Considerable prescriptive literature exists which advocates user involvement in the development of information systems and suggests alternative mechanisms by which such involvement can be increased. However, formal empirical studies investigating user involvement are few in number, fragmented, and generally methodologically flawed. Furthermore, they do not provide the strong support for user involvement that the prescriptive literature would lead one to expect. This paper critically examines past studies of user involvement, focusing on methodological and measurement issues. The relationships between user involvement and system quality, system usage, information satisfaction, and user attitudes are considered. Suggestions for future research are discussed.