Evaluating the factors affecting DSS usage by senior managers in local authorities in Egypt

The study of factors influencing the adoption and use of information systems in lessdeveloped countries is an important area to address since differences in culture, social structure, and business approaches may have significant effects on the benefits derived from importing Western-influenced IT technology, concepts, and management approaches. This study examines the usage of a decision support system (DSS) in Egyptian local authorities using an adapted Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). The centrally-developed DSS had been rolled out to 27 governorates in Egypt for use by chief executive officers. The results demonstrated that TAM could be applied to a specific system within a developing country. Both perceived ease of use (PEU) and perceived usefulness (PU) had a significant direct effect on DSS usage. PEU dominated over PU whose effect on DSS usage was negative.