Accepted for publication in

Innovation diffusion theory provides a useful perspective on one of the most persistently challenging topics in the IT field, namely, how to improve technology assessment, adoption and implementation. For this reason, diffusion is growing in popularity as a reference theory for empirical studies of information technology adoption and diffusion, although no comprehensive review of this body of work has been published to date. This paper presents the results of a critical review of eighteen empirical studies published during the period 1981-1991. Conclusive results were most likely when the adoption context closely matched the contexts in which classical diffusion theory was developed (for example, individual adoption of personal-use technologies) or when researchers extended diffusion theory to account for new factors specific to the IT adoption context under study. Based on classical diffusion theory and other recent conceptual work, a framework is developed to guide future research in IT diffusion. The framework maps two classes of technology (ones that conform closely to classical diffusion assumptions versus ones that do no0 against locus of adoption (individual versus organizational), resulting in four IT adoption contexts. For each adoption context, variables impacting adoption and diffusion are identified. Additionally, directions for future research are discussed. 1.

This paper reports on a comparative case study of 13 industrial firms that had implemented an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system. Firms were compared based on their dialectical learning process. All firms had to overcome knowledge barriers of two types: those associated with the configuration of the ERP package, and those associated with the assimilation of new work processes. We examined the mechanisms through which firms attempted to overcome each type of knowledge barrier. We also observed different ERP implementation approaches: piecemeal and concerted. In the former approach, firms concentrated on the technology first and on process changes second. In the latter approach, both the technology and the process changes were tackled together. The learning challenges associated with each of these approaches were found to be different. Keywords: Enterprise Resource Planning, Process Theory, IT implementation, Dialectics of Change, Organizational Learning. ii 3 1. INTRODUCTION ...

and Knowledge Transfer, the special editor and two anonymous referees. The author would also like to acknowledge Himanshu Sheth’s help with statistical analysis. Financial support was graciously provided by the Reginald Jones Center and by the Hunstman Center at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Errors and omissions are solely the author’s responsibility. 1 THE PROCESS OF KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER: A DIACHRONIC ANALYSIS OF STICKINESS Even though intra-firm transfers of knowledge are often laborious, time consuming and fraught with difficulty, extant conceptions treat them essentially as a costless and instantaneous exploit. When at all acknowledged, difficulty is an anomaly in the way transfers are modeled rather than a characteristic feature of the transfer itself. One first step towards incorporating difficulty in the analysis of knowledge transfer is to recognize that a transfer is not an act, as typically modeled, but a process. This paper offers a process model of knowledge transfer. The model identifies stages of transfer and factors that are expected to correlate with difficulty at different stages of the transfer. The general expectation is that factors that affect the opportunity

This paper considers the relationship between the stocks and flows of learning across levels in an overall organizational learning system. A survey instrument based on the Strategic Learning Assessment Map (SLAM) was administered to 15 individuals representing senior-, middle- and non-management levels from each of 32 organizations, resulting in a total sample of 480 respondents. This research supports the premise that there is a positive relationship between the stocks of learning at all levels and business poibrmance. Furthermore, the proposition that the misalignment of stocks and flows in an overall organizational learning system is negatively associated with business per, finance is also supported.

Firms are undertaking growing numbers of e-commerce initiatives and increasingly making significant investments required to participate in the growing online market. However, empirical support for the benefits to firms from e-commerce is weaker than glowing accounts in the popular press, based on anecdotal evidence, would lead us to believe. In this paper, we explore the following questions: What are the returns to shareholders in firms engaging in e-commerce? How do the returns to conventional, brick and mortar firms from e-commerce initiatives compare with returns to the new breed of net firms? How do returns from businessto-business e-commerce compare with returns from business-to-consumer e-commerce? How do the returns to e-commerce initiatives involving digital goods compare to initiatives involving tangible goods? We examine these issues using event study methodology and assess the cumulative abnormal returns to shareholders (CARs) for 251 e-commerce initiatives announced by firms between October and December 1998. The results suggest that e-commerce initiatives do indeed lead to significant positive CARs for firms ’ shareholders. While the CARs for conventional firms are not significantly different from those for net firms, the CARs for businessto-consumer (B2C) announcements are higher than those for business-to-business (B2B) announcements.

