Relating benefits from using IS to an organization's operating characteristics: Interpreting results from two countries

To obtain the greatest benefit from its information system, an organization must determine which applications will provide the most benefit to organizational performance. This study reviews data collected from 310 manufacturing firms in Israel and 197 such firms in the U.S. For each firm, data were obtained about the benefits derived from using information systems, as perceived by a senior manager, and the organization's operating characteristics. Data were pooled across both countries. No meaningful relationship was found between the benefit a firm derives from its overall information systems application portfolio and its organizational operating characteristics. However, for two individual applications, the benefit derived is linked significantly to the organization's operating characteristics. Thus the model relating benefits from information systems to the organization's operating environment, first demonstrated by data collected in Israel, is confirmed by the data collected in the U.S. The model applies across both countries, even though there may be differences between the two countries, for example, in culture, size of businesses, and relationship with customers and suppliers.