Get 20M+ Full-Text Papers For Less Than $1.50/day. Start a 14-Day Trial for You or Your Team.

Learn More →

Organizational factors affecting Internet technology adoption

Organizational factors affecting Internet technology adoption Purpose – To explore the factors that affect the implementation of Internet technologies and to what extent the size of the company, as an organizational factor, influences that process. Design/methodology/approach – According to the innovation adoption theory, it was found that Internet adoption in firms is a process with different stages where a company is in one of a number of development stages depending on some variables related to organizational factors, such as the availability of technology resources, organizational structure, and managerial capabilities. The paper identified empirically different stages in the Internet adoption process and linked them with those factors. It analyzed questionnaire‐based data from 280 companies, applying factor and clustering analysis. Findings – Four main groups of companies were found according to their stage in the adoption of Internet technologies. The paper established that, contrary to the literature suggestions, the size of the company does not have any effect on the availability of these Internet technologies but it does for managerial capabilities. The smaller the size of the firm, the greater the possibilities of using external advice in adopting Internet technologies, because small firms usually have fewer managerial capabilities. In the mean time, a more sophisticated technology development was identified in larger firms. Research limitations/implications – As in all empirical research, the characteristics of this study limit the applicability of the findings. First, the study concentrated in businesses that already were using Internet technologies, because they have registered their domain name. Consequently, the study firms that did not have a Spanish domain name were omitted; however, firms could have a “.com” or “.org” domain name and still be Spanish firms. Also, other companies without any domain name on the Internet were not included in the study. Second, the study applied a classification analysis with exploratory purposes about the characteristics of the business according to the cluster of pertinence. Nevertheless, a longitudinal study could be more useful explaining whether or not these companies follow the process described. Third, a more detailed questionnaire with more specific questions could be more helpful to gain a better description of the phases of a more sophisticated technology adoption (i.e. the acceptance/routinization and infusion stages). Practical implications – This paper has some relatively important managerial implications. First, the fact of having a domain name does not mean that the companies are in the acceptance/routinization phase and even less in the infusion phase. From this, the paper identified how the majority of firms were in the so‐called initial stages of the Internet technologies adoption process. Second, it is possible that managers who do not perceive the strategic value of these technologies are managing the majority of these firms. Third, as more businesses implement these technologies in their processes, presumably more competitive pressure will exist to adopt Internet technologies. Originality/value – This paper contributes to the research into the organizational factors that affect Internet adoption. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Internet Research Emerald Publishing

Organizational factors affecting Internet technology adoption

Download PDF
17 pages

Loading next page...
 
/lp/emerald-publishing/organizational-factors-affecting-internet-technology-adoption-eUfq6qylVF
Publisher
Emerald Publishing
Copyright
Copyright © 2006 Emerald Group Publishing Limited. All rights reserved.
ISSN
1066-2243
DOI
10.1108/10662240610642569
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Purpose – To explore the factors that affect the implementation of Internet technologies and to what extent the size of the company, as an organizational factor, influences that process. Design/methodology/approach – According to the innovation adoption theory, it was found that Internet adoption in firms is a process with different stages where a company is in one of a number of development stages depending on some variables related to organizational factors, such as the availability of technology resources, organizational structure, and managerial capabilities. The paper identified empirically different stages in the Internet adoption process and linked them with those factors. It analyzed questionnaire‐based data from 280 companies, applying factor and clustering analysis. Findings – Four main groups of companies were found according to their stage in the adoption of Internet technologies. The paper established that, contrary to the literature suggestions, the size of the company does not have any effect on the availability of these Internet technologies but it does for managerial capabilities. The smaller the size of the firm, the greater the possibilities of using external advice in adopting Internet technologies, because small firms usually have fewer managerial capabilities. In the mean time, a more sophisticated technology development was identified in larger firms. Research limitations/implications – As in all empirical research, the characteristics of this study limit the applicability of the findings. First, the study concentrated in businesses that already were using Internet technologies, because they have registered their domain name. Consequently, the study firms that did not have a Spanish domain name were omitted; however, firms could have a “.com” or “.org” domain name and still be Spanish firms. Also, other companies without any domain name on the Internet were not included in the study. Second, the study applied a classification analysis with exploratory purposes about the characteristics of the business according to the cluster of pertinence. Nevertheless, a longitudinal study could be more useful explaining whether or not these companies follow the process described. Third, a more detailed questionnaire with more specific questions could be more helpful to gain a better description of the phases of a more sophisticated technology adoption (i.e. the acceptance/routinization and infusion stages). Practical implications – This paper has some relatively important managerial implications. First, the fact of having a domain name does not mean that the companies are in the acceptance/routinization phase and even less in the infusion phase. From this, the paper identified how the majority of firms were in the so‐called initial stages of the Internet technologies adoption process. Second, it is possible that managers who do not perceive the strategic value of these technologies are managing the majority of these firms. Third, as more businesses implement these technologies in their processes, presumably more competitive pressure will exist to adopt Internet technologies. Originality/value – This paper contributes to the research into the organizational factors that affect Internet adoption.

