Expert versus novice use of the executive support systems: an empirical study

Expertise is essential in problem solving, particularly for executives. Much literature indicates that in solving daily problems, executives may employ both analytical thinking and intuition. To develop analytical thinking skills and to effectively apply intuition, company executives require expertise. Therefore, the use of executive support systems (ESS) may differ substantially between experts and novices. Previous ESS research has failed to address the effects of expertise on its use. Therefore, this study examines how professionals use ESS to address business-oriented tasks. The professionals were divided into two groups, depending on whether they were experts or novices in the business represented by those tasks. Results in this study can be summarized as follows: (1) Computer self-efficacy strongly influenced executive use of the ESS. (2) Both the main effects of expertise and interaction of expertise and task were insignificant on their perceived usefulness (PU) and user information satisfaction (UIS). (3) Experts felt the ESS was of greater rise when more powerful systems were employed, rather than less powerful systems, while the difference for novices between more and less powerful systems was insignificant. (4) For experts, the UIS score rated significantly higher when employing more powerful systems in both tasks. However novices rated significantly higher only when employing the systems that cognitively fit the performed task. Implications for further application and research are also discussed.