Assessment and Modeling of the Impact of Management Information Systems on ‎Dimensions of Organizational ‎Structure in the Social Security Organization Branches of Qom, Iran

Introduction: The structure of an organization determines its ability to respond to environmental challenges. Numerous factors ‎affect organizational structure and improve organizational performance. One of these factors is management ‎information systems (MISs). The aim of the present study was to determine the effect of MISs on dimensions of ‎organizational structure in the branches of the Social Security Organization of Qom, Iran. Methods: This correlational descriptive study was conducted on 235 employees of 9 branches of the Social Security ‎Organization in Qom during 2015. The study population was selected using the Cochran formula and cluster ‎sampling‏.‏‎ Robbins Organizational Structure Questionnaire and Delone and Mclean’s Management Information ‎Systems Questionnaire were used to collect data. Data were analyzed using Spearman correlation test in SPSS ‎software and Structural Equation Modeling in Amos software. Results: A significant negative relationship was found between the MISs and dimensions of centralization and complexity (-‎‎0.325 and -0.543, respectively). Moreover, a significant direct relationship was found between MISs and the ‎dimension of formalization (0.314). The impact of MISs on centralization, complexity, and formalization was, ‎respectively, calculated as -0.85, -0.74, and 0.69 using structural equation modeling (SEM). Conclusion: Application of MISs caused a decrease in the centralization of decision making and expansion of authority ‎delegation, decrease in the organizational hierarchy, and increase in response to the dynamics of the environment ‎and formalization through emphasis on rules, procedures, and written documents in branches of the Social Security ‎Organization of Qom.