Empirically Testing the Relationship Between End‐User Computing Problems and Information Center Success Factors

End-user computing (EUC) has been a significant organizational phenomenon for more than two decades and remains critically important with the rapid introduction of new technologies (e.g., client-server architectures, internet and intranet applications). Although EUC is a mature concept, it is apparent that end users do not become independent over time, but instead require additional resources and support. One widely employed support mechanism is the Information Center (IC). This study surveyed the internal auditor and the information systems (IS) director in each of 185 organizations. The internal auditors provided responses on the severity of EUC problems in their organizations, and the IS directors supplied information on their firms' performance on the IC critical success factors (CSFs) proposed by Magal, Carr, and Watson (1988). Results show that stronger IC performance is indeed inversely related to the severity of EUC problems encountered by the organization. Specifically, the study's findings show that to have the greatest impact on EUC problems, IC managers should concentrate on clearly defining the IC's mission; establish standards and controls; monitor, coordinate, and help users prioritize applications development; and be responsive to user requests.