and less than 25% reported using microcomputers for four tasks or less. 2. Actual time spent in computing. Respondents spent a significant time using microcomputers. Most of the respondents used microcomputers from one to two hours per day (median is category 4 (1 to 2 hours per day)). Fig. IB shows the reported frequency of use of microcomputers. At

least 12% of the respondents had used microcom- puters more than three hours per day; this group are “heavy microcomputer users.” Because of the different methods of measurement, this result can- not be directly compared with Lee’s, where the managers averaged 9.48 hours per week on their microcomputers. However, usage of 1 to 2 hours per day in a 5 day work week is within a compor- table range of Lee’s figure.

Percent

60 T 53.6

Less than once a month

Once a month

A few times a

month

A few About once Several times a a day times a day

week

Frequency of use

Fig. 1C. Frequency of Use

Page 6: Microcomputer applications: An empirical look at usage

Percent

25 -

21 .l

20 ..

0.2 I

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Number of Packages Used

Fig. 1D. Number of Packages Used

3. Frequency of use. “Heavy users” can also be defined as respondents who used microcomputers several times a day. Fig. 1 C shows that more than 50% of the respondents classified themselves in this category. This raised the question: Who used microcomputers frequently.

Significant differences were found across func- tional divisions. A one-way analysis of variance was used to test for significant differences in the frequency of usage across the different divisions ( p < 0.05). Consistent with expectations, micro- computers were used more often in the computer and technical division (median, about once a day) than in other divisions. Microcomputers were used less in the general management division (median, from half an hour to one hour). 4. Number of packages used. The diversity of application was used as an indicator of user sophistication. An “advanced user” can be de- fined as one who reported using several different applications. Overall, the respondents had an average of 3.7 types of applications (median of 4). The number of packages is shown in Fig. ID, which shows that less than 4% of the respondents had used 8 different applications or more. More- over, 25% of the respondents had used one or two different applications. Spreadsheet applications were the most popular, with about 94% of the respondents reporting usage; the next most popu- lar was word processing, with 63% reporting usage. These were followed by communication packages (52%) graphical applications (51%), data manage-

ment packages (41%), distantly followed by own programming (20%), other packages (15%), model- ing systems and statistical packages (14% each), and fourth generation language usage was ranked last, with 11%. Spreadsheet programs were used in the finance and accounting division more than others. Across the organizational hierarchy, higher level managers reported greater use of spreadsheet applications, while word processing and data management packages were used by relatively lower level staff. Data management packages were highly used by people who had the data (accoun- tants, computer and data processing people) and less for queries by higher level managers. Among the data management package, it was found that data entry was performed by lower levels (clerks and professional support staff). while managers and MIS people used queries. This finding may, however be the result of non-user friendly or inflexible applications. Computer developers should consider this, if they want managers to become direct users. As expected statistical packages were used by managers with graduate degrees. Respondents who used spreadsheets also tend to spend a significant amount of time on microcomputers. These results are very similar to a study by Lee on usage patterns of microcom- puters by managers; he reported that the greatest number of people used spreadsheet and wordprocessing (74% and 44% respectively). However, in contrast, Lee reported a much smaller percentage of graphics users (29.7%). Here graph-

Page 7: Microcomputer applications: An empirical look at usage

Information & Management M. Igbarm et al. / Microcomputer Applrcatmns 193

its packages are increasing in importance. This is not surprising, given the degree of attention that graphics is receiving from software and hardware developers and from DSS users.

