The Impact of Computer Training on the Attitudes and Usage Behavior of Small Business Managers

Abstract

ABSTRACT: L'IMPACT DE LA FORMATION INFORMATIQUE SUR LES ATTITUDES ET LE COMPORTEMENT DES GESTIONNAIRES DEPME Cette Etude tente de determiner le veritable impact de la formation informatique sur les attitudes et le comportement des gestionnaires de PME face it un systhme d'information a base d'ordinateur. A partir de donnees obtenues de 91 individus dans 34 PME manufacturieres,les resultats demontrent que les utilisateurs qui possedent une formation informatique formelle ont une meilleure comprehension, font une utilisation plus etendue et diversifiee de systhmes informatises, et ce, quelle que soit la duree de leur experience informatique anterieure. Ces resultats sont analyses et leurs implications pour la PME sont discutees. The advent of low-cost/ high performance micro-computers, coupled with relatively easy-to-use business applications software, has allowed an increasing number of small organizations to implement computer-based management information systems. In fact, a 1985 survey of small and medium-size businesses in the U.S. found that over half of the firms with 10-99 employees had acquired computers. This phenomenon has led a number of inform ation systems researchers and practitioners to examine the organizational, technical, and individual factors related to successful computer use in small business, from both descriptive and prescriptive points of view. In particular, personal and situational characteristics such as organizational tenure and prior computer experience have been found to influence managerial attitudes and behavior associated with the use of computers in small business.' One factor deemed to be crucial to successful systems implementation is computer education and training of the user-manager. Lack of training in computer skills can be a major problem for small firms. For instance, a lack of know-how about the possibilities, limits, and requirements of business computing can cause small firms to depend too much on vendors or service bureaus, to misunderstand their own information requirements, or to under-use or mismanage their information resources. Managers who acquire formal computer training, either through education or on-the-job training, will be more familiar with the operation of computer-based information systems and the type of support such systems can provide for planning, control, and decision-making tasks. Formal computer training should thus lead to more positive attitudes, less resistance to change, and more effective computer use. This assumption has not yet been tested. Researchers and practitioners have concentrated on identifying the computer training needs of small business managers, and on specifying ways of satisfying those needs. The results of studies done in large organizations are rather mixed as to the impact of user training, and relate to organizational and information systems contexts which differ from those of most small businesses. This article presents the results of a study of the attitudes and use patterns of managers with and without formal computer education or training. The study also addressed the question of whether managers' attitudes and behavior simply change as they acquire more computer experience over time. This question stems from the assumption that computer training can be considered a substitute for or a complement to experience, particularly in the case of small business managers, whose prior computer experience is generally limited. METHOD It is posited that managers with more computer experience will have more positive attitudes and greater usage levels. The link between computer experience and computer training is ambiguous. It is not known whether a causal relation exists between the two, and the direction of this relation, if any, is unclear. The central relationship under study stipulates that managers with formal computer training or education will have better attitudes and higher usage levels. …

Cite this work

No public copy is stored for this record, so only the metadata is cited.

Stored only when both papers are in the corpus — 49 citations exist upstream.