An Investigation into the adoption and implementation of computer aided production management systems:using the Rogers model of adoption and implementation and a social constuctionist account of technology

The research investigates the processes of adoption and implementation, by organisations, of computer aided production management systems (CAPM). It is organised around two different theoretical perspectives. The first part is informed by the Rogers model of the diffusion, adoption and implementation of innovations, and the second part by a social constructionist approach to technology. Rogers' work is critically evaluated and a model of adoption and implementation is distilled from it and applied to a set of empirical case studies. In the light of the case study data, strengths and weaknesses of the model are identified. It is argued that the model is too rational and linear to provide an adequate explanation of adoption processes. It is useful for understanding processes of implementation but requires further development. The model is not able to adequately encompass complex computer based technologies. However, the idea of 'reinvention' is identified as Roger's key concept but it needs to be conceptually extended. Both Roger's model and definition of CAPM found in the literature from production engineering tend to treat CAPM in objectivist terms. The problems with this view are addressed through a review of the literature on the sociology of technology, and it is argued that a social constructionist approach offers a more useful framework for understanding CAPM, its nature, adoption, implementation, and use. CAPM it is argued, must be understood on terms of the ways in which it is constituted in discourse, as part of a 'struggle for meaning' on the part of academics, professional engineers, suppliers, and users.

A study of new product market search and user adoption

The research was carried out in the Aviation Division of Dunlop Limited and was initiated as a search for more diverse uses for carbon/carbon composites. An assumed communication model of adoption was refined by introducing the concept of a two way search after making cross industry comparisons of supplier and consumer behaviour. This research has examined methods of searching for new uses for advanced technology materials. Two broad approaches were adopted. First, a case history approach investigated materials that had been in a similar oosition to carbon/carbon to see how other material producing firms had tackled the problem. Second, a questionnaire survey among industrialists examined: the role and identity of material decision makers in different sized firms; the effectiveness of various information sources and channels; and the material adoption habits of different industries. The effectiveness of selected information channels was further studied by monitoring the response to publicity given to carbon/carbon. A flow chart has been developed from the results of this research which should help any material producing firm that is contemplating the introduction of a new material to the world market. Further benefit to our understanding of the innovation and adoption of new materials would accrue from work in the followino areas: "micro" type case histories; understanding more fully the role of product champions or promoters; investigating the phase difference between incremental and radical type innovations for materials; examining the relationship between the adoption rate of new materials and the advance of technology; studying the development of cost per unit function methods for material selection; and reviewing the benefits that economy of scale studies can have on material developments. These are all suggested areas for further work.

RFID adoption issues in the warehouse

In recent years the increased interest in introducing radio frequency technology (RFID) in warehousing was observed. First adopters of RFID reported numerous benefits, which included: reduced shrinkage, real-time tracking and better accuracy of data collection. Along with the academic and industrial discussion on benefits which can be achieved in RFID enabled warehouses there are reports on issues related to adoption of RFID technology in warehousing. This paper reviews results of scientific reports of RFID implementation in warehouses and discusses the adoption barriers and causes of not achieving full potential of the technology. Following adoption barriers are identified and set in warehousing context: lack of forseeable return on investment (ROI), unreliable performance of RFID systems, standarisation, integration with legacy systems and privacy/security concerns. As more studies will address these challenges, the realisation of RFID benefits for warehouses will become reality.

Putting e-commerce adoption in a supply chain context

Purpose – The objective of this paper is to gain a better understanding of the impact of context on the adoption of e-commerce in supply chains. Design/methodology/approach – A literature review, 45 semi-structured interviews in four different supply chains in the UK healthcare sector, involving 16 different organisations, and additional documentation is used in this study. Findings – The adoption of e-commerce in supply chains is simultaneously affected by two contextual meta-variables: external pressure, which is influenced by supply chain structure, demand and industry characteristics; and internal readiness, which is influenced by IT, organisational and buying need characteristics. Different combinations of these two main variables lead to four different trade-off situations affecting adoption or non-adoption. Research limitations/implications – The empirical research has been undertaken in the specific context of the UK healthcare supply chains. It would be useful to test our findings in other sectors and countries. Practical implications – The paper helps to understand the contextual factors that affect e-commerce adoption and concludes with a framework that differentiates four situations that can improve managers' and researchers' understanding of e-commerce adoption in the future. Originality/value – The contribution of this paper is the recognition that the adoption of e-commerce is affected by factors in both an organisational and a supply chain context, which simultaneously lead to trade-off decisions. Also, unlike most other studies which refer to supply chains and are limited to an organisational perspective or at most a dyadic perspective, this paper builds up a supply chain picture of context by including perspectives from multiple actors in a chain.

