A Conceptual Development of Process and Outcome User Satisfaction

Much research has been done on the relationship between the success of an information system and the satisfaction of the people who use them. Yet many studies report inconsistent or contradictory results. Despite these inconclusive findings, the relationship between user satisfaction (US) and information systems (IS) success has great appeal. Historically, US research has been plagued by many problems. Directly measuring the success of an IS has been found to be impractical and perhaps impossible (Galletta & Lederer, 1989). Therefore, surrogates are used. The linkage between the operationalizations of US and the IS success construct has been tenuous at best. Methodological problems, such as weak construct validity, have also contributed to the lack of progress and the mixed results on US (Jarvenpaa, Dickson, & DeSantis, 1985; Zmud, Byrd, Sampson, Lenz, & Reardon, 1993). Perhaps the most compelling problem, however, is the lack of conceptual development (Jarvenpaa et al., 1985; Kim, 1989; Straub, 1989; Melone, 1990; Zmud et al., 1993). While the US construct has often been used to evaluate Integrating three prominent organizational behavior theories of motivation (equity, expectancy, and needs) with concepts of information systems success, this paper develops a broad conceptual foundation from which to view and understand user satisfaction in information systems. This integration attempts to clarify many of the diverse dimensions of user satisfaction and examines the notions of process and outcome satisfaction and dissatisfaction in information systems.