EXPLAINING THE ROLE OF USER PARTICIPATION IN INFORMATION-SYSTEM USE

Even though user participation in information system development has l ong been considered to be a critical factor in achieving system succes s, research has failed to clearly demonstrate its benefits. This paper proposes user involvement as an intervening variable between user par ticipation and system use. Embedding the constructs of participation a nd involvement into the theoretical framework of Fishbein and Ajzen, a model is developed and tested in a field study of information system projects. Several key findings emerge from the study. User participati on and user involvement represent two distinct constructs, with partic ipation leading to involvement, and involvement mediating the relation ship between participation and system use. The critical dimension of u ser participation is overall responsibility. The role of user particip ation and involvement is different, depending upon whether system use is mandatory or voluntary.