Abstract
The concept of consumer expectations has been widely used by information systems (IS) researchers to explain the outcome of information system development (ISD) efforts (Suh et al, 1994; Lawrence and Low, 1993; Ginzberg, 1981). These IS studies assume that users are IS consumers. However, ISD is substantially different from many other product development efforts. Information systems are highly customized, requiring more user involvement in the development. Also, analysts and users can interact directly, rather than through indirect mechanisms requiringlimited consumer input such as marketing research, focus groups, and consumer attitude surveys. Therefore, the ISD process provides more opportunities to develop and manage user expectations. This fact has been overlooked by the IS literature, which mainconcern is in linking user expectations to perceived system performance. Based on this observation, this paper contributes by explaining how user expectations are formed and updated throughout an ISD process. Using the ISD model developed by Newman and Robey (1992), we conceptualize user expectations as two distinct constructs, desiredand predictiveexpectations (Spreng and Olshavsky, 1992), which are modified through a series of encounters and episodes.
Recommended Citation
Hartzel, Kathleen S. and Flor, Paulo R., "Expectation Formation in the Information System Development Process" (1995). AMCIS 1995 Proceedings. 83.
https://aisel.aisnet.org/amcis1995/83