Understanding intranets in the context of end-user computing

Abstract

In this paper, we examine the adoption and use of organizational intranets as an extension of the end-user computing movement. This perspective provides a background against which the rapid proliferation of organizational intranets in the 1990s can be compared and contrasted with the explosion of personal computers and end-user computing in the 1980s. Our retrospective analysis of end-user computing is based on academic and business journal literature. Our contemporary analysis of intranet development and use relies on data from a large-scale study of intranets in US firms. We examine similarities with early EUC efforts, such as the initial grass-roots, multiple adoption of PC technologies, that were followed by efforts to standardize and integrate technological "islands." We also highlight ways in which organizational experiences with intranets may diverge from earlier EUC experiences. Our discussion of these organizational experiences and practices draws on institutional theory to understand how and why organizational adoption and use of information technologies may differ from those of the past in important ways that require rethinking of current practices. In particular, we focus on the issues related to intranet integration and to the evolving roles of intranet end-users and IT professionals.