Limited attention has been directed toward examining
post-adoption stages of the information system life cycle. In
particular, the final stages of this life cycle have been largely
ignored despite the fact that most systems eventually reach the end
of their useful life. This oversight is somewhat surprising given
that end-of-life decisions can have significant implications for
user effectiveness, the value extracted from IS investments, and
organizational performance. Given this apparent gap, a multi-method
empirical study was undertaken to improve our understanding of
organizational level information system discontinuance. Research
commenced with the development of a broad theoretical framework
consistent with the technology–organization–environment (TOE)
paradigm. The resulting framework was then used to guide a series of
semi-structured interviews with organizational decision makers in an
effort to inductively identify salient influences on the formation
of IS discontinuance intentions. A set of research hypotheses were
formulated based on the understanding obtained during these
interviews and subsequently tested via a random survey of senior IS
decision makers at U.S. and Canadian organizations. Data obtained
from the survey responses was analyzed using partial least squares (PLS).
Results of this analysis suggest that system capability
shortcomings, limited availability of system support, and low levels
of technical integration were key determinants of increased
intentions to replace an existing system. Notably, investments in
existing systems did not appear to significantly undermine
organizational replacement intentions despite support for this
possibility from both theory and our semi-structured interviews..
Keywords: Information system discontinuance, obsolescence,
abandonment, replacement, life cycle management,
technology–organization–environment (TOE) framework