Organizational Factors for Successful Implementation of Information Systems: Disentangling the Effect of Top Management Support and Training

Systems implementation is an important topic, and numerous studies have been conducted to identify determinants of success. Among organizational factors that have been theorized to have an impact on success, top management support and training are two of the most widely studied. While the positive influence of both of these organizational factors is generally recognized, their effect has been characterized as situational; i.e., the effect may be moderated by other variables. Other researchers have contended that varying effects observed in different studies are caused by nothing but statistical artifacts. Still, another reason for the inconsistent results could be how the two variables are modeled. In this research, we propose to investigate different models of top management support and training using data collected from an extensive list of prior studies. The most plausible model will be identified using meta-analytical procedures. The validated model will have implications for both systems implementation practice and research.