Title: What makes end-user training successful? A mixed method study of a business process management system implementation

Authors: Benny M.E. De Waal; Ronald Batenburg

Addresses: Research Centre for Innovation and Business, University of Applied Sciences Utrecht, Padualaan 101, 3584 CH Utrecht, The Netherlands. ' Netherlands Institute for Health Services Research, NIVEL, P.O. Box 1568, 3500 BN Utrecht, The Netherlands; Institute of Information and Computing Sciences, Utrecht University, P.O. Box 80089, 3508 TB Utrecht, The Netherlands

Abstract: Under what conditions is end-user training (EUT) as part of the implementation of a business process management (BPM) system successful? This question is addressed in this paper. Based on the literature on EUT and implementation success, we first argue that user involvement with, and attitude towards, a BPM system, both have a conditional effect on the relationship between EUT and the implementation success of the system. Secondly, we investigated this expectation empirically, by measuring the practice of EUT as perceived by end-users. Using a mixed method approach, survey data was collected from 143 end-users of a BPM system in a large Dutch social insurance organisation, and by 49 additional semi-structured interviews. Regression analysis of the survey data shows that attitude variables indeed have a significant moderating influence on implementation success. In addition, the interviews revealed that specific attention must be paid to the arrangements for EUT when deploying BPM systems in this type of organisations. Arguments are given for a more comprehensive way of measuring and optimising EUT during the implementation of information systems/information technology in organisations.

Keywords: end-user training; EUT; implementation success; user involvement; user attitudes; business process management; mixed method research, quantitative research; qualitative research; social insurance; The Netherlands; information systems; information technology; IS implementation; IT implementation.

DOI: 10.1504/IJKL.2012.047569

International Journal of Knowledge and Learning, 2012 Vol.8 No.1/2, pp.166 - 183

Received: 15 Dec 2011
Accepted: 13 Mar 2012
Published online: 02 Sep 2014 *

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