COLLEGE OF ARTS, SOCIAL AND MANAGEMENT SCIENCES

DEPARTMENT OF ACCOUNTING, FINANCE AND TAXATION

Course Code: ACC309: Course Title: Management Information Systems: Units: 3.

1ST Semester 2022/2023 Session: Lecturer: Dr. J. I. Ugwulali:
Tel: 08022238303 (Emails: joseph.ugwulali@calebuniversity.edu.ng and iugwulali@gmail.com)

Lecture 3 - Management Information Systems Theories

Management Information Systems is interested in the use of information technology to carry out the
functions of management. It is highly concerned with information related to people, products,
procedures and technologies.

History
Early research in MIS focused on problems faced by professionals in the field of information
management, and were borrowed from other fields, such as management and computer science.

Key theories in MIS

Key theories in MIS include Cognitive Fit, Cognitive Dissonance, Task-Technology Fit,
Competitive Strategy and Socio-technical theories.

Cognitive Fit Theory

Cognitive fit posits that the presentation of information affects task performance. Performance is
superior when there is correspondence between the information presented and the task that must be
performed. Cognitive fit theory was developed by Iris Vessey (1991). The theory proposes that the
correspondence between task and information presentation format leads to superior task
performance for individual users.

In several studies, cognitive fit theory has provided an explanation for performance differences
among users across different presentation formats such as tables, graphs, and schematic faces. The
theory has also been extended into the geographic information systems domain, where it has been
used to explain performance differences among users of map and table-based geographic
information systems on adjacency, proximity, and containment tasks (Dennis and Carte,1998;
Smelcer and Carmel, 1997).
Diagram/Schematic of Cognitive Fit Theory

Source: Shaft, Teresa M. and Iris Vessey, (2006) "The Role of Cognitive Fit in the Relationship between
Software Comprehension and Modification", MIS Quarterly, Volume 30, Issue 1, pp. 29-55.
It is instructive to note that today's managers need effective decision support tools to sort
through huge amounts of data in a timely fashion to make critical decisions on products and
process quality.

Cognitive dissonance theory

Cognitive dissonance theory is concerned with change to eliminate inconsistency between attitudes
and behaviors.

Cognitive dissonance theory examples

Here are just a few cognitive dissonance examples that you may notice in your own life style: You
want to be healthy, but you do not exercise regularly or eat a nutritious diet. You feel guilty as a
result. You know that smoking (or drinking too much) is harmful to your health, but you do it
anyway. You can also put it this way: Students know that they must read hard to pass their exams at
the end of the semester, yet some students are still very lazy and do not want to read their books.
In this case, a change of behavior is very important, as it is only a change of behavior that can result
in a better academic performance.
Diagram/Schematic Diagram of Cognitive dissonance theory

SOURCE: GOOGLE IMAGES

Task-Technology Fit (TTF) Theory

The task-technology fit theory argues that the function of technology and the task it aims to support
should match with the individual abilities of users to achieve improved performance and
outcomes. Task-Technology theory holds that information technology capabilities must match user
tasks in order for the technology to have a positive impact.

The Task-Technology Fit Model was developed by (Goodhue & Thompson, 1995) to explain the
utilization of technology by examining the fit of technology to users' tasks/requirements. The
purpose of the theory was to add to the body of knowledge on technology utilization in the private
and public contexts, which had limited explanation as to how the acceptance of technology
contributes to individuals’ performance. TTF was the first theory that aimed to explore the post-
adoption aspect of technology utilization, unlike other prior research, which had mainly focused on
the antecedents of use and intention (Goodhue & Thompson, 1995).
Task-technology fit seeks to explain the interdependence between an individual (a technology user),
technology (data, hardware, software tools and the services they provide) and task (activity carried
out by individuals to produce the required output) characteristics.

