Information technology innovation diffusion: an information requirements paradigm

This study explores a range of organizational factors that drive success in organizational level information technology (IT) innovation adoption. A comprehensive model of organizational level IT innovation adoption is presented based on a context-mechanism-outcome perspective and by drawing on relevant theories. The proposed model is empirically tested using data from 1988 company executives across a wide range of organizations globally. A research model and the related hypotheses are tested using structural equation modelling. The study found that organizational level IT innovation readiness conceptualized through technology readiness and internal expertise is a key mediator for successful organizational level technology adoption. Other organizational factors such as top management support, organizational structure, and organization culture, were positively related to the overall level of IT innovation readiness and organizational level technology adoption. Considering that there are many organizational factors that influence the adoption of technology, future research should extend the research framework and include additional variables that could support IT innovation adoption outcomes. The study makes a significant contribution to the existing literature by providing empirical evidence related to the organizational factors necessary for a successful IT innovation adoption at an organizational level.

PurposeThe use of information technology (IT) in the hospitality industry is driven by the need to improve and refine customer service. However, it is unlikely that new IT will be successfully implemented if employees' roles and emotions are overlooked. The purpose of this study is to examine the interplay of negative emotions (anger and fear), coping strategies (venting anger and psychological distancing), perceptions of an IT innovation and intention toward adopting it.Design/methodology/approachA research model is developed based on the cognitive appraisal theory of emotion, coping theory and innovation diffusion theory. An online survey was conducted among employees working for hotels that had deployed a new reservation system, and 234 responses were collected.FindingsThe results indicate that employees' negative emotions (anger and fear) have negative and significant effects on their perceptions of adopting a new reservation system through coping strategies (i.e. venting anger and psychological distancing). Furthermore, employees' perceptions of adopting an innovative reservation system have a positive effect on their adoption intention toward the system.Originality/valueTo the best of our knowledge, this is the first research to address the impact of distinct emotions on IT innovation adoption, as well as explaining the relation between affective and cognitive effects. The findings demonstrate the importance of examining negative emotions in IT innovation adoption. In addition, the model developed in this study confirms that an appraisal tendency approach better specifies the conditions under which different emotions are triggered to predict and explain how emotions relate to IT use through adaptation behaviors when compared with a valence-based approach.

The theoretical and empirical investigation of information technologies (IT) innovation implementations reveals that they lack conceptual and practical support from HRM professionals. The HRM practices undertaken by HR professionals are not even discussed. We argue that HR departments should contribute to IT innovation projects by being responsible for explicitly defining job tasks that have to be automated, establishing a rewards system for those who have to learn and use a new technology and analysing the training needs of the users and providing them with adequate training. HRM should more actively intervene in IT innovation projects. Such intervention would, we believe, foster compatibility between the prior intentions of information technology, the strategies and practices, the individual users’ needs in it and the adoption of IT by the users.

Information technology (IT) is a major innovation in the operations of the Philippine national government. It plays an increasingly pivotal role in shaping and influencing the delivery of government services. Hence, effective IT adoption and diffusion in public sector organisations has become an important concern. An understanding of the factors affecting IT adoption could lead to the development of better strategies for introducing IT and maximising its use. This study surveyed national government agencies in the Philippines to determine the factors that facilitate IT adoption and implementation. Built on innovation diffusion and IT implementation studies, a model of organisational-level adoption was developed and tested. The model identified seven variables that could potentially influence IT adoption in the government. Six of these research variables were operationalised using appropriate quantitative measures and multi-item indicators adapted from instruments that have been validated in previous empirical studies. The operational measure for the last variable - information intensity - was specifically developed for this study. The multi-item measures were evaluated and refined using item analysis and factor analysis. Multiple regression analyses were then conducted, to test the research propositions. The results suggest that agencies most receptive to information technology are larger, more open, more information-intensive, and are headed by executives with positive attitudes towards IT.

There is concern among the general public that information technology (IT) innovations may make existing jobs redundant. This may be perceived to pose a greater problem to future generations because new technologies, not limited to IT innovations, will be sophisticated in the future. Our previous work revealed that messages reminding people of familial support as a nudge can moderate risk-averse attitudes toward risks that are perceived to threaten future generations, which could be effective for other kinds of risks. Therefore, we conducted a randomized controlled trial to examine the message effects for information provision on IT innovations. The study was conducted via an online questionnaire survey in January 2020, before the COVID-19 pandemic, and more than 3,200 samples were collected from respondents aged 20 years or older living in Japan. The treatment groups received basic information supplemented with additional text or additional text and an illustration that highlighted IT innovations as support from previous generations. The control group received only the basic textual information. The effects of the intervention were evaluated by comparing changes in average subjective assessment of IT in the treatment groups with those in the control group. The intervention effect was statistically significant, and the sense of familial support after receiving the intervention messages was significantly increased in the treatment group that viewed the illustration compared with the control group. Additionally, we discuss how each component of the HEXACO personality traits influences responses to the intervention messages. Through a series of surveys, we demonstrated the potential of our framework for a wide variety of applications involving information provision perceived to involve future generations.

