Factors Influencing the Use of Decision Support Tools of Enterprise Resource Planning Systems

Abstract

Over the past few years, the marketplace and the trade press have recognized the value derived from using enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems for decision making support. However, research studies have tended to concentrate primarily on the use of ERP systems on their transactional and recordkeeping aspects. This study used the technology acceptance model (TAM) to evaluate the impact of a set of individual differences (demographics, computer self efficacy, and knowledge of the system), system characteristics (relevance, terminology and screen design), and perceived benefits of the system, on the intentions to use ERP systems for decision support. A field study was used to collect data from managers working in Bahraini enterprises that use ERP systems. The results indicate that individual differences concerning age, gender, level of education, and even computer self efficacy did not influence intentions of using the decision tools of ERP systems. The only individual difference that showed significant influence is the degree of knowledge of the system. In addition, both perceived shared benefits and system characteristics had significant influence on the intention to use the system for decision support tasks, through perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness. The chapt4er discusses the implications of these findings and ends with possible extensions of the study.