With these theories, it is possible to explore and explain technostress as a workplace issue in
knowledge work. Technostress refers to the challenges of adopting and coping with new digital
technologies and affects knowledge workers’ well-being at work.
This task-technology fit theory along with the transactional theory of stress are often used by
researchers to investigate the effects of the implementation of new digital technologies and their
maintenance in workplaces and ways to minimize technostress.

Diagram showing coping types in TTF

Source: file:///C:/Users/USER/Downloads/10.1201_9781003128830-4_chapterpdf.pdf
Applicability to workplace studies
The introduction of new digital technologies has offered possibilities for finding new ways of
working, new products, and services. Digital technologies allow knowledge workers to work flexibly
and remotely thanks to practices such as telework, commuter hubs, and virtual teams, by combining
distance work and management across time and geography. While a well-designed and -managed
flexible and remote workplace can have a positive influence on employee wellbeing, as seen in the
following studies (Arnold et al., 2016 ; Dickson-Swift, Fox, Marshall, Welch, & Willis, 2014 ;
Hoeven & Zoonen, 2015 ), the ability to implement new work practices is not always
straightforward. When not managed appropriately, flexible and remote workplaces can be a source
of work-related stress and harm individuals, organizations, and the economy as a whole through, for
example, productivity losses, presenteeism, and absence (Arnold et al., 2016 ; Cooper et al., 2001;
Ipsen, Karanika-Murray, & Nardelli, 2020). Furthermore, the lack of exploration of the TTF may
contribute to wasted resources on underutilized technology (Dishaw, 1999).

On the one hand, the TTF theory aims to support organizations in investigating the factors affecting
the effective adoption of technology they are planning to implement in their organization. Workplace
management researchers have also employed the theory to investigate how to implement, manage,
and maintain technology with positive results in terms of organizational performance and individual
well-being (e.g., Cameron & Webster, 2005 ; Chen, Zhao, Zhang, Wang, & Guo, 2015 ; Hung,
Duyen, Kong, & Chua, 2008 ).

Limitations of TTF and TAM Theories

The Task Technology Fit (TTF) and Technology Acceptance (TAM) models, like other theories and
models are not without criticisms in some ways. The TTF theory and its extensions have a number
of limitations, among which are the complexity of the models, which makes it difficult to test
empirically, weak predictive power, and the lack of focus on situational and personal factors. The
most important shortcoming of the original TTF model is that due to multi-dimensional constructs,
the applicability of the theory in different situations and scenarios is limited. Therefore, there are
very few studies which tested all dimensions of task-tech technology fit (Eybers et al., 2019; Teo &
Men, 2008). To make the model more universal, scholars predominantly use one-dimensional scales,
which downgrades the all-inclusiveness of the model in terms of explaining specific factors within
the task-technology fit domain, facilitating or inhibiting the utilization and users’ performance.

TTF models have been criticized for a lack of focus on the individuals’ psychological and situational
factors, such as the role of top management, trust (between team members and team leaders) and the
responsibilities of team members (Agarwal, Sambamurthy & Stair, 2000). Individual differences can
have an underlying impact on the final outcome of technology utilization (Staples, Hulland &
Higgins, 1999). For example, following the argument that TTF-TAM needed to measure self-
efficacy, Strong et al. (2006) tested the effect of the construct by integrating it with the model.
Although the significance of computer self-efficacy was confirmed, the updated model did not find
wide implications.

Other MIS Theories

Competitive strategy theory draws on economic concepts to determine factors that make a market
attractive. Socio-technical theory emphasizes the need for consistency among independent sub-
systems for the larger system to achieve optimal performance.

References
Sources: Vessey, Iris (1991). Cognitive Fit: A Theory-Based Analysis of the Graphs Versus Tables
Literature. Decision Sciences 22,(2), 219-240.
TASK-TECHNOLOGY FIT THEORY: An approach for mitigating technostress. Available on
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/352509292_TASK-
TECHNOLOGY_FIT_THEORY_An_approach_for_mitigating_technostress