Contextual Factors Influencing Perceived Importance and Trade-offs of Information Quality

With the ever-increasing importance of information quality (IQ), research focuses mainly on two approaches, criteria and assessment. Researchers developed a number of frameworks, criteria lists, and approaches for assessing and measuring IQ. Several studies confirm that IQ is a multi-criteria concept, and its evaluation should consider different aspects. However, research and discussions with practitioners indicate that assessing and managing IQ in organizations remains challenging. Despite the subjective character of quality, foremost frameworks and assessment methodologies do not often consider the context in which the assessment is performed. Trade-offs between criteria are often not considered in most frameworks despite strong evidence in the literature that suggests trade-off relations exist. Underlying a user-centric view, this study analyses the importance of selected contextual factors and their impact on IQ criteria. Empirical data are gathered using a questionnaire approach. Results suggest significant context impacts and show that the perceived importance of information quality criteria changed over the last decade. Information and communication technology, available resources, the user role, the department, and the type of information systems influence respondents’ perception of IQ. These factors are incorporated in a context-oriented IQ research framework.