User participation and user involvement in information system development

Abstract

Defining user participation as the activities performed by users during system development, and user involvement as the importance and personal relevance of a system to its user, we examine the empirical relationship of participation and involvement with system usage. Based on a field survey of 74 users of management support systems and 31 users of transaction systems, the following conclusions are drawn: 1. User participation and user involvement represent two distinct constructs. 2. The role of user participation in achieving system success may be less than has been generally believed. 3. User involvement, as we have defined and measured the construct, is a key variable for system success. 4. As a distinct construct, user involvement is related to more variables than user participation alone.