In an empirical study, perceptions of work and the workplace are
compared with information systems (IS) support for those values.
It is proposed that the congruence between the work values held
by an individual and the perception of support for those values
by an information system will affect the decision to use the system.
Using a modified version of Elizur's Work Value Questionnaire,
the work values and perceptions of IS support for those values
are examined. Three factors that relate to the subjects' orientation
to the world societal, organizational, and individual are isolated.
The organizational orientation is found to be the most influential
of the three in determining voluntary user participation, explaining
47 percent of the variation among subjects' usage patterns of
a bulletin board system. These findings support the contention
that when users became convinced of the efficacy of using an IS
in mediating organizationally bestowed values, and when they perceive
value in these organizational relationships, the system is used.
Key words and phrases: adoption of technology , information technology use , technology assimilation , work values , workplace vision