Critical factors of accounting information systems (AIS) effectiveness : a qualitative study of the Malaysian federal government

This study presents a qualitative empirical evidence from a combination of pilot study (using a focus group approach) and semi-structured interviews with accounting personnel at the Accountant General’s Department and accounting divisions at ministry level. This study aims to explore the critical factors of Accounting Information System (AIS) effectiveness and user satisfaction criteria as a measurement for AIS effectiveness in the context of the Federal Government of Malaysia. The discussion during the focus group and the interviews focus on the user’s needs in order to operate the system effectively, in which reflect the critical factors of the system’s effectiveness. Additionally, their expectation towards the system in terms of what they want from the system is discussed in order to investigate the user satisfaction criteria for the measurement of AIS effectiveness. As a result, there are 27 critical factors of AIS effectiveness discovered in this study for the Federal Government of Malaysia, which categorised into three factors that are people factor, organisation factor and technology factor. On the other hand, the measurement of AIS effectiveness based on user satisfaction is classified into three main characteristics, which are perceived easiness of the system, perceived quality and information, and perceived benefit from the system. A framework of the critical factors of AIS effectiveness is proposed in this study

A phenomenon of the critical factors of accounting information system (AIS) effectiveness

The complexity of the Government's environment provides greater challenges in making the AIS effective. Prior studies have reported many and inconsistent determinants of system effectiveness, as well as its measurement. This study intends to fill the gaps by understanding the phenomenon of the critical factors of AIS effectiveness for an on-going and stable system. This includes exploring the critical factors of AIS effectiveness and examining the factors that significantly influence the phenomenon. In addition, the condition of the identified factors is investigated based on perceived importance versus perceived performance. The effectiveness of AIS in this study is viewed from the perspective of user satisfaction. This study was conducted using multiple methods (qualitative and quantitative). The qualitative method includes group discussions, observation and semi-structured interviews. The qualitative findings were used to develop a survey questionnaire for the quantitative study on a larger scale.This study contributes to the literature by presenting a comprehensive measure of AIS effectiveness using a user satisfaction approach. In addition, the results emphasise the AIS main components that are crucial for the achievement of an effective system, which are user commitment, technology support function and teamwork. Furthermore, this study is different to earlier studies in that its findings uncover additional factors that are antecedents for the critical factors of AIS effectiveness. Moreover, the perceived importance-performance gap shows the benefit of the assessment in providing a strategic direction for management. Overall,this study has shed light on the investigated phenomenon by offering: a comprehensive measure of AIS effectiveness; the factors important in achieving an effective system; and further action to be taken by the management and the system's users on each of those factors. Thus, in addition to academic literature contributions,practitioners will also derive benefits from the findings of this study.The complexity of the Government's environment provides greater challenges in making the AIS effective. Prior studies have reported many and inconsistent determinants of system effectiveness, as well as its measurement. This study intends to fill the gaps by understanding the phenomenon of the critical factors of AIS effectiveness for an on-going and stable system. This includes exploring the critical factors of AIS effectiveness and examining the factors that significantly influence the phenomenon. In addition, the condition of the identified factors is investigated based on perceived importance versus perceived performance. The effectiveness of AIS in this study is viewed from the perspective of user satisfaction. This study was conducted using multiple methods (qualitative and quantitative). The qualitative method includes group discussions, observation and semi-structured interviews. The qualitative findings were used to develop a survey questionnaire for the quantitative study on a larger scale.This study contributes to the literature by presenting a comprehensive measure of AIS effectiveness using a user satisfaction approach. In addition, the results emphasise the AIS main components that are crucial for the achievement of an effective system, which are user commitment, technology support function and teamwork. Furthermore, this study is different to earlier studies in that its findings uncover additional factors that are antecedents for the critical factors of AIS effectiveness. Moreover, the perceived importance-performance gap shows the benefit of the assessment in providing a strategic direction for management. Overall,this study has shed light on the investigated phenomenon by offering: a comprehensive measure of AIS effectiveness; the factors important in achieving an effective system; and further action to be taken by the management and the system's users on each of those factors. Thus, in addition to academic literature contributions,practitioners will also derive benefits from the findings of this study

Understanding data reuse and barriers to reuse of archaeological data: a quality-in-use methodological approach

