Assimilating information technology innovations: strategies andmoderating influences

This paper examines the process of new technology assimilation with an objective of understanding what specific organizational strategies facilitate the assimilation process. A four-cell conceptual framework is synthesized from prior research, which differentiates between two units of analysis responsible for assimilation-an individual or the organization. Depending on the specific location of an organization and a technology within this framework, as well as the desired location, a few “generic” assimilation strategies are described that allow an organization to move from one cell of the framework to another by influencing individual adoption behaviors. Recognizing that the outcomes of assimilation strategies are influenced by key moderating influences-such as the differences in the technology that is being assimilated, the characteristics of target adopters, and their perceptions toward that technology-prior research is again reviewed to study the impact of these moderating variables. The assimilation strategies, together with the effects of moderating variables, constitute a model of innovation assimilation. Adopting a process orientation, the model is used to perform a retrospective analysis of the efforts of nine major corporations as they attempted to assimilate new information technologies into their operations. The analyses yield a contingency framework for the choice of assimilation strategy that can be used as a guide for management action     

Organizational assimilation of complex technologies: an empirical study of component-based software development

The rapid rate at which new information technologies are emerging and their increasing complexity pose significant challenges for information systems departments in understanding and assimilating them. This has lead to a need for studies focused on the barriers to the adoption and assimilation of complex technologies. This research synthesizes the economic and organizational learning perspectives of technology adoption and identifies key adoption barriers, mechanism to reduce these barriers, and proposes a research model that interrelate these factors to the assimilation of complex technologies. The research context for this paper is the assimilation of one complex technology, namely, component-based software development (CBD) by information systems (IS) departments. Data collected from IS units in the United States is used to test the model using partial least square analysis. The results provide evidence that organizations better positioned to overcome knowledge barriers because of their knowledge stocks are likely to be further along in the assimilation process than others and that knowledge sharing by technology vendors positively influences technology assimilation by reducing the learning burden of the adopters. It was also found that exposure to signals from technology vendors reduced the technology uncertainty perceived by the adopters.     

Differentiating between adopter categories in the uses and gratifications for Internet services

Innovation among consumers of Internet services is different from the sort of innovative activity scholars have seen in other markets and with other technology adoption processes. Understanding the characteristics that differentiate the innovative early adopters of Internet technologies and services not only aids in understanding the adoption processes of later adopters, but also informs adaptation of online commercial offerings in order to more closely match the evolving needs and requirements of the heaviest users of the venue. Internet adoption has reached critical mass, and the remaining market growth to be found by online service providers will be among late adopters. This study, based on data from a broad sample of America Online customers, operationalizes adoption behavior along a continuum of user experience levels and helps to build an understanding of the differences between innovative early adopters, the profitable mainstream majority, and laggard technological adopters.     

Investigating Postadoption Utilization: An Examination Into the Role of Interorganizational and Technology Trust

Grounded in the technology acceptance model (TAM), this study examines the influence of technology trust and interorganizational trust on post adoption utilization. This study extends the innovation diffusion literature by drawing upon past diffusion research and considering trust-based determinants in facilitating technology usage. Field interviews were conducted to develop an understanding of the user population and the unique challenges the individuals experienced while working with the new system. The results of the interviews enabled the author to identify which variables to investigate further through the use of a survey data collection protocol. In the present study, 273 first-tier supply chain members of the second-largest U.S. automotive service-parts logistics operation, who were recently introduced to a new supply chain management technology, were surveyed. Using a structural equation model, nine hypotheses were tested. As hypothesized, an individual's technology trust and interorganizational trust have an effect on perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness, which further influence post adoption technology utilization behavior. The results suggest that even in supply chains where usage is mandated, the presence of technology and interorganizational trust can increase individual utilization of new technologies. Implications of this study along with suggestions for future research are provided.     

