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.

Keywords:

• business performance
• computer and communication technology
• developing countries
• IS success
• IS use
• net benefits
• user satisfaction

Notes on contributors

Morteza Ghobakhloo is a Ph.D. scholar in the Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, Universiti Putra Malaysia. He received the M.Sc. degree in industrial engineering from Universiti Putra Malaysia in 2010. He has served as a IS/IT consultant in different industries. His researches have been published or are under consideration in well-known IS and management journals such as IMDS, JSIT, IJPR, ITD and IJITDM among others.

Tang Sai Hong is an Associate Professor in the Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, Universiti Putra Malaysia. His academic experience is in the field of Mechanical, Manufacturing and Systems Engineering. His industrial experience is in the field of construction, M&E, automobile, semiconductor and design. His current research is related to information technology, operations research and robotics. He has published numerous articles in a variety of well-known journals.

Notes

1. The English version of questionnaire was distributed in Malaysia due to the adequate English proficiency of Malay respondents.

2. The mean for the construct of “IS knowledge” was 2.763 for Iranian SMEs and 2.421 for Malaysian SMEs. This mean difference was not statistically significant.