Finally, level of sophistication was analyzed. The uses of microcomputers for task performance was quite high. For the eight tasks, more than 50% of the managers reported that they were per- formed with the aid of microcomputers. Five per- cent of the respondents used computers for all eight functions, while the average is 3.78 applica- tion types (a median of 3 applications). The largest number of respondents used their microcomputers for planning (75%). Seventy-one percent used mi- crocomputers for budgeting and help in decision making. These results are compatible with the extensive use of spreadsheets, which are ideally suited for such tasks as planning, budgeting, and creating different scenarios for decision making. Despite the widespread use of microcomputers in task performance, most managers reported that they were relatively inexperienced with the packages. Spreadsheet users were found to have more experience in them than other applications: 70% ranked themselves as 3, 4 or 5 on a scale ranging from 1 (novice) to 7 (expert). For each of the other software packages, less than 50% placed themselves in these three rankings.

tions shows that the level of education is unrelated to the use of microcomputers in decision making, level of sophistication, and number of packages used, but it is positively related to duration and frequency of use. The results show that microcom- puters were used more extensively and more often by more educated respondents. The high level of education attained by the majority of the respon- dents in this study may provide a partial explana- tion for the generally low relationships observed (68% of the respondents completed undergraduate degrees). Relatively speaking, users with less for- mal education tended to use microcomputers more for communication, while people with higher de- grees used microcomputers for a greater variety of tasks.

Microcomputer Usage vs. Individual Variables

Table 2 shows the intercorrelation matrix among the variables. Examination of zero order correla-

Although users who are in lower levels of the organization use microcomputers more extensively and for less tasks than those in upper levels, there is no relation between the level of sophistication, diversity of applications, or frequency of use and the organizational level. These results raise some interesting questions about microcomputer usage by respondents at different organizational levels. Higher level managers and professionals used mi- crocomputers for the same number of applications but for a larger number of tasks and for fewer hours. Higher level management were engaged in less information search [Zmud (1979)], and for more tasks and functions [Ein-Dor and Segev (1982)].

As expected, age is negatively related to diver- sity of applications, durations of use. and level of

Table 2

Pearson Correlations between Microcomputer Usage and Antecedent Variables (n = 471).

Variables

Gender

(l=M,2=F)

Age

Education Organizational

Level Computer

Experience

User Training System Quality

Computer Anxiety

Information

inclusion

- 0.07

-0.09 *

0.02

0.05

0.26 ***

0.15 ** 0.22 * * *

-0.23 ***

Time Spent

0.02

-0.17 ***

0.10 *

-0.021***

0.24 * * *

0.14 * * 0.28 * * *

-0.28 ***

Frequency of Use

- 0.05

- 0.05

0.11 **

-0.05

0.19 ***

0.10 * 0.31 * * *

-0.27 ***

Number of

applications

- 0.02

-0.11 **

0.04

- 0.03

0.41 * * *

0.28 * * * 0.15 * *

- 0.24 * * *

Level of

sophistication

~ 0.07

-0.17 ***

0.03

- 0.07

0.46 * * *

0.32 * * * 0.14 * *

-0.32 ***

* 0.05 p 5

* * 5 0.01 p

*** p~o.001

Page 8: Microcomputer applications: An empirical look at usage

194 Reseurch

sophistication. These results are partly consistent with Lee’s finding. While he found that young people tend to spend more time using microcom- puters, no relationship between level of sophistica- tion and age was found. It was, however, found that older managers exhibit higher levels of com- puter anxiety [Howard and Smith, (1986)].

Finally. according to the popular literature [Naiman (1982)], computers are widely perceived as belonging to the “male domain” of mathe- matics, electronics, and machinery. This, coupled with reports of greater prevalence of math anxiety among women than men [Betz (1978), Tabias and Weissbrod (1980)], suggested that women were likely to be more anxious about computers and to use computers iess [Dambrot et al. (1985)]. Table 2 shows no relationships between gender and com- puter usage. A one-way analysis of variance was also used to test whether there were significant differences in the computer usage. No gender dif- ferences were found.

Microcomputer Usage us. Computer Anxiet?