Over the last decade, innovation has centred on making archaeological data more interoperable, increasing the discoverability of data through integrated cross-search and facilitating knowledge creation by combining data in new ways. An emerging research challenge for the next decade is optimising archaeological data for reuse and defining what constitutes good practice around reuse. Critical to this research is understanding the current state-of-the-art regarding both existing best practices and barriers to using and reusing archaeological data. This research aimed to understand how to optimise archives and interfaces to maximise the discovery, use and reuse of archaeological data and explore how archaeological archives can better respond to user needs. The study was bound by (i) the reuse of digital archaeological archives; (ii) orientation to content usability and reusability; (iii) maintaining a user-orientated approach; (iv) collecting data from professionals in archaeology and heritage. The research group members adopted the quality-in-use conceptual approach for this study. Quality in use is 'the degree to which a product or system can be used by specific users to meet their needs to achieve specific goals with effectiveness, efficiency, satisfaction, and freedom from risk in specific contexts of use'. The research methodology is based on the SQuaRE (System and Software Quality Requirements and Evaluation) model, represented in the ISO/IEC 25000 standards series. In addition, the quality-in-use metric for investigation of reuse and barriers to reuse of archaeological data were adopted from the standardised measurement functions and methods of ISO/IEC 25022:2016. The result was a methodological model composed of 5 characteristics (Effectiveness, Efficiency, Satisfaction, Context coverage and Usability) with 14 measures (Task completeness, Objectives achievement, Task time, Cost-effectiveness, Overall satisfaction, Satisfaction with features, User trust in the system, data and paradata, User pleasure, Physical comfort, Context completeness, Flexible context of use and User guidance completeness). The methodology was tested with specific Contexts of use (use cases), orientated to a distinct user with the specific professional goal of data reuse. Three use cases relating to 3D Pottery, radiocarbon, and GIS data were created. The pilot study has proven that the methodology works and could be applied in future research. This article discusses the application of the quality-in-use approach for evaluating the quality of digital archaeological archives, as well as presenting the methodology and the results of the pilot study

A Framework proposal for monitoring and evaluating training in ERP implementation project

During the last years some researchers have studied the topic of critical success factors in ERP implementations, out of which 'training' is cited as one of the most ones. Up to this moment, there is not enough research on the management and operationalization of critical success factors within ERP implementation projects.Postprint (published version

A contingency model of perceived effectiveness in accounting information systems: Organizational coordination and control effects

A contingency model is advanced that examines sources of requirements for organizational coordination and control as they affect the extent of integration in an accounting information system. Requirements that are contingent on the degree of organizational formalization, information interdependence among functional areas, and dependence in interorganizational information sharing and electronic data interchange links, are examined. The congruence or fit of system integration with those requirements is a key concept that influences beliefs about system effectiveness. Results of the empirical study indicated that, as hypothesized, the fit between the accounting system design and the contingency factors resulted in a more successful system. Specifically, system fit was a significant factor that explained variations in perceived AIS effectiveness, as measured by decision makers’ perceived satisfaction with the accuracy and monitoring effectiveness of output information. The effect of system fit on a second factor of perceived AIS effectiveness, as measured by decision-makers’ satisfaction with the perceived quality of information content in system outputs, was only marginally significant. The study addresses an important area in accounting systems research that directly relates to the decision facilitation and control objectives of accounting information. © 2000 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved

Performance measures of net-enabled hypercompetitive industries: the case of tourism

This paper investigates the theory and practise of e-metrics. It examines the tourism sector as one of the most successful sectors on-line and identifies best practice in the industry. Qualitative research with top e-Marketing executives demonstrates the usage and satisfaction levels from current e-metrics deployment, selection of e-metrics for ROI calculation as well as intention of new e-metrics implementation and future trends and developments. This paper concludes that tourism organizations gradually realise the value of e-measurement and are willing to implement e-metrics to enable them evaluate the effectiveness of their planning processes and assess their results against their short and the long term objectives

Measuring Process Modelling Success

Process-modelling has seen widespread acceptance, par ticularly on large IT-enabled Business Process Reengineering projects. It is applied, as a process design and management technique, across all life-cycle phases of a system. While there has been much research on aspects of process-modelling, little attention has focused on post-hoc evaluation of process-modelling success. This paper addresses this gap, and presents a process-modelling success measurement (PMS) framework, which includes the dimensions: process-model quality; model use; user satisfaction; and process modelling impact. Measurement items for each dimension are also suggested

Research and Applications of the Processes of Performance Appraisal: A Bibliography of Recent Literature, 1981-1989

[Excerpt] There have been several recent reviews of different subtopics within the general performance appraisal literature. The reader of these reviews will find, however, that the accompanying citations may be of limited utility for one or more reasons. For example, the reference sections of these reviews are usually composed of citations which support a specific theory or practical approach to the evaluation of human performance. Consequently, the citation lists for these reviews are, as they must be, highly selective and do not include works that may have only a peripheral relationship to a given reviewer\u27s target concerns. Another problem is that the citations are out of date. That is, review articles frequently contain many citations that are fifteen or more years old. The generation of new studies and knowledge in this field occurs very rapidly. This creates a need for additional reference information solely devoted to identifying the wealth of new research, ideas, and writing that is changing the field