Mexican Executives' Use of Information Systems: An Empirical Investigation of EIS Use and Impact

Abstract

Executive Information Systems are being used in organizations around the world to assist with the increased managerial information needs related to the opening of markets and the globalization of enterprise. This study adapts a model of IS success to the context of EIS in order to examine the potential success of EIS use by Mexican managers to help them cope with their highly competitive environment. Using survey data gathered from 89 Mexican senior and middle managers supplemented by interview data from a subset of the survey respondents, the study examines some antecedents of EIS use, types of EIS use, individual impacts of EIS use, and organizational impacts of EIS use. The study suggests that Mexican managers use EIS to monitor internal and external information which enables them to make decisions faster, to have a better understanding of their environment, and to engage in more thorough decision analysis. These individual benefits of EIS use then lead to certain organizational benefits, including a shared vision of organizational goals and performance, improved communication in the organization, improved competitive response, and improved organizational decision making effectiveness.

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Notes on contributors

Dorothy E. Leidner

Dorothy E. Leidner is Associate Professor of information systems at INSEAD. She received her PhD in Information Systems from the University of Texas at Austin, from where she also received her MBA and BA. Dr. Leidner has published her research in several journals, including MIS Quarterly, Information Systems Research, Organization Science, Decision Support Systems, and the Journal of Management Information Systems. Her research interests include executives' use of information systems, international information systems, and electronic classrooms. Dr. Leidner has served as a visiting professor at the Instituto Tecnologico y des Estudios Superiores de Monterrey, Mexico and at the Institut d 'Administration des Entreprises at the Université de Caen, France.