Contrary to many reports in the popular press and other media, there were very few signs of computer anxiety among managers (average = 1.41). Consistent with expectations, computer anxiety is positively related to age and is nega- tively related to duration of use, frequency of use, level of sophistication, information inclusion, sys- tem quality and diversity of applications. Users with anxiety spend less time on the micro- computer. This relationship has been discussed extensively in the popular press [Margarita (1985), Rout (1982)]. In addition, these findings are con- sistent with Howard’s finding and those of other research studies.

Microcomputer Usage LX User Experience und Truining

The second important factor in microcomputer use was computer experience and user training. People with a stronger computer experience clearly seem to use microcomputers more often than others. Thus, the implication is that the greater their years of experience with computers, the more managers will use microcomputers in their tasks and for a larger number of applications. It was

found that the extent of microcomputer usage is positively correlated with prior user experience.

Quite interesting relationships were also noted between training sources and microcomputer com- puter usage. The relationships between the four individual sources of computer related training and the system usage was examined. Some signifi- cant correlations were found:

Computer training received in college seemed to support statistical packages (r = 0.08) graphical applications (O.lO), and modeling sys- tems (0.09). and the use of third generation language (0.14). Vendor training was significantly correlated with using data management packages (0.09), modeling systems (0.10). communication packages or electronic main. (0.19), and fourth generation language (0.12). Computer training received in house tended to support the handling of modeling systems (0.14), graphical packages (0.16), and data com- munication packages (0.10). Self-training was significantly correlated with using data communication packages (0.13), graphical packages (0.17), spreadsheets (0.15), word processors (0.20), and third and fourth generation languages (0.16 and 0.18 respec- tively).

Word processing was correlated significantly to all the training sources. Self-training, in-house train- ing, and computer training by vendor were signifi- cantly correlated with all the system usage dimen- sions: the use of microcomputers in decision mak- ing, duration of use, frequency of use, number of packages, and expertise. Overall, users with more training courses tended to use more varied and sophisticated applications more often and for a greater number of hours per day. Over 75% of the respondents reported to be self-trained (the domi- nant source) with the microcomputer applications, followed by vendor training (40%) or company training (55%). All individuals who will be re- quired to use the new system should receive ap- propriate training until they feel comfortable in its use; better training might influence the individual’s anxiety and increase microcomputer usage.

Finally, Lucas (1978) confirmed in a number of studies, that the quality of a system was an im- portant determinant of system success.

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Informatu_w & Management M. Igbaria et al. / Microcomputer Applications 195

Summary and Conclusion

In this study we investigate microcomputer usage. A new scale was developed and designed to tap five different dimensions of usage: duration of use, frequency of use, expertise, extent of usage, and purpose of use.

The major finding in this study was that most managers had a notably positive perception of microcomputers. While microcomputer usage measured by time spent on the system was mod- erate and the diversity of applications and levels of expertise were quite low, the frequency of use tended to be high.

Generally, managers were quite satisfied with the quality of the system. We found that micro- computers were used for specific tasks, such tasks as planning, budgeting or forecasting, mainly using spreadsheets. The median time spent on micro- computers was about one and one half hours a day. However, despite substantial use, managers felt they had relatively low expertise in most of the software packages and used a small number of applications; this appeared to be due to lack of formal training, with most managers self trained (75%). This might apparently be inadequate. There is a need to help users become proficient by improving end-user training and support. The re- lationship between the training sources and micro- computer applications and usage indicates a num- ber of interesting implications: statistical and graphical packages, as well as modeling packages and programming using third generation language are apt to be learned in college, but vendor train- ing has focused on advanced packages, such as communications and fourth generation languages, and in-house training seemed to support the more “decision aid” packages, and finally self-training seems to support different applications, as needed.

There are clear implications regarding the in- troduction of microcomputers into an organiza- tion. Management should play a key role to assist users in exploring productive applications. Management should also emphasize the need for training programs, which have an impact on the use of microcomputers as aids to decision making. This calls for more training and for the design of highly flexible systems with optional modes of operation that will meet the varying needs of managers, thereby increasing the attractiveness of computerized information and decision support systems.

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