TECHNOLOGICAL FORECASTING AND SOCIAL CHANGE 42, 25 l-259 (1992) zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZY Technology Measurement and the Appraisal of Information Technology DAVID K. PETERSON, PHILLIP E. MILLER, WILLIAM A. FISCHER, and ROBERT W. ZMUD ABSTRACT The dynamic nature of information technologies can prove troublesome to individuals given the respon- sibility for managing their acquisition and deployment. Not only is there a steady stream of new products, but existing products arc periodically enhanced to reflect technical advances, competitors’ actions, or both. The net result is that the general manager and the information systems manager alike face an overwhelming set of alternative product choices. This paper illustrates a relatively simple approach to technology measurement, a systematic procedure for assessing the state of the art of an industry. Technology measurement enables managers to better evaluate product choices. Given ifs generally high level of managerial awareness and interest, the microcomputer industry was selected as the vehicle for illustrating this approach to technology measurement. Introduction While the rapid technological advances occurring across the broad range of infor- mation technologies (IT) have provided the basis for the increasing investment in com- puter-based applications in almost all industrial sectors, the dynamic nature of these technologies can prove troublesome to individuals given the responsibility for managing their acquisition and deployment. Not only is there a steady stream of new products, but existing products are regularly enhanced to reflect technical advances, competitors’ ac- tions, or both. The net result is that the general manager and the information systems manager alike face an overwhelming set of product alternatives along with their associated uncertainties. For example, the following are typical concerns of both information systems man- agers and general managers in the face of vendors’ announcements of new or enhanced products: The views expressed in this paper are those of the authors and do not reflect the opinions of the US Air Force. DAVID K. PETERSON is a major in the US Air Force and an associate professor of logistics management at the Air Force Institute of Technology at Wright-Patterson AFB. PHILLIP E. MILLER is a lieutenant colonel in the US Air Force and an associate professor of logistics management. He is the head of the Department of Logistics Management at the Air Force Institute of Technology. WILLIAM A. FISCHER is a professor of business administration at the University of North Carolina. He is currently on sabbatical to IMD in Lausanne, Switzerland. ROBERT W. ZMUD is the Thomas L. Williams, Jr., Eminent Scholar in Management Information Systems in the Information and Management Science Department at the College of Business, Florida State University. Address reprint requests to Major David K. Peterson, Department of Logistics Management, School of Systems and Logistics, Air Force Institute of Technology, Wright-Patterson AFB, OH 45433. 0 1992 by Elsevier Science Publishing Co., Inc. 0040- 1625/92/$5.00