The decade of the 1980s was widely considered as the time of the "birth of the information environment" (Zuboff, 1982, p. 148). The information environment, of course, is highly dependent upon the application of computer technology to all facets of management and organization. The computer hardware and software industries, in providing the tools for the infor mation environment, grew rapidly in the 1960s and 1970s, had a great shaking out in the 1980s, and, in the 1990s, are search ing for effective strategies which will permit them to both remain viable and effectively use the resources available to them. The proposed research study will examine one strategic problem area affecting the computer hardware and software manu facturers at the beginning of the 1990s, with the purpose of proposing a solution to that problem.Statement of the Problem
During the rapid expansion phase of the computer industry, when computerized information systems were being widely adopted by both organizations and individuals, computer hardware and software manufacturers found it necessary to develop, staff,
1 2and maintain large service organizations in order to compete effectively. These service organizations provided almost cradle to grave service for customers who were unused to and uncomfortable with computer technology, and who were being pro vided with hardware and software for which completely reliable performance had yet to be perfected.
During the 1980s, the reliability of computer hardware and software was improved greatly, consumers became more sophisti cated with respect to computer technology, and computer service organizations operated by hardware and software manufacturers ceased to be cost effective operations. Where in the earlier days, computer service organizations for an essential ingre dient for effective competition, and the cost of such an operation could easily be charged against sales revenues, the new and increasin...