Spreadsheet investment, criticality, and control

Spreadsheet software is one of the most extensively used software packages in many organizations. However, the development and use of spreadsheet applications in organizations is ill understood. This research is a case study of investment in, criticality of, and control over spreadsheet applications in a medium-sized contract construction company in Singapore. Using a spreadsheet based questionnaire, data were collected from 40 spreadsheet application developers and users on 402 spreadsheet applications. The results indicate that while the investment in spreadsheet applications is substantial, neither management nor individual employees appreciate the significance of this investment. Both the organization and individual employees are highly dependent upon many spreadsheet applications, and though the general awareness of this dependence is high, little control is exercised at either the organizational or individual employee level