| Theories have been developed which attempt to explain and predict the effect that new information systems technologies may have on individuals, and on the organizations for which these individuals work. One such theory, Huber's theory of the effects of advanced information technologies on organizational design, intelligence, and decision making, considers the effect of implementing decision support technology and telecommunications technology on organizational design at the overall and subunit levels, on the development of organizational memory, and on performance. This research project empirically tested the portion of Huber's theory pertaining to organizational subunit effects to determine whether the theory is supported when an event-based accounting system (EBAS) is used for budget preparation within the accounting control system subunit. An EBAS, as defined herein, refers to a reporting system which permits users to extract accounting information based upon important events rather than having to rely on the information provided solely from aggregated, standardized accounting reports. The results of this study provide evidence that EBAS usage does affect the accounting control system subunit, but not necessarily in the ways proposed by Huber. This study also provides additional support for the reliability and validity of the Davis/Adams usefulness and ease-of use scales by successfully applying these scales to decision support/online analytical processing systems, which were previously untested. |
