IT Systems and Management: Concepts and Challenges for Evaluation

Corporate management and researchers ponder how to get the most value out of IT system investment in business. More times than not, the debate has come down to very simple questions: ?is IT good for business?? and ?if it is, why and how?? and, conversely, by extension, ?if it is not, why not?? The general benefits and success factors of IT systems have been examined to a great extent, and the discussion has more often than not culminated in a financial assessment of the benefit. But if only the benefits gained are counted and examined, many important factors crucial for the mechanisms that create benefits may be overlooked. This work consists of an overview and a summary of a series of studies and brings together observations made about the nature and characteristics of IT system benefits, as seen as a part of investments leading to changes in the health care sector.