The adoption of servitization strategies by UK-based manufacturers

Almost all manufacturers offer services, but some use these as the basis for their competitive strategy. This is a growing area of interest among practitioners, policy makers, and academics, yet little is known about the adoption of servitization by UK manufacturers. In this paper a survey is presented that has been used to explore the extent, motivations, challenges, and successes of servitization within the business-to-business sector. The findings indicate, for example, that many manufacturers are succeeding with their service strategies, that they are attracted to these as a source of customer focus and revenue growth, and that such strategies require less organizational change than might be expected. Although the findings from the survey should be treated as preliminary, and further work is needed to confirm their reliability and insight, they indicate that servitization is proving to be a powerful competitive weapon for many companies.

Electronic commerce adoption:a study of business-to-business practice in Saudi Arabia

Electronic commerce (e-commerce) has become an increasingly important initiative among organisations. The factors affecting adoption decisions have been well-documented, but there is a paucity of empirical studies that examine the adoption of e-commerce in developing economies in the Arab world. The aim of this study is to provide insights into the salient e-commerce adoption issues by focusing on Saudi Arabian businesses. Based on the Technology-Organisational-Environmental framework, an integrated research model was developed that explains the relative influence of 19 known determinants. A measurement scale was developed from prior empirical studies and revised based on feedback from the pilot study. Non-interactive adoption, interactive adoption and stabilisation of e-commerce adoption were empirically investigated using survey data collected from Saudi manufacturing and service companies. Multiple discriminant function analysis (MDFA) was used to analyse the data and research hypotheses. The analysis demonstrates that (1) regarding the non-interactive adoption of e-commerce, IT readiness, management team support, learning orientation, strategic orientation, pressure from business partner, regulatory and legal environment, technology consultants‘ participation and economic downturn are the most important factors, (2) when e-commerce interactive adoption is investigated, IT readiness, management team support, regulatory environment and technology consultants‘ participation emerge as the strongest drivers, (3) pressure from customers may not have much effect on the non-interactive adoption of e-commerce by companies, but does significantly influence the stabilisation of e-commerce use by firms, and (4) Saudi Arabia has a strong ICT infrastructure for supporting e-commerce practices. Taken together, these findings on the multi-dimensionality of e-commerce adoption show that non-interactive adoption, interactive adoption and stabilisation of e-commerce are not only different measures of e-commerce adoption, but also have different determinants. Findings from this study may be valuable for both policy and practice as it can offer a substantial understanding of the factors that enhance the widespread use of B2B e-commerce. Also, the integrated model provides a more comprehensive explanation of e-commerce adoption in organisations and could serve as a foundation for future research on information systems.

ICT adoption and ebusiness development:Understanding ICT adoption amongst ethnic minority businesses

This paper builds upon a series of studies that have identified the comparatively low uptake of ICT amongst EMBs (Ram and Smallbone, 1999; Foley and Ram 2002; Allinson et al., 2004). Existing studies have only tentatively considered the causal factors for this lower adoption rate in comparison to non-EMBs. Within the context of a pilot study, aiming to understand ICT adoption amongst EMBs, an action research approach is adopted as a means of influencing, evaluating and underpinning ICT adoption (Beckinsale and Ram, 2006). The approach is methodologically distinctive in its utilization of action research with a critical realist approach as a means of policy evaluation; this is conducive to 'policy learning', and the understanding of causal mechanisms in the EMBs. Actors involved in the implementation were interviewed, as well as the business owners themselves. Another distinguishing feature is the application of Yap et al.'s (1992) schema to identify causal mechanisms, to examine actions and experiences and to understand the impact on the EMBs studied. The findings highlight the complex interaction and relationships of internal and external factors in shaping approaches to ICT implementation. Factors such as size, strategy and business age are germane but so too, albeit to a lesser degree, are cultural influences such as involvement in co-ethnic networks. Significantly, changes to particular causal mechanisms such as business support altered adoption and implementation of ICT. Distinct issues for Chinese and Asian-owned business and potentially more broadly EMBs are identified providing a framework for other EMBs. © The Author(s) 2010.

Exploring value-added benefits to enhance wider adoption of chipless RFID system

Radio-frequency identification technology (RFID) is a popular modern technology proven to deliver a range of value-added benefits to achieve system and operational efficiency, as well as cost-effectiveness. The operational characteristics of RFID outperform barcodes in many aspects. Despite its well-perceived benefits, a definite rationale for larger scale adoption is still not so promising. One of the key reasons is high implementation cost, especially the cost of tags for applications involving item-level tagging. This has resulted in the development of chipless RFID tags which cost much less than conventional chip-based tags. Despite the much lower tag cost, the uptake of chipless RFID system in the market is still not as widespread as predicted by RFID experts. This chapter explores the value-added applications of chipless RFID system to promote wider adoption. The chipless technology's technical and operational characteristics, benefits, limitations and current uses will also be examined. The merit of this chapter is to contribute fresh propositions to the promising applications of chipless RFID to increase its adoption in the industries that are currently not (or less popular in) utilising it, such as retail, logistics, manufacturing, healthcare, and service sectors. © 2013, IGI Global.

