That's So Last Season!

Abstract

This paper explores Information Technology (IT) adoption behavior in firms as fashion first and a means of leveraging competitive advantage second. In this paper, IT is treated as a product and compared to fashion apparel through a distinct set of characteristics that define the behavior and nature of the apparel market. The underlying questions that are posed by this paper is twofold: (1) Is IT in fashion? (2) If it is, then how does it affect the adoption of IT from a behavioral perspective and what are the results? Through an exploratory study of the topic, this paper seeks to provide further insight to firms on how to go about adopting new innovative technologies. Moreover, by enticing firms to pay special attention to detecting and predicting such fashions and the value they add, this paper sets the ground for future research in the field of emerging technologies and IT adoption.