Evaluating Information Technology Investments in an Organizational Context

Information technology (IT) investments yield uncertain and unexpected results; successful outcomes are not guaranteed. Because of this organizations must strive to manage their IT investments effectively. Evaluation plays a critical role in successful IT management; however, it presents many difficulties for both the practitioner and researcher. In the literature, most IT evaluation methods are highly prescriptive in terms of their procedures and evaluation criteria. Paradoxically, many researchers have suggested that successful evaluation must be contextual—it must address the social and organizational aspects of evaluation and decision-making, as well as their effects on IT investment outcomes. These circumstances present a conundrum: how can researchers create contextually-sensitive evaluation methodologies while simultaneously providing practitioners with enough methodological guidance for conducting their evaluations? In this paper, the author presents a framework for his dissertation research—research that investigates and will attempt to assist in resolving this paradox.