Improving the return on IT investment: the productivity paradox

Over the past four decades, information technology (IT) has had a profound effect on the US economy, resulting in a shift from a manufacturing to an information economy. This effect, however, has also produced what may be labeled the paradox of IT productivity. While the percentage of a firm's budget spent on IT continues to increase, there is increasing evidence that firms fail to obtain the benefits of these expenditures within the anticipated time frame. The reason for delays in obtaining the benefits is due to management's failure to strategically leverage the full potential of IT and their failure to overcome resistance to change. These problems are discussed in depth and solutions for them are suggested.