A Methodology for Information System Formation and Performance

This study seeks to develop a comprehensive methodology for assessing information system formation and performance. Our conceptual framework incorporates three complementary methods, which constitute the methodology developed. The first method proposes an approach to analyze the effects on the information system formation and performance of macro-level institutions that directly or indirectly shape information activities; the second method, to characterize system linkages and identify critical, causal information flow patterns at the meso-level; and the third method, to assess the effectiveness of these linkages and flow patterns considering the organization-level learning and dissemination capacities. With the design of a workshop and a questionnaire, the study fully operationalizes the methodology. The workshop aims to identify priority information flow patterns, while the questionnaire seeks to qualitatively measure the organizational learning and dissemination capacities. Finally, we present a roadmap for a full-fletch assessment of information system. This map puts the assessment in perspective, linking the findings from the three methods with the structure-conduct-performance (SCP) approach. This way, the proposed methodology incorporates the SCP approach that allows the assessment of system performance.