Discussion

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This research study gathered service quality data on 22 specific support factors, and overall end user satisfaction with the EUC environment at an organization. In addition, interviews of satisfied and dissatisfied end users were assessed to develop the technological frame of reference of these two user groups. The relationship among these three items was explored.

While the EUC satisfaction portion of the survey alone indicated that the user population as a whole was satisfied with their EUC environment, service-quality gap analysis and follow-up interviews surfaced several areas of dissatisfaction. Only five out of 22 support items had a positive service-quality gap (indicating satisfaction with that item). Hidden areas of dissatisfaction were detected by performing the SERVQUAL analysis. The three support factors that showed the largest negative service-quality gap between importance and performance (indicating dissatisfaction with that item) were "fast response time from IS staff," "extent of user training," and "help with database or model development." Although it is important to identify specific support areas that have large negative gaps, identifying which specific support factors influence overall satisfaction provides a richer picture. For example, the support factor "fast response time from IS staff" has one of the largest negative service-quality gaps, indicating a high level of dissatisfaction with that particular support item. In addition, the gap for this item highly correlates with overall user satisfaction. Conversely, while "extent of user training" also has a large negative service-quality gap, the gap does not correlate with overall user satisfaction.

Including consideration of user satisfaction to service-quality analysis adds an important piece to the overall study of diagnosing the issues confronting MIS support teams. It is noted that specific support factors that were viewed as having the largest gap between importance and performance were not necessarily the same as those with the most influence on satisfaction. This study shows that understanding the relationship between support factors and user satisfaction is subtle, has multiple aspects and requires observation from a number of different viewpoints for complete understanding. Clearly neither listing the support factors by importance or performance alone shows the full significance of these items. Service levels determined by the difference between importance and performance highlight issues of high importance and low performance from those where both are high or both are low. The practitioner could target those items for attention rather than dilute attention for those of high importance where service is already high. Similarly, the practitioner would be able to postpone attention for those with low levels of service, but that are not viewed as highly important. In particular, management at Otis would be better served in targeting additional support to "fast response time from IS staff" rather than "extent of user training" when attempting to increase overall user satisfaction.

Grounded theory techniques were instrumental in creating the technological frames of reference for the satisfied and dissatisfied users. While the dissatisfied user appeared to have higher expectations regarding the contribution the technology could make to their job performance, they were not interested in obtaining additional training or acquiring more complex applications for their PC. On the other hand, the satisfied users were very interested in obtaining additional training and more complex applications, while holding lower expectation levels concerning the value the technology could bring their job performance. The two user groups held different views or perspectives towards the technology they used. This influenced their expectations of the technology, affected their interactions with the MIS support team, and changed their utilization of the technology on a day-to-day basis. The technological frame of reference of the users did indeed influence their ultimate satisfaction with their overall end user computing environment.

One of the results of the actual implementation of the end user satisfaction survey itself was an increase in IT usage patterns. The participation in the survey process increased the awareness levels of some of the users regarding the capabilities and functionality of the technology, as well as the available support functions of the organization. This caused the users to use the PC more often, and for a larger variety of functions. This effect was positive for Otis, and welcomed by the MIS staff.



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Advanced Topics in End User Computing (Vol. 3)
Advanced Topics in End User Computing, Vol. 3
ISBN: 1591402573
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2003
Pages: 191

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