The development of knowledge embeddedness in CASE technologieswithin organizations

Computer-aided software engineering (CASE) has become an important part of the information technology landscape and software development activities. While researchers have examined the productivity gains associated with CASE, relatively little attention has been accorded to one of the critical elements of CASE: the repository. The CASE repository is considered to be the cornerstone of CASE technology platforms. Therefore, any plan for CASE tool implementation must include a plan for building and managing the repository. Yet, significant challenges are encountered in efforts to fashion the CASE repository as an active source of relevant systems development knowledge in organizations. This study investigates the influence of factors that are believed to facilitate knowledge embeddedness within the CASE repository. Knowledge embeddedness refers to the extent to which relevant systems development knowledge in an organization has been codified and stored within the CASE repository. Data drawn from 176 firms employing CASE environments are used to investigate the relative influence of these factors. The results indicate that management support, methodology influence, time since adoption, and external knowledge links enable success in knowledge embeddedness     

Software engineering technology infusion within NASA

Abstract technology transfer is of crucial concern to both government and industry today. In this paper, several software engineering technologies used within NASA are studied, and the mechanisms, schedules, and efforts at transferring these technologies are investigated. The goals of this study are: (1) to understand the difference between technology transfer (the adoption of a new method by large segments of an industry) as an industrywide phenomenon and the adoption of a new technology by an individual organization (called technology infusion); and (2) to see if software engineering technology transfer differs from other engineering disciplines. While there is great interest today in developing technology transfer models for industry, it is the technology infusion process that actually causes changes in the current state of the practice     

物联网技术及其标准

物联网有3个层次,从下到上依次是感知层、传送层和应用层。物联网涉及的关键技术非常多,从传感器技术到通信网络技术,从嵌入式微处理节点到计算机软件系统,包含了自动控制、通信、计算机等不同领域,是跨学科的综合应用。目前介入物联网领域主要的国际标准组织有IEEE、ISO、ETSI、ITU-T、3GPP、3GPP2等,这些标准组织在物联网总体架构、感知技术、通信网络技术、应用技术等方面制订了一系列标准。     

A field study of the adoption of software process innovations byinformation systems professionals

With spiraling demand for applications software, the adoption of software development process innovations by systems developers represents a problem of considerable magnitude confronting information systems managers. We report the results of a study focused on the issue of facilitating the movement of experienced COBOL programmers to become users of the C programming language. The study, conducted at a major financial services firm, is based upon a behavioral model of the acceptance of innovations that derives its foundations from research in social psychology, information technology acceptance, and innovation adoption. The model posits a relationship between beliefs about a target new technology and the subsequent adoption of the technology. Beliefs, in turn, are hypothesized to be influenced by a variety of external factors such as training and individual characteristics. Results suggest that certain beliefs do play a central role in determining acceptance behavior. Results also point to external factors such as organizational tenure, prior technical knowledge, training experiences, and perceived job insecurity that have significant effects on these beliefs. Theoretical and practical implications that follow are discussed     

Understanding behavioural intention to use information technology: Insights from humanitarian practitioners

The contemporary research in the area of individual technology adoption mainly focuses on commercial supply chains. However, limited research focuses on the context of humanitarian supply chains. This calls to develop structural models that can scrutinize the technology adoption behaviour of the users in the humanitarian context. Therefore, this study is an attempt to empirically examine the technology adoption behaviour of humanitarian organizations. It extends the unified theory of the acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) model by integrating personal innovativeness and trust in technology with the behavioural intention to adopt technology in the humanitarian context. Data from 192 humanitarian practitioners, who have experienced a large number of disasters, is utilized to empirically validate the conceptual model. The structural equation modelling results show that - out of four constructs namely performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence and facilitating conditions under UTAUT - performance expectancy and effort expectancy significantly affect the IT adoption. Contrary to expectations, trust and personal innovation do not affect the behavioural intention. Also, personal innovation does not moderate the relationship between performance expectancy and effort expectancy. This underlines the need to foster a learning culture within these organizations. The efforts made by involved humanitarian organizations may be directed towards improving the level of education, skills and facilitating them with other resources such as appropriate IT and data mining training, so that the technology adoption becomes an integral part of their daily activities. Finally, detailed implications for humanitarian organizations are discussed.     

