An Evaluative Framework for Research on the Performance Effects of Information Technology Investment

Abstract

Firms today invest enormous resources in information technology with the hope of gaining significant returnswhich will impact their performance. A growing body of research into the firm performance effects of IT investmenthas emerged and is sometimes referred to as IT business value research. The problem researchers face is identifyingrobust methods to gain insight into how IT business value is created. This paper reports on the state of IT businessvalue research by reviewing thirteen empirical studies. It also proposes a new evaluative framework to identifystrengths and weaknesses in this research. The paper concludes with a series of recommendations to improve thequality of future IT business value research.