THE INFORMATION PROBLEMS IN ORGANIZATIONS - A RESEARCH MODEL FOR THE VALUE OF INFORMATION AND INFORMATION-SYSTEMS

Glowing recognition of the need for better management information syst em (MIS) theory and practice centers around problems with identifying the value of information and information systems in organizations. Thi s paper addresses this issue by showing that existing theory in organi zational economics and industrial organization directly relates to inf ormation problems in organizations (their nature, and their effects in terms of organization structure and performance). The paper categoriz es these problems and associated theories into four distinct classes a nd shows that MIS research and practice can be mapped to information p roblems of each type. Because the economic theory pertinent to specifi c information problems includes the nature of the organizational respo nse to information constraints, it also provides insight into the natu re of the improvement to be realized if information constraints can be overcome. These improvements can then be interpreted as the value of the associated information systems which suggests using the resultant classification scheme to map between information problems and system v alue. The paper shows that this methodology provides a more appropriat e level of focus than either traditional normative or business value m ethods, especially because many improvements have structural as well a s performance consequences.