A study to measure the impact of the Intranet on organizational functions and activities: Perception of middle managers

In recent years, information has become the critical commodity needed for success in the changing global economic order. Accordingly, business organizations have come to the conclusion that they require an extensive data repository in order to acquire a competitive advantage in a dynamically changing market. This rich assortment of data must further be delivered and deliverable enterprise-wide in a secure and cost-efficient manner. Information technology (IT) has created the Intranet as a vitally important mechanism for the storage, dissemination, and even the analysis of data. The Intranet has become increasingly important to a growing number of organizations in the United States in relatively short order.; The present study is an attempt to develop a more thorough understanding of the potential and actual impact of the Intranet on organizational functions and activities. It also consists of an effort to assess the impact of the Intranet on such functions as organizational communication, decision-making, and work collaboration. The research also addresses the issue of how the Intranet affects productivity and shapes or modifies business activities. A set of research hypotheses was formulated to facilitate the assessment of Intranet impact on these critical organizational functions.; The research was performed by constructing a sample of forty private companies located in the Northeastern/Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. These companies represent for-profit, commercial enterprises of different sizes and with different business focuses. A questionnaire developed by the researcher was distributed to middle managers at the target companies. Middle managers were asked to assess the value of the Intranet technology currently employed by their organizations and to identify its impact on the specific functions described above.; The statistical results of the study revealed that middle managers believe that the extent of the Intranet use is significantly related to improvements in overall organizational functions and activities. While communication, decision-making, productivity, work collaboration, and business activities are all enhanced by Intranet use, communication appears to be most dramatically improved by Intranet use.