Perceptions of information system success in the public sector: Webmasters at the steering wheel?
Date
2012Author
Scott, Murray
Metadata
Show full item recordUsage
This item's downloads: 1651 (view details)
Recommended Citation
Sørum, H., Medaglia, R., Andersen, K., Scott, M., and DeLone, W. (2012) 'Perceptions of information system success in the public sector: Webmasters at the steering wheel?'. Transforming Government: People, Process and Policy, 6 (3):239-257.
Abstract
Purpose - This study explores the relationships between constructs of Information System
(IS) success in the public sector, as perceived by webmaster intermediaries, and investigates
how user testing affects these relationships.
Design/methodology/approach - Questionnaire, online survey with webmasters in Denmark
and Norway that participated in the public sector web award contests organized by the
government. N=1,237, n=541 (response rate 40%).
Findings - The frequency with which webmasters carry out user testing affects their
perceptions of IS success, with those who conduct no user testing displaying the weakest
associations among success variables. Findings also suggest that webmasters who do little or
no user testing conveniently assume that citizen users are satisfied, while webmasters that
are more knowledgeable of the user experience have a greater perception of levels of success.
Research limitations/implications - There is a need for supplementing the study with
longitudinal data. Secondly, more research could be done on the explanatory variables
behind one of the main findings of this study: webmasters who know their users tend not to
see a correlation between website quality and user satisfaction. Lastly, there is a need to focus
on the difference in significant associations between IS quality, user satisfaction and net
benefits, and whether and how unique features of public organizations impact perceptions of
success.
Practical implications - The fact that the majority of webmasters do not perform any type of
user testing triggers a reflection on the need for such important intermediaries to enhance
2
their feedback channels. User involvement in assessing IS success cannot be overlooked,
especially considering that user empowerment in the design, implementation, and evaluation
of information systems matches a window of opportunity originating in the ongoing growth
of web interactivity.
Originality/value - This study is one of the few that investigates constructs of IS success in
the public sector, and arguably the first one that focuses on the impacts of user testing on the
relationships between constructs of IS success in a public setting.