Title: Comparing personal and organisational preferences in the acquisition of information technologies: case of personal computing

Authors: Tugrul U. Daim, Rimal Abu Taha, Qian Gu

Addresses: Department of Engineering and Technology Management, Portland State University, P.O. Box 751 Portland, OR 97201, USA. ' Department of Engineering and Technology Management, Portland State University, P.O. Box 751 Portland, OR 97201, USA ' Intel Corporation, 1900 Prairie City Rd., Folsom, CA 95630, USA

Abstract: Effective decision-making is essential not only for business but also for personal life. Using appropriate decision tools is the key factor of making a successful decision. Technologies are changing very fast in today| consumer electronics industry. It is extremely complicated for the buyers to differentiate one product from the other. This paper utilises a decision model, which integrated hierarchical decision-making and utility theories to identify the preferences of IT professionals for computing attributes. The paper then compares the results with those of prior research, which explored student users. The results indicate that the preferences do not change from one group to another. This suggests that the IT organisations may have aligned personal and organisational goals well.

Keywords: analytical hierarchical process; AHP; utility theory; technology selection; technology acquisition; information technology; personal computing; personal preferences; organisational preferences; decision making.

DOI: 10.1504/IJDSRM.2009.027252

International Journal of Decision Sciences, Risk and Management, 2009 Vol.1 No.1/2, pp.142 - 166

Published online: 18 Jul 2009 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article