Validity of DeLone and McLeans Model of Information Systems Success at the Web Site Level of Analysis

The DeLone and McLean Model of Information Systems (IS) Success is one of the most cited and commonly-used models in the IS literature. Generally, the model has been used mainly to explain IS success at the individual level of analysis. However, in rare occasions it has been utilized on its entirety to measure success at the organizational level of analysis. In this study, the DeLone and McLean Model of IS Success is applied at the organizational level of analysis in the E-commerce environment. We gather website features from 448 top retailers, categorize them following DeLone and McLeans taxonomy, and introduce them as the independent variables in our model. The results of our study provide support for utilizing the model to explain the dimensions and relationships of IS Success at the organizational level of analysis. At this higher level, website features that map to quality perceptions of system quality, information quality, and service quality do exist. In terms of relationships between these dimensions; the analysis suggests that both system quality and service quality positively affect system use; and system use strongly affects net benefits as measured by organizational sales. Furthermore, as an extension of the DeLone and McLean model, we add direct paths from all three qualities to net benefits (sales). Results from this extension of the model suggest that information quality and system quality directly affect net benefits. Results from this study have strong implications for the IS field and especially for the e-commerce environment. First, it provides support for utilizing real world objective data as outcomes of the analysis. Second, it provides support for utilizing the DeLone and McLean model at the organizational level of analysis as a tool to help researchers and practitioners understand the different dimensions of IS Success and how they affect each other. Third it provides practitioners, web development instructors, and web developers with real objective website feature groups that directly affect organizational sales.