The role of IT in organizational innovation – A systematic literature review

Exaggeration, or hyperbole, has a long and important history in the information systems community, and it continues to be an essential part of the challenge managers face, as they pursue organizational opportunity and change through the application of information technology. Although commonly maligned as a tool of technology promoters and as a companion to fads or crazes, exaggeration appears to play an important, if ambiguous, role in the communication and diffusion of major information technology (IT) innovations. This paper takes some initial steps toward developing a theory of exaggeration in the information systems domain. Exaggeration is situated in the larger context defined by the roles that discourse and rhetoric in interorganizational fields play in the social construction and dissemination of IT innovations. Exaggeration, then, is seen to enter at points defined by the knowledge requirements of organizations. Different species of exaggeration emerge within the larger innovation discourse in connection with organizations' need to ascertain the know what, know why, know where, know when, and know how of the innovation. This preliminary effort to develop taxonomy and to outline a functional theory of exaggeration is complemented by calls for further theorizing that would embrace process issues.

The diffusion of health information technology (IT) is still one of the most important issues in this sector. The main reason behind this issue is that health IT is employed in an institutional environment characterized by high technical complexity, and this makes the processes of change towards the adoption and diffusion of health IT are difficult, especially with resisting change by some staff are working in health institutions. The current study came to identify the user’s characteristics that impact the diffusion of IT. The study has been designed based on the literature of information systems and includes four constructs: personal innovativeness, self-efficacy, the user's attitude towards technology, and trust in information technology. Concerning the sample, it included the health staff working in six private hospitals in the city of Dohuk, and a questionnaire was built based on the previous studies as a tool to collect data, and the number of study sample individuals was (233). The main result of the study is that there is a significant effect of user characteristics (at the level of each characteristic and at the macro level) on the diffusion of health IT. This result is prove that the process of diffusion IT applications depends mainly on the characteristics obtained by users that support the diffusion process. The study recommends to pay more attention to the user’s characteristics, such as personal Innovations, enhancing his self-efficacy, contributing to building his positive attitude towards technology and enhancing the trust in IT, due to its role in diffusing the health IT.

From the Book: It is more true than ever that information systems (IS) and information technology (IT) are prerequisites for business success. Business organizations are reported to be investing a considerable proportion of their free capital in IS/IT. However, it is also reported that as much as 50 per cent of these undertakings lead to IS/IT solutions judged as outright failures or deemed highly unsatisfactory. As the impressive amount of published research on IS/IT innovation and diffusion has already shown, the development and use of IS/IT requires continuous innovation and diffusion processes among an organization's line employees, internal IT experts, and external support mechanisms (e.g, research centers, consultants, software houses, and vendors). Because of the alarmingly high IS/IT investment failure rate, however, one can easily assume that this published research on IS/IT innovation and diffusion is thus far fragmented, incomplete, and has not provided clear direction to effectively understanding technology innovation and diffusion issues. Of course, practitioners may also not be applying the lessons already learned from existing research, but that is another matter. Part of the reason for this seeming disconnect between research and practice is simply that IS/IT is continuing to develop at such a rapid pace. More and more information and complex relationships are being captured, stored, processed, and transmitted to ever larger numbers of knowledge workers within and between organizations. For many industry segments, the very nature and definition of their business is undergoing continual and radical change. The way work is done, decisions are made, products are tailored, production is automated, material is distributed, and customers are satisfied is all changing on a global stage. IT stands squarely in the middle of this transformation and looks to a near future where business trends will require the use of information in ways not yet even imagined. Readers of this book should not therefore expect to find an integrated and comprehensive approach to IT innovation and diffusion issues. The chapters in this book represent the diverse and unique views of authors who approach the technology innovation and diffusion process from a wide variety of perspectives. Each, in their respective chapter, offers a piece of the whole picture. Taken together, these chapters present the careful and insightful exploration of many variables affecting the innovation and diffusion process. As such, this book, by bringing together these chapters, makes a valuable contribution to the IT innovation and diffusion literature. The continuing challenge in this field of inquiry is to persist in exploring developing trends and to assist researchers and practitioners in better grasping future challenges. The contributions in this book help address that challenge. The book concentrates on four broad innovation and diffusion areas. First, single aspects that may influence innovation and diffusion outcome are examined. These aspects are human oriented (e.g., power distribution) or technology related (e.g., a graphical simulator.) Second, diffusion theory as applied to the introduction and spreading of software application packages that are commonly found in organizations is scrutinized. Third, positive and negative aspects related to the use of formally organized diffusion facilitation mechanisms are explored. Fourth, integrated views and models describing innovation and diffusion processes and future potential are forwarded.