Understanding relationships among teleworkers' e-mail usage, e-mailrichness perceptions, and e-mail productivity perceptions under asoftware engineering environment

This study was undertaken to investigate the use of e-mail and its implications under a telework environment for distributed software engineering. For this, the relative strength between a social influence and individual attributes in affecting teleworkers' e-mail use was studied. Management support was used as the representative social influence, and age, status, and ease of use represented individual attributes. An examination was also made on how e-mail use, individual attributes, and management support affected the perceptions of e-mail's information richness and e-mail productivity. Two different types of surveys, log sheets and perception-based self-reports, as well as interviews and e-mail correspondences composed the data sources. Three hierarchical regression models were defined and tested for the hypothesis validation. Data analysis indicated that management support was a much more powerful indicator for teleworkers' media use than individual characteristics. Furthermore, although labeled as a relatively lean medium from the media richness theory perspective, e-mail could become an effective and richer communication tool through an active social construction process of management support. Finally, the management support and perception of e-mail as a rich medium were both highly influential in creating teleworkers' positive perception on e-mail productivity. This study rendered a strong indication that effective adoption of e-mail by teleworkers as an information-rich medium could benefit distributed work and distributed organizations through enhanced work productivity     

Why Do Firms Adopt E-Procurement Systems? Using Logistic Regression to Empirically Test a Conceptual Model

Once the factors that foster the adoption of electronic-procurement systems (EPSs) are identified, economic agents may act accordingly and develop better programs in order to achieve their objectives. Toward the identification of such factors, a model that explains the adoption of EPS is developed, considering the technology-organization-environment framework as well as the institutional theory. This model was tested with data collected from the 2500 largest companies operating in Portugal. On the grounds of the f-test for equality of means, we found evidence that EPS adoption is positively and significantly associated to: 1) firm size; 2) technology competence; 3) the perception companies have about the EPS success of their competitors; 4) the extent of adoption among competitors; and 5) the readiness of the trading partners to perform electronic transactions. The logistic regression supplied further evidence that technology competence, firm size, extent of adoption among competitors, and trading partner readiness provide a reasonable estimate for each firm's likelihood to adopt EPS. We also found evidence that firms whose main activity is commerce are more likely to adopt EPS than are firms operating on manufacturing or services industries.     

At the crossroads of the information highway: new technologydirections in consumer electronics

The advent of consumer electronics dates back to the invention of the vacuum tube and its application to one of the first consumer electronics products-the radio. Since that time technology development and subsequent applications have expanded the scope of “consumer electronics.” Today, technology advances on many fronts including compression, digital signal processing, computing power, displays, communication, and software are cascading to cause a virtual explosion of new consumer electronics products, applications, and services. This paper describes “consumer electronics” within the context of the IEEE Consumer Electronics Society and explores future directions     

Reflections of entrepreneurs of small and medium-sized enterprises concerning the adoption of social media and its impact on performance outcomes: Evidence from the UAE

There have been numerous studies on the adoption of social media among individuals as well as organizations. Nevertheless, most of these studies were conducted in developed economies and focused on large organizations. This study, therefore, fills the gap by looking at the adoption of social media among small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the Middle East region; specifically, in the UAE. In addition, this study analyzes the adoption phenomena through word of mouth, viral marketing and social presence theory using in-depth semi-structured personal interviews with entrepreneurs of SMEs. Another significant contribution rendered by this study is its examination of social media adoption in terms of the business performance of firms.     

Investigating the determinants of low adoption of tablet PCs in Korean firms: Effects of value perception and alternative attractiveness

Many IT innovations show significantly different results from the expectations or market forecasts in the diffusion perspective. Tablet PCs have gained immense attention as useful devices for improving productivity and enhancing customer relationship in firms. However, the diffusion of tablet PCs in firms has been progressing slowly. This study examines the effects of value perception and alternative attractiveness on the diffusion of tablet PCs, using survey data from Korean firms. The results reveal that perceived low benefits, monetary and non-monetary sacrifices are determinants of perceived low value, which in turn influences low adoption intention of tablet PCs. Alternative attractiveness is also significantly associated with perceived low value and low adoption intention. Furthermore, firm innovativeness moderates the relationship between perceived low value and low adoption intention. We discuss the theoretical implications on the adoption barriers of firms from the value adoption model and suggest practical implications for successful diffusion of IT innovations in firms, focused on tablet PCs.     

