How management support systems affect job performance: a systematic literature review and research agenda

In recent years new digital technologies, such as self-service systems and big data analytics, have brought about important changes across all organizational divisions. However, although these technologies offer new features to support all kinds of business activities, they share some of the same characteristics as prior technologies and may therefore induce some of the same behavioral implications that have already been studied for different waves of technological innovations. Thus, to comprehensively assess whether employees’ job performance benefits from the adoption of digital technologies, research and practice should build upon the significant amount of knowledge that exists in different but related research fields. This study presents a systematic literature review of research examining the effects of management support systems (MSSs) on various facets of job performance. The review is guided by our conceptual framework that aims to facilitate the understanding of the MSS-job performance relation by integrating both mechanisms by which MSS effects can occur and variables that specify the form and/or magnitude of this relationship. Through this theoretical lens, we analyze 271 empirical articles published in leading academic journals between 1974 and 2019. Based on the synthesis of the vast body of empirical evidence, we critically reflect on the current state of knowledge and outline fruitful avenues for future research. We find that while especially task performance effects have received much attention in the literature, effects on behaviors going beyond the prescribed tasks of a job, such as employees’ willingness to exert effort, compliance, and knowledge acquisition, are still underrepresented.