Measurement or management? : revisiting the productivity paradox of information technology

In 1999, the Department of Trade and Industry in London commissioned a literature review of, and commentary on, the productivity paradox in information technology. This paper is derived from that report. The authors find that the discussion of the productivity paradox took place largely in the United States and particularly in Massachusetts. Two quite separate strands were evident: the literature of the economists, seeking ever-better methods of measurement, and that of management authors, seeking ever-better methods of management. This paper gives more attention to the latter than is customary, and concludes that the link between management methods and the requirements of IT may be closer than has hitherto been suspected. A combination of factors rather than a single factor is probably responsible for the disappointing productivity of IT. Within this combination, the problems that IT posed managers and the opportunities it offered management consultants are especially intriguing.