Consultant and vendor for information systems in small business: To combine or to separate?

This paper compares the level of IS effectiveness in two groups of small businesses that have implemented information systems: those with vendors providing consultancy service and those with separate consultants and vendors. The first finding is that small businesses with vendors providing consultancy services have more effective information systems (in terms of user satisfaction, organizational impact, and overall IS effectiveness) than small businesses with separate consultants and vendors. The second finding is that vendors who combine consultancy service with provision of hardware and software solutions can provide the same level of consultant effectiveness and better vendor support to small businesses as compared to separate consultants and vendors. Further analysis shows that the level of vendor support has a positive effect on user satisfaction and overall IS effectiveness. Important attributes of vendor support identified in this study are adequacy and quality of technical support during and after IS implementation, adequacy and quality of training provided, and relationship between the vendor and other parties in the project.