With permission of the author, we have posted the following research paper in the Document Library:

"How Technology-Purchasing Decisions are Really Made: Understanding How Influence Networks Affect the Success of Major Technology-Purchasing Decisions" by Ross Dawson, et al.

This study, conducted through the Network Roundtable of the University of Virginia, "identifies the influence networks most likely to produce successful decisions. It also describes what kind of information from which sources should be sought, avoided, or critically assessed."

The paper also discusses the relationships which produce unsuccessful technology purchasing decisions.

Key points include:

• The archetype for a successful purchasing decision is based on a strong IT Director/IT Manager relationship that is well aligned with business executive roles.
• Input from selected external parties supports successful decisions.
• Involvement from other external parties, especially vendors, yields mixed results.
• Unbalanced involvement of IT Technical Support is strongly correlated to unsuccessful decisions.
• Getting financial and busniess input from the CFO strongly supports decision success.

You may download the document from the Research Papers section of the Document Library. If you come across other research that you believe may be useful to Caucus members, please contact Caucus Member Services.