Enhancing the Quality of Computing Service: Technology, Structure, and People

What factors determine the quality of end-user computing services in local governments? In a survey of 1,869 end users in 46 U. S. cities, the authors examine three major "controllable" factors that the literature indicates might influence the quality of computing services: (1) the structure of service provision, (2) the level of technological problems, and (3) the service orientation of computing service specialists. The survey results do not support the popular argument that structural factors (e. g., whether computing services are centralized or decentralized within an organization) are most important; both the level of operational problems and the attitudes of the service providers were more significant. The findings were especially supportive of explanations that focus on service-orientation factors, leading the authors to stress strategies for service improvement that concentrate on the "sociotechnical interface" (STI) between end users and computing service providers.