Promoting the continuing usage of strategic information systems: The role of supervisory leadership in the successful implementation of enterprise systems

Organizations face significant challenges in capturing value from their investments in strategic information systems such as enterprise systems (ES). Managers are a powerful source of influence shaping the post-adoption attitudes and behaviors of users and the success of ES. However, the extant IS literature has focused primarily on the role of top management and theoretical explanations of the role of supervisors in fostering continuing usage of ES are lacking. Drawing on transformational leadership theory and the IS continuance (ISC) model, this paper conceptualizes a theoretical model differentiating the influence mechanisms through which different types of leadership behaviors influence the success of ES. Data collected from 192 users of ES confirms our theorization. We find that transformational leadership behaviors of supervisors influence users’ evaluations of satisfaction and perceived usefulness, while their transactional leadership behaviors influence users’ ES continuance intention by moderating the effects of user satisfaction and perceived usefulness on ES continuance intention. This study advances research on the role of leadership behaviors of supervisors in capturing value from enterprise systems. The research also contributes to practice by suggesting effective strategies for promoting continued usage of mission critical systems such as enterprise systems and delivering value from firms’ IT investments.