The value of information technology: A case study and a framework

Abstract

Over the past years, many attempts have been made to measure the value of IT according to a variety of criteria. In 1993 Brynjolfsson summarized the principal studies of IT and productivity¹. He concluded that: “The relationship between information technology and productivity - the fundamental economic measure of a technology’s contribution - is widely discussed but little understood. The general unease and the blurred discussion about the determination of benefits of IT confirm the need for better measurement, frameworks, and tools, to assess and monitor its value. In this paper we describe how the value of information technology was measured at ANWB, The Royal Dutch Touring Club. The case described demonstrates that the value of IT for an enterprise can not be expressed in a single measure. Measurements at different levels have to take place in order to get a clear picture. In the second part of the paper we demonstrate how measurement on different levels can be applied systematically by using the BtripleE framework. The paper is based on the doctoral dissertation of van der Zee² that was written under the guidance of Ribbers and van der Pijl.