In today’s competitive world, innovation is considered as a key factor to success and survival for organizations. So far, the literature has recognized various items that affect innovation in organizations. This paper seeks to investigate the effect of psychological capital on innovation in Information Technology (IT) among branches of Agriculture bank in Tehran, Iran. In terms of objective, this study is considered as an empirical one, and the research methodology is descriptive-correlative type. The population includes 132 managers and employees working in Agriculture bank branches in Tehran. Among those people, 100 individuals were selected to be studied based on using Cochran formula and through random sampling method. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was used for data analysis. The Results of study showed a significant effect of psychological capital on innovation in IT. In addition, more specific analysis on each of the psychological capital dimensions (self-efficacy, hope, optimism, resilience) revealed that except resilience, none of them enhanced innovation in IT. Finally, this study proposes insights for managers how to enhance their employees’ capabilities and psychological capital through constant measurement as well as using improvement plans in order to provide higher innovation in IT. The current research also provides more suggestion for future studies that could consider consequences of innovation in IT.

Over the past decade, Information Technology (IT) innovations have significantly altered the marketing landscape, transitioning from conventional methods to more sophisticated, data-driven techniques. This transformation has been fueled by the widespread adoption of social media platforms, which have become central to marketing efforts. This study explored the impact of IT-enabled innovations on marketing practices in Iringa Municipal, Tanzania, focusing on how these technologies shape customer experiences and drive business strategies. With a sample size of 210 respondents, the research employed quantitative and qualitative methods to investigate IT tools' utilization, effectiveness, and challenges in marketing. Key findings revealed that social media platforms and customer relationship management (CRM) software were widely adopted, significantly improving customer engagement and marketing effectiveness. However, challenges such as high costs, a lack of skilled personnel, and data privacy concerns hindered more extensive implementation. The study concluded that while IT enabled marketing strategies have substantial potential to enhance business performance, addressing these challenges through targeted investments, training, and robust data protection practices is essential for maximizing their benefits. The recommendations aim to guide businesses in overcoming these barriers and fully leveraging IT innovations to optimize their marketing efforts and customer interactions.

The underrepresentation of women in the information technology (IT) sector has been widely studied in the contexts of western countries such as North American and Western European countries. These studies indicate that the underrepresentation of women in the IT sector is unveiled in multiple perspectives, including IT access, the development, adoption and use of IT, IT education, and the IT workforce in general and within the IT workforce structure itself (e.g., different levels of IT positions) (Cooper & Weaver, 2003; Gürer & Camp, 2002; Hartzel, 2003; Klein, Jiang & Tesch, 2002; Margolis & Fisher, 2002; Rommes, 2002; Trauth, 2002; von Hellens, Neilsen, & Beekhuyzen, 2001; Webster, 1996). Why is it important to study issues related to gender and information technology? First, it is argued that the information technology sector should value and leverage all kinds of diversity (including gender diversity as one dimension) to enhance productivity, to facilitate IT innovation, and to develop IT for a wide variety of people (Avgerou, 2002; Roberts, 2003; Trauth, Huang, Morgan, Quesenberry, & Yeo, 2006). Second, it is also argued that women’s underrepresentation in and exclusion from information technology can be attributed to power and socio-cultural reproduction of inequality through technology development and use, and the historically socialconstruction of technology fields as “masculine” domains, which result in a gendered digital divide (Cockburn, 1985; Kvasny & Trauth, 2002; Kvasny & Truex, 2001; Wajcman, 1991, 2004; Woodfield, 2000). Ignorance or failure to address issues related to gender and IT will further marginalize women’s participation in future economic and social development, and will endanger social equality and social welfare in general (Kvasny & Trauth, 2002). A significant trend of the contemporary information technology industry is towards globalization, which is manifested through a variety of established practices such as IT offshore outsourcing, global software development, and innovation through global R&D (research & design) collaboration (Sahay, Nicholson, & Krishna, 2003; Walsham, 2000, 2001, 2002). Such a globalization trend of the IT industry and market has put forward new challenges to gender and IT research, to incorporate the cross-cultural dimension. Similar to the rationale for studying gender and IT in developed countries (leveraging diversity and improving social inclusion), Hafkin and Taggart (2001) argued that it is imperative to examine the cultural factors while studying gender and IT in developing countries

