Demonstrating value in the return on capital employed in information services

Abstract

In the past, information services were typically created to further the operational objectives of a parent organization. The continued existence of corporate information services was seen to be subject to management perceptions of value of its services. It was acknowledged that organization information services existed to further the mission and goals of the parent company (St Clair 1998:104). In due time, however, it appeared that decision-makers in organizations that re-engineered their support services required more than concrete demonstration of the value of services to the parent company. The closure of a branch library in an American law firm in 1995 shocked and discomforted information professionals. A business decision to outsource various support services that was made in the light of strategic and operational objectives of the parent organization showed no apparent regard for the value of the information services to the practitioners in the relevant law office (Pergament 1999). This article is a report on an experiment to determine whether cost recovery and potential generation of profit were appropriate measures of the value of corporate information services in a law firm.