The development and testing of a model of telecommunications investment decision-making: A case study approach

Scope and method of study. The purpose of this research was to (1) identify factors which influence telecommunication investment decision-making and (2) to develop and test a generalizable telecommunications investment decision making model based on the relationship between these factors and the telecommunications investment decision. This model will serve (1) as a basis to guide future academic research and (2) as a prescriptive model for practitioners making telecommunications investment decisions. Based on the theory integrated in the literature review, a conceptual model of telecommunications decision making was developed based on (1) three levels of management (upper, middle and technical) and (2) three levels of telecommunications investment (strategic, informational and transactional) and includes (3) environmental considerations (external environment, formalization and centralization, and IS maturity). From this conceptual model, a research model from the perspective of the decision maker was constructed using the fisheye view technique. A case study triangulation approach using both qualitative and quantitative methods was utilized to examine three telecommunication investment decisions of an integrated international Fortune 500 petroleum company. The general analytic strategy of explanation-building was used employing conceptually clustered matrix analysis and frequency counts to test sixteen propositions.; Findings and conclusions. The results of the case study suggest that the proposed research model needs to be revised in order to take into account the role of the IS division within the organization (proactive versus reactive). These revised models allow for a central core of major factors based on the organization's objectives, surrounded by secondary factors based on the level of telecommunications investment. Future research directions would be to validate the revised models and then develop and test a decision support system of this telecommunications investment decision making model.