AN EMPIRICAL-INVESTIGATION OF THE CONTRIBUTION OF IS TO MANUFACTURINGPRODUCTIVITY

Next to the financial sector, the manufacturing industry is the second largest investor in information systems (IS) and technologies (IT). H owever, in recent years, many CEOs have expressed skepticism and disap pointment on the returns from investments in IS. There is reluctance o n the part of these CEOs to continue to invest in IS because of a nagg ing feeling that existing systems are often under-utilized. The dissat isfaction of CEOs with returns on them combined with the suspicion tha t existing IS are under-utilized clearly has serious implications for the IS community. Using empirical survey data of small and large manuf acturing firms in the electronic industry, this paper investigates whe ther, in fact, IS are under-utilized and, if so, explores the underlyi ng reasons for this situation. In particular, we explore the differenc es, if any, between small and large manufacturing firms in their abili ty to deploy and utilize IS to achieve organizational excellence.