A model of user information satisfaction

Previous investigations of the User Information Satisfaction construct have approached the definition of satisfaction from a narrow perspective. The focus was primarily on the attributes of the system, with scant attention paid to the attributes of the user or of the organizational context in which system usage occurs. This article presents an alternative model of user information satisfaction that explains satisfaction as a consequence of the combination of user, organizational, and system characteristics. User and organizational characteristics combine to create a set of preimplementation expectations regarding the information system. After implementation, the gap between the actual system characteristics and the expected characteristics forms the basis for confirmation/disconfirmation of the expectations. It is the type and degree of confirmation/disconfirmation that forms the basis for User Information Satisfaction. The inclusion of user expectations in the model provides a new approach to understanding the variables and processes that lead to user information satisfaction.