Journal

Internet Research – Emerald Publishing

Published: Jan 1, 2006

Keywords: Internet; Innovation; Companies; Communication technologies; Spain

References

  • Analyzing Multivariate Data
    Cliff, N.
  • Information technology implementation research: a technological diffusion approach
    Cooper, R.B.; Zmud, R.W.
  • Organizational innovation: a meta‐analysis of effects of determinants and moderators
    Damanpour, F.
  • Adoption of e‐commerce by SMEs in the UK: towards a stage model
    Daniel, E.; Wilson, H.; Myers, A.
  • Internet usage and competitive advantage: the impact of the Internet on an old economy sector
    Del Aguila‐Obra, A.R.; Bruque‐Camara, S.; Padilla‐Meléndez, A.
  • An analysis of the factors affecting the adoption of the Internet in the UK retail sector
    Doherty, N.; Ellis‐Chadwick, F.; Hart, C.
  • Factors affecting the adoption of the Internet among SMEs
    Dholakia, R.R.; Kshetri, N.
  • Guidelines for the successful adoption of information technology in small and medium enterprises
    Fink, F.
  • Electronic commerce adoption: an empirical study of small and medium US businesses
    Grandon, E.E.; Pearson, J.M.
  • Correspondence Analysis in Practice
    Greenacre, M.J.
  • Electronic data interchange and small organizations: adoption and impact technology
    Iacovou, C.L.; Benbasat, I.; Dexter, A.S.
  • Analysis of information technology success in small firms in New Zealand
    Igbaria, M.; Zinatelli, N.; Covaye, A.L.M.
  • Adoption of electronic data interchange: the role of buyer‐supplier relationships
    Iskandar, B.Y.; Kurokawa, S.; Leblanc, L.J.
  • Applied Multivariate Data Analysis, Volume I: Regression and Experimental Design
    Jobson, J.D.
  • Applied Multivariate Data Analysis, Volume II: Categorial and Multivariate Methods
    Jobson, J.D.
  • Toward a diffusion model for Internet systems
    Kim, C.; Galliers, R.D.
  • A perception‐based model for EDI adoption in small businesses using a technology‐organization‐environment framework
    Kuan, K.K.Y.; Chau, P.Y.K.
  • A model of Internet adoption by SMEs
    Mehrtens, J.; Cragg, P.B.; Mills, A.M.
  • An exploratory study of small business Internet commerce issues
    Poon, S.; Swatman, P.
  • Strategy and the Internet
    Porter, M.
  • Adoption of new information technologies in rural small businesses
    Premkumar, G.; Roberts, M.
  • Information technology innovations: a classification by IT locus of impact research approach
    Prescott, M.; Conger, S.
  • Diffusion of Innovations
    Rogers, E.
  • Strategic use of the Internet by small‐and medium‐sized companies: an exploratory study
    Sadowski, B.M.; Maitland, C.; van Dongen, J.
  • The diffusion of e‐commerce among SMEs: theoretical implications and empirical evidence
    Santarelly, E.; D'Altri, S.
  • An empirical study of adopters and non‐adopters of the Internet in Singapore
    Teo, T.; Tan, M.
  • A contingency model of Internet adoption in Singapore
    Teo, T.; Tan, M.; Buk, K.
  • The Processes of Technological Innovation
    Tornatzky, L.G.; Fleischer, M.
  • Business use of the Internet: an analytical framework and exploratory case study
    Vadapalli, A.; Ramamurthy, K.