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An empirical analysis of causal relationships among quality of work life factors in end user computing
Abstract
End user computing is one of the most effective productivity enhancement tools available to knowledge workers. The principal advantage of end user computing lies in the harmony between people and technology that it is intended to engender. However, while the technical aspects of end user computing are relatively well understood, the behavioral and social aspects of end user computing continue to defy thorough comprehension. The lack of a theoretical perspective and reliable measurement instruments is often referred to as a major impediment in behavioral research in the field of management information systems. In the present study, some conceptual difficulties in defining unobservable variables and complex relationships among quality of work life factors in end user computing were resolved and analyzed through a set of rigorous statistical techniques. Control theory was utilized to develop the study model in which variables were selected from a sociotechnical perspective. Variables included are user control, job control, stressors, job stress, user satisfaction, and job satisfaction. A complete procedure for developing a new instrument for measuring user control increased the validity of the present study. The empirical results of the present study provide many managerial implications to information system managers and policy makers in end user computing. Control constructs are no longer to be considered as mere users' dispositional characteristics; they have now become managerial variables which system managers can manipulate by changing the degree that end users influence the system development and implementation process. Furthermore, it was found that job control in combination with user control helps ameliorate stressors in end user computing. Both user control and job control have a significant direct effect on job stress in a negative way. However, user control does not significantly mitigate stressors; rather, it increases role conflict. This role conflict is diminished by increasing job control, resulting in low job stress. This combinatorial effect results in high user satisfaction and job satisfaction.
Subject Area
Management|Information Systems|Educational psychology
Recommended Citation
Kang, Shin Cheol, "An empirical analysis of causal relationships among quality of work life factors in end user computing" (1990). ETD collection for University of Nebraska-Lincoln. AAI9118458.
https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/dissertations/AAI9118458