INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY INVESTMENTS IN PURCHASING - AN EMPIRICAL-STUDYOF DIMENSIONS AND ANTECEDENTS

Despite the fact that U.S. companies have made substantial investments in information technology (IT), there is a paucity of empirical resea rch on the nature of IT investments and boundary conditions that deter mine the extent of these investments, This study reviews the extant IT literature, develops a series of propositions related to the multidim ensional nature of IT investments and their relationship with several antecedent conditions, and presents the results of an empirical test o f the propositions in the context of the purchasing function of U.S. f irms. Our results support the premise that IT used in purchasing is no t a homogeneous phenomenon, but can, instead, be represented by three dimensions: base computer systems and support, purchasing-specific app lications, and vender communications. Our findings further indicate th at IT dimensions respond in a varying fashion to different antecedent conditions. Support was also found for the building-block nature of IT investments. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science B.V.