Putting Values in IT

Revision with unchanged content. Personal values are an important factor in how we behave and react to our surroundings, yet few studies in Information Systems (IS) research have examined the interaction between a user's personal values and IS. This book develops a model of value-based decision-making behavior and explores how behavior can be influenced by value specific IS feedback. A computerized system was developed to support, through system feedback, a value-laden decision-making task in which subjects allocated funds among competing organizations. The results do indicate that value-based decision-making behavior can be influenced by the tone of the system feedback. When users were supported by the system feedback they behaved according to operant theory. Subjects challenged by the feedback reacted in a manner consistent with reactance theory. This research indicates that it is important for practitioners and researchers to consider personal values when developing a system, especially when the system supports a value-laden task. Practitioners and researchers can also benefit by using the tested and validated instruments in this study to measure the value preferences of decision makers.