Keywords

shadow IT, ERP, IT department, Excel, manager decisions, SAP

Abstract

Business trends show that more and more employees are creating shadow IT systems—IT systems that are not sanctioned or monitored by the IT department. This paper examines how the use of shadow IT in product costing impacts managers’ perceptions of information credibility and managerial decision-making. Using two experiments, we find that participants view information from shadow IT systems as less credible and they are less impacted by and less willing to rely on costing reports produced from shadow IT systems versus non-shadow IT systems. We also find that although participants are concerned about the credibility of shadow IT systems, they are not more likely to find simple mathematical errors embedded in shadow IT costing reports relative to non-shadow IT reports. This suggests that although concerned about shadow IT systems, managers still do not exercise sufficient care in evaluating reports created using these systems. The results of our study should prove informative as shadow systems become more prevalent in organizations.

Original Publication Citation

Myers, N., M. Starliper, S. L. Summers, and D. A. Wood. 2017. The impact of shadow IT systems on perceived information credibility and managerial decision making. Accounting Horizons, 31 (3): 105-123. DOI: 10.2308/acch-51737.

Document Type

Peer-Reviewed Article

Publication Date

2017

Publisher

Accounting Horizons

Language

English

College

Marriott School of Business

Department

Accountancy

University Standing at Time of Publication

Full Professor

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Accounting Commons

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