The underrepresentation of women in the information technology (IT) sector has been widely studied in the contexts of western countries such as North American and Western European countries. These studies indicate that the underrepresentation of women in the IT sector is unveiled in multiple perspectives, including IT access, the development, adoption and use of IT, IT education, and the IT workforce in general and within the IT workforce structure itself (e.g., different levels of IT positions) (Cooper & Weaver, 2003; Gürer & Camp, 2002; Hartzel, 2003; Klein, Jiang & Tesch, 2002; Margolis & Fisher, 2002; Rommes, 2002; Trauth, 2002; von Hellens, Neilsen, & Beekhuyzen, 2001; Webster, 1996). Why is it important to study issues related to gender and information technology? First, it is argued that the information technology sector should value and leverage all kinds of diversity (including gender diversity as one dimension) to enhance productivity, to facilitate IT innovation, and to develop IT for a wide variety of people (Avgerou, 2002; Roberts, 2003; Trauth, Huang, Morgan, Quesenberry, & Yeo, 2006). Second, it is also argued that women’s underrepresentation in and exclusion from information technology can be attributed to power and socio-cultural reproduction of inequality through technology development and use, and the historically socialconstruction of technology fields as “masculine” domains, which result in a gendered digital divide (Cockburn, 1985; Kvasny & Trauth, 2002; Kvasny & Truex, 2001; Wajcman, 1991, 2004; Woodfield, 2000). Ignorance or failure to address issues related to gender and IT will further marginalize women’s participation in future economic and social development, and will endanger social equality and social welfare in general (Kvasny & Trauth, 2002). A significant trend of the contemporary information technology industry is towards globalization, which is manifested through a variety of established practices such as IT offshore outsourcing, global software development, and innovation through global R&D (research & design) collaboration (Sahay, Nicholson, & Krishna, 2003; Walsham, 2000, 2001, 2002). Such a globalization trend of the IT industry and market has put forward new challenges to gender and IT research, to incorporate the cross-cultural dimension. Similar to the rationale for studying gender and IT in developed countries (leveraging diversity and improving social inclusion), Hafkin and Taggart (2001) argued that it is imperative to examine the cultural factors while studying gender and IT in developing countries

This article investigates the factors affecting primary and secondary education teachers’ behavioral intention to adopt learning management systems (LMSs). Information technology (IT) innovations have the power to change the way we work, educate, learn, and basically the way we live. The effect of IT innovations on education makes it critical to understand the current usage situation of LMSs and the factors affecting their adoption by teachers. The unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) was extended with factors from education and game-based learning literature. In order to see the effect of individual- and organizational-level characteristics, multi-group structural equation modeling (SEM) analysis was conducted and discrepancies in relationships were reported. Evaluation of users and non-users and teachers of different fields were also compared to each other. The findings of this study not only contribute to theory through the development and testing of a thorough model relating technology features and individual characteristics to behavioral intention to use, but also offer strong implications for practitioners who would like to increase LMS usage and create a more effective learning environment.

PurposeThe paper aims to investigate the effect of compositions of managerial/demographic characteristics of the top management team (TMT) on the extent of information technology (IT) adoption in small businesses (SMEs), where such strategic decisions made by TMT have direct and significant influence on all aspects of business operations and its competitive position in a market.Design/methodology/approachBased on the upper echelon theory, the study formulated four hypotheses relating the compositions of TMT characteristics to the extent of IT adoption in different functional areas. Multiple regression analysis was employed to analyze the data.FindingsThe age average and the education average of TMT in small businesses are significant predictors of the extent of IT adoption. However, the group heterogeneity (either gender or ethnicity), contrary to the prediction, has negative impact on the extent of IT adoption.Practical implicationsThe research findings indicate that the age and education composition of managers as current/future top management is critical to facilitate the extent of IT adoption in SMEs.Originality/valueThe research contributes to the body of knowledge in IT adoption by complementing the results of prior research with the findings that the characteristic compositions of TMT affect the extent of IT adoption in SMEs, applying the upper echelon theory to examine issues surrounding IT adoption, and suggesting practical implications that SMEs could compose, educate, and rejuvenate their top management teams to achieve a high extent of IT adoption.