TOP MANAGEMENT SUPPORT, EXTERNAL EXPERTISE AND INFORMATION-SYSTEMS IMPLEMENTATION IN SMALL BUSINESSES

Top management support is a key recurrent factor critical for effectiv e information systems (IS) implementation. However, the role of top ma nagement support may not be as critical as external IS expertise, in t he form of consultants and vendors, in small business IS implementatio n due to the unique characteristics of small businesses. This paper de scribes an empirical study of the relative importance of top managemen t support and external IS expertise on IS effectiveness in 114 small b usinesses. Partial least squares (PLS) was used for statistical testin g. The results show that top management support is not as important as effective external IS expertise in small business IS implementation. While top management support is essential for IS effectiveness, high q uality external IS expertise is even more critical for small businesse s operating in an environment of resource poverty. These findings call for more research efforts to be directed at selecting and engaging hi gh quality external IS expertise for IS implementation in small busine sses.