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110 Erwin and Averweg
deploying decision support and EIS capabilities on a global basis (Turban et al.,
1999).
IT is a catalyst for fundamental changes in the structure, operations and
management of organizations (Dertouzos, 1997). Wreden (1997) reports that IT
capabilities support five business objectives: improving productivity (in 51% of
organizations), reducing cost (39%), improving decision-making (36%), enhancing
customer relationships (33%) and developing new strategic applications (33%).
Elliott (1992) notes that EIS use enables more analysis in decision-making, faster
problem identification and faster decision-making. Executives who use EIS most
frequently should notice the greatest increase in their decision-making speed
(Leidner & Elam, 1993). Leidner and Elam (1993) report that frequency of EIS use
and length of time of use are both significantly associated with an executive’s
decision-making process.
With the evolution of distributed computer technology, paved by the rapid
adoption of Web technology, there is a growing need for improved decisionmaking
at any time, anywhere and with any participants. Digital communication
requires a new business paradigm: being able to join and use any type of business
system any time, anywhere (Worthington-Smith, 2000). This is a real business
problem and is especially relevant to EIS. Palvia et al. (1996) argue that organizations
need to incorporate a global dimension in the design of their EIS. These
researchers suggest that such global EIS will incorporate international information
that will be critical to executives of multinational and global organizations in order
for them to conduct business and compete globally.
E-commerce is changing the manner in which business is done, especially when
facilitated by appropriate support systems (Turban & Aronson, 1998). Turban and
Aronson (1998) note that the decision support of groups whose members are at
different locations has become an increasingly important topic because of the
increased emphasis on workgroups and teams. The computing environment is
rapidly changing to a global network and the Internet (World Wide Web) is the
enabling link of accessing information anywhere and at any time.
There is an increasing use of teams and teamwork in organizations (see, for
example, Navarro, 1992; Roberts, 1995). The major feature of networked
decision support is the use of several computers and databases connected by
networks (Turban & Aronson, 1998). When people are working in teams
(especially when the members are in different locations and may be working at
different times), they need to communicate, collaborate and access a diverse set of
information sources in multiple forms (e.g., text, video, graphics and voice). Turban
and Aronson (1998) indicate that the major information architecture that supports
this distributed decision support environment consists of the Internet and intranets.
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