Measurement of Perceived Control in Information Systems

The importance of perceptions of control in explaining human behavior and motivation has been identified, investigated, and found to be significant in several disciplines. This study reports on an exploratory investigation assessing perceived control within the information systems domain. A survey instrument was developed based on the research literature to assess perceived control as a multi-dimensional construct. The survey was administered to 241 subjects. The results were analyzed to produce the following five factors that represent a user’s perceptions of control when working with an interactive information system: (1) timeframe, (2) feedback signal, (3) feedback duration, (4) strategy, and (5) metaphor knowledge. INTRODUCTION While one of the ongoing efforts in information systems (IS) research is an attempt to define the dependent variable in concrete terms, various attempts have produced some widely accepted surrogates (DeLone & McLean, 1992; Keen, 1980). Among these are user satisfaction and system usage, and much IDEA GROUP PUBLISHING This chapter appears in the book, Advanced Topics in End User Computing, vol. 4 edited by M. Adam Mahmood © 2005, Idea Group Inc. 701 E. Chocolate Avenue, Suite 200, Hershey PA 17033-1240, USA Tel: 717/533-8845; Fax 717/533-8661; URL-http://www.idea-group.com ITB11299