An evaluative framework for research on the performance effects of information technology investment

Firms today invest enormous resources in information technology with the hope of gaining significant retums which will impact their performance. A growing body of research into the firm performance effects of IT investment has emerged and is sometimes referred to as IT business value research. The problem researchers face is identifying robust methods to gain insight into how IT business value is created. This paper reports on the state of IT business value research by reviewing thirteen empirical studies. It also proposes a new evaluative framework to identify strengths and weaknesses in this research. The paper concludes with a series of recommendations to improve the quality of future IT business value research