An Empirical Analysis of the Relationships Among Personal Characteristics, Perceived Attributes, and ESS Utilization

In today’s rapidly and dramatically changing business environments, corporate executives must play critical roles for organizational survival and success. To perform these roles successfully, they may need more effective ways to systematically analyze a variety of information derived from organization’s internal and external sources. Executive support systems (ESS) are made to help executives access and use the information they require about the organization’s environments. The purpose of this study is to investigate the important factors that influence the successful ESS utilization. Based on a review of information systems literature, this study examines the relationships among personal characteristics, perceived attributes, and ESS utilization. The study develops and tests the research model, which proposes that personal characteristics (age, education, cognitive style, and computer experience) and perceived attributes of the system (ease of use and usefulness) have a direct influence on ESS utilization, and that personal characteristics have an indirect influence on ESS utilization through perceived attributes of the system. The results showed that the users’ cognitive style and perceived attributes had direct effects on ESS utilization. Additionally, perceived attributes were found to fully mediate the relationships between age, education, computer experience, and ESS utilization. From a theoretical standpoint, the study contributes to a better understanding of factors influencing successful ESS utilization. From a practical standpoint, the study may help information systems (IS) managers and professionals plan their courses of action more effectively for an extensive use of ESS in organizations.