Management Support Systems on Different Devices -- A Business Perspective Accommodating Managers' Growing Range of Use Situations

As manager's human-computer interface, end-user devices greatly determine the acceptance of management support systems (MSS). Accommodating managers' growing range of MSS use situations, this article proposes a model for selecting such devices from their business perspective. Based on a literature review, we derive a research model that incorporates three MSS use factors and a taxonomy for MSS devices. We validate this model with findings from an expert focus group and, by applying it in different industries, we demonstrate utility. Looking forward, we propose threefold: (1) Tablets are catching on among consumer managers. (2) For analyst managers, in turn, tablet functionalities matter more than tablets as a dedicated device. (3) Instead of providing "the more, the better" technical features for single devices, MSS design must focus on an "IS design for use" accommodating managers' increasingly different use situations.