Introducing executive information systems into organizations: separating fact from fallacy

Several factors have been proposed by researchers to explain why organizations are motivated to introduce executive information systems (EIS) now. These are identified and categorized in this paper and the results of an empirical study which examined the relevance of these factors in practice are presented. The findings of the study question the relevance and validity of some of the factors that have been identified – most notably that EIS are being introduced at the request of executives who are becoming increasingly computer literate and see EIS as a means of coping with today's extremely competitive business environment. The study findings suggest that IS department push and EIS envy are factors which play a significant role in the emergence of EIS in organizations.