Integrating ICT adoption issues into (e-)leadership theory

Information and communication technologies (ICTs) are having a profound effect in society and organizations. However, the literature on ICT adoption—from selection to implementation—has not been well integrated into leadership theory. This is particularly true in terms of adoption. Leaders must adopt ICTs not only for their own competence—an antecedent condition for what is considered e-leadership, but choose, recommend, and support implementation of ICTs for their organizations/units to use. Leaders are also expected to become effective in dealing and navigating the challenges of leading within the digital space. At this moment, there are two pertinent literatures: the technology adoption literature and the enterprise resource planning literature—which can be considered an important special case of leadership change management literature—and which could provide the theoretical basis for developing a unified theoretical perspective on e-leadership. This article provides a framework and propositions to connect these literatures by focusing on the effects of individual leader characteristics on the ICT adoption process from both a personal and enterprise-wide perspective. Study limitations and future research opportunities are outlined.     

An assessment of the influence of organizational characteristics oninformation technology adoption decision: a discriminative approach

The increasing importance of emerging information technologies has prompted many researchers to examine the nature of innovation adoption within organizations. However, the nature of organizational influences in the innovation adoption process is still not well understood. This study surveyed Business Week 1000 companies to determine whether organizational strategies, structure, or context facilitate the adoption decision of integrated services digital networks (ISDN). The results suggest that companies most receptive to ISDN are larger, less open, have more slack resources, more technology expansion actions, and fewer technology restriction actions     

Examining the factors that influence early adopters’ smartphone adoption: The case of college students

The influence of early adopters on potential adopters’ decisions of whether or not to adopt a product is known to be critical. In this paper, we examine the factors that influence the adoption behavior of smartphone early adopters by looking at smartphone adoption behavior of college students, because a large portion of the early adopters of smartphones are college students. Our focus is on the effect of normative peer influence on a college student’s smartphone adoption. We also examine the influence of other factors such as self-innovativeness, self-efficacy, the decision maker’s attitudes towards a product, financial burden of using the product, familial influence, and other demographic factors (e.g., age and gender). College students’ adoption behavior is studied using logit and probit choice models developed based on random utility theory. The discrete choice models are empirically estimated using survey data. We find important influence of friends, financial burden, and other family members on the smartphone adoption of college students who adopted smartphones earlier than other students.     

Determination of ocular torsion by means of automatic patternrecognition

A new, automatic method for determination of human ocular torsion (OT) was developed based on the tracking of iris patterns in digitized video images. Instead of quantifying OT by means of cross-correlation of circular iris samples, a procedure commonly applied, this new method automatically selects and recovers a set of 36 significant patterns in the iris by the technique of template matching as described by In den Haak et al. (1992). Each relocated landmark results in a single estimate of the torsion angle. A robust algorithm estimates OT from this total set of individually determined torsion angles, thereby largely correcting for errors which may arise due to misjudgement of the rotation center. The new method reproduced OT in a prepared set of images of an artificial eye with an accuracy of 0.1°. In a sample of 256 images of human eyes, a practical reliability of 0.25° was achieved. To illustrate the method's usefulness, an experiment is described in which ocular torsion was measured during two dynamic conditions of whole-body roll, namely during sinusoidally pendular motion about either an Earth horizontal or Earth vertical aids (that is “with” and “without” otolith stimulation, respectively)     

Why do firms adopt cloud computing? A comparative analysis based on South and North Europe firm data

In this paper we empirically investigate and compare to what extent Northern and Southern European firms view cloud computing (CC) as a means of: (a) ICT investment reduction; (b) supporting and facilitating product/service innovation and process innovation; (c) experimenting with and exploiting new ICT; and (d) supporting and facilitating electronic innovation collaboration. This is done by estimating econometrically a model of CC adoption propensity containing measures of the four main adoption motives mentioned above besides further variables that are associated with technology adoption and a series of controls for firm size, sector and country affiliation. Our study is based on a dataset collected through the e-Business W@tch Survey of the European Commission from 556 European firms from the glass, ceramic and cement sectors. These findings indicate that Southern European firms are mainly oriented towards ‘first-level’ cost (and especially investment) reduction related benefits from CC as well as from new emerging ICT, while on the contrary Northern European firms are mainly oriented towards ‘second-level’ transformation related benefits from CC, which are associated with support and facilitation of innovation and external collaboration.