EXPLORING TECHNOLOGY DIFFUSION: CASE OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES

Abstract

In today's rapidly changing competitive environment, Information Technology (IT) within an organization is continuously improved, driven by the external push of technological advances and internal pull of increasing organizational needs. In order to achieve the greatest return on IT investment, the diffusion process of IT within the organization should be examined carefully. This study aims to explore the effects of organizational, social, individual, and technological characteristics on the diffusion of different information technologies within organizations, and to discover the relationship between the diffusion of these technologies and the effectiveness, efficiency, and productivity of managerial decision-making processes. Based on a thorough review of theoretical background and prior empirical studies in the area, an integrated research framework concerning the IT diffusion context has been developed and tested via a survey applied on individuals from different organizations. Findings suggest that the antecedents of the diffusion and infusion patterns vary for two major categories of information technologies.