Senior managers’ perception on green information systems (IS) adoption and environmental performance:results from a field survey

Based on a Belief-Action-Outcome framework, we produced a model that shows senior managers' perception of both the antecedents to and the consequences of Green IS adoption by a firm. This conceptual model and its associated hypotheses were empirically tested using a dataset generated from a survey of 405 organizations. The results suggest that coercive pressure influences the attitude toward Green IS adoption while mimetic pressure does not. In addition, we found that there was a significant relationship between Green IS adoption, attitude, and consideration of future consequences. Finally, we found that only long term Green IS adoption was positively related to environmental performance. © 2013 Elsevier B.V.

IT as enabler of sustainable farming:an empirical analysis of farmers' adoption decision of precision agriculture technology

Precision agriculture (PA) describes a suite of IT based tools which allow farmers to electronically monitor soil and crop conditions and analyze treatment options. This study tests a model explaining the difficulties of PA technology adoption. The model draws on theories of technology acceptance and diffusion of innovation and is validated using survey data from farms in Canada. Findings highlight the importance of compatibility among PA technology components and the crucial role of farmers' expertise. The model provides the theoretical and empirical basis for developing policies and initiatives to support PA technology adoption.

An investigation into the adoption of electronic commerce among Saudi Arabian SMEs

Despite the proliferation of e-commerce adoption by SMEs and the world-wide growth of e-commerce, in general there is a paucity of empirical studies that examine the adoption of e-commerce by SMEs in the Middle East. In this paper, the authors provide insights into the salient e-commerce adoption issues by focusing on Saudi Arabian SMEs. This research was designed using a qualitative approach through in-depth case studies selected from firms in Saudi Arabia. The findings contribute toward a better conceptual and practical understanding of the main factors driving SMEs to adopt e-commerce. The authors find that the level of e-commerce implementation has yet to mature and customer readiness for Internet shopping must improve before e-commerce reaches the levels of maturity seen in other regions of the world. This study highlights directions for future inquiry and implications for information and technology managers and policymakers in developing Arab nations.

Determinants of B2B e-commerce adoption in Saudi Arabian firms

Business-to-business (B2B) electronic commerce (e-commerce) has become an increasingly important initiative among organisations. The factors affecting the adoption decisions have been well-documented but there is a paucity of empirical studies that examine the adoption of e-commerce in developing economies in the Arab world. The aim of our study is to provide insights into the salient e-commerce adoption issues by focusing on Saudi Arabian businesses. We developed a conceptual model for B2B e-commerce adoption incorporating six factors. Survey data from 450 businesses were used to test the model and hypotheses. The analysis demonstrates that, (1) when e-commerce preliminary adoption is investigated, organizational IT readiness, management support and regulatory environment emerge as the strongest factor, (2) pressure from customers may not have much effect on the preliminary adoption of e-commerce by companies, but does significantly influence on the utilisation of e-commerce by firms, and (3) Saudi Arabia has a strong ICT infrastructure for supporting e-commerce practices. Taken together, these findings on the multi-dimensionality of e-commerce adoption show that preliminary adoption and utilisation of ecommerce are not only different measures of ecommerce adoption, but also have different determinants. The implications of the findings are discussed and suggestions for future inquiry are presented.

An investigation into the adoption and implementation of electronic commerce in Saudi Arabian small and medium enterprises

Saudi Arabian Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) will face fierce competition from new entrants to local markets as a result of their accession to the Word Trade Organisation (WTO), and electronic commerce (e-commerce) technologies can reinforce SME’s competitive edge. This study investigates the state of e-commerce adoption and analyses the factors that determine the extent to which SMEs in Saudi Arabia are inclined towards deploying e-commerce technologies. This could assist future firms in designing effective implementation projects. Seven SMEs’ e-commerce adoption levels are studied as a case. The Technology-Organization-Environment (TOE) framework was used as the major source of inspiration in our analysis of e-commerce adoption amongst Saudi SMEs. In addition to advancing research on e-commerce in Saudi Arabia, this chapter also highlights several directions for future inquiry and implications for managers and policymakers.

An investigation into the adoption of electronic business in Saudi Arabia using technology-organisation-environment framework

Despite the proliferation of e-business adoption by organisations and the world-wide growth of the e-business phenomenon, there is a paucity of empirical studies that examine the adoption of e-business in the Middle East. The aim of our study is to provide insights into the salient e-business adoption issues by focusing on Saudi Arabian businesses. We developed a conceptual model for electronic business (e-business) adoption incorporating ten factors based on the technology-organization-environment framework. Survey data from 550 businesses were used to test the model and hypotheses. We conducted confirmatory factor analysis to assess the reliability and validity of constructs. The findings of the study suggest that firm technology competence, size, top management Support, technology orientation, consumer readiness, trading partner readiness and regulatory support are important antecedents of e-business adoption and utilisation. In addition, the study finds that, competitive pressure and organisational customer and competitor orientation is not a predictor for e-business adoption and utilisation. The implications of the findings are discussed and suggestions for future inquiry are presented.