This paper examines the usefulness of the diffusion of innovation research in developing theoretical accounts of the adoption of complex and networked IT solutions. We contrast six conjectures underlying DOI research with field data obtained from the study of the diffusion of EDI. Our analysis shows that DOI based analyses miss some important facets in the diffusion of complex technologies. We suggest that complex IT solutions should be understood as socially constructed and learning intensive artifacts, which can be adopted for varying reasons within volatile diffusion arenas. Therefore DOI researchers should carefully recognize the complex, networked, and learning intensive features of technology; understand the role of institutional regimes, focus on process features (including histories) and key players in the diffusion arena, develop multi-layered theories that factor out mappings between different layers and locales, use multiple perspectives including political models, institutional models and theories of team behavior, and apply varying time scales while crafting accounts of what happened and why. In general the paper calls for a need to develop DOI theories at the site by using multiple levels of analysis.

The burden of organizational learning surrounding software process innovations (SPIs)—and complex organizational technologies in general—creates a "knowledge barrier" that inhibits diffusion. Paul Attewell has suggested that many organizations will defer adoption until knowledge barriers have been sufficiently lowered; however, this leaves open the question of which organizations should be more likely to innovate, even in face of high knowledge barriers. It is proposed here that organizations will innovate in the presence of knowledge barriers when the burden of organizational learning is effectively lower, either because much of the required know-how already exists within the organization, or because such knowledge can be acquired more easily or more economically. Specifically, it is hypothesized that organizations will have a greater propensity to initiate and sustain the assimilation of SPIs when they have a greater scale of activities over which learning costs can be spread (learning-related scale), more extensive existing knowledge related to the focal innovation (related knowledge), and a greater diversity of technical knowledge and activities (diversity). An empirical study using data on the assimilation of object-oriented programming languages (OOPLs) by 608 IT organizations strongly confirmed the importance of the three hypothesized factors in explaining the assimilation of OOPLs.

Introduction The task of deciding when and how to innovate is not an easy one. Consider the following managerial quandaries: . A CIO has joined a firm that lags in the adoption of emerging information technologies. He wonders: just how innovative should this firm be going forward, and what can be done to position it to be more willing and able to assume the challenge of early adoption? . A VP of marketing resides in a firm that generally leads in IT innovation, and must decide whether to endorse the immediate adoption of a particular innovation with major implications for marketing strategy. She wonders: are her firm's needs in this area and "readiness" to adopt sufficient to justify taking the lead with this specific innovation? If so, how should the assimilation process be managed? . A product manager must design a deployment strategy for an innovative software development tool. He wonders: how fast can this technology diffu

A Review and Assessment of Research This paper reviews and assesses the emerging research literature on information technology and organizational learning. After discussing issues of meaning and measurement, we identify and assess two main streams of research: studies that apply organizational learning concepts to the process of implementing and using information technology in organizations; and studies concerned with the design of information technology applications to support organizational learning. From the former stream of research, we conclude that experience plays an important, yet indeterminate role in implementation success; learning is accomplished through both formal training and participation in practice; organizational knowledge barriers may be overcome by learning from other organizations; and that learning new technologies is a dynamic process characterized by relatively narrow windows of opportunity. From the latter stream, we conclude that conceptual designs for organizational memory information systems are a valuable contribution to artifact development; learning is enhanced through systems that support communication and discourse; and that information technologies have the potential to both enable and disable organizational learning. Currently, these two streams flow independently of each other, despite their close conceptual and practical links. We advise that future research on information technology and organizational learning proceeds in a more integrated fashion, recognizes the situated nature of organizational learning, focuses on distributed organizational memory, demonstrates the effectiveness of artifacts in practice, and looks for relevant research findings in related fields. 2