Working Relationships Of IS Professionals And End Users: Testing Discrepancy Theory

Abstract

Information systems (IS) services frequently fail to meet expectations of management and end users, in terms of budget, schedule, or requirements. Such failures may be attributed to the unique viewpoint and expectations of each set of stakeholders. A multidimensional measure of IS performance is used to examine the differences in expectations and perceptions of outcomes of IS professionals and two groups of end users – accountant end users and non-accountant end users. Results show that accountant end users have greater expectations than non-accountant end users, but similar expectations to IS professionals. Results show that performance was rated higher by IS professionals than either accountant-users or non-accountant users. Finally, discrepancy theory was tested with an ANOVA model to confirm that positive discrepancy (where outcomes exceed expectations) is associated with greater satisfaction for both stakeholder groups.