Review on IT adoption: insights from recent technologies

Facilitators and barriers to the adoption of active back-support exoskeletons in the construction industry

INTRODUCTION

Active back-support exoskeletons are gaining more awareness as a solution to the prevalence of work-related musculoskeletal disorders in the construction industry. This study aims to understand the factors that influence the adoption of active back-support exoskeletons in the construction industry.

METHOD

A literature review was conducted to gather relevant adoption factors related to exoskeleton implementation. Building on the TOE (Technology, Organization, and Environment) framework, two rounds of the survey via the Delphi technique were administered with 13 qualified industry professionals to determine the most important adoption factors using the relative importance index. Through semi-structured interviews, the professionals expressed their perspectives on the impact of active back-support exoskeletons on the construction industry.

RESULTS

Important factors included 18 facilitators and 21 barriers. The impact of the exoskeletons in the construction industry was categorized into expected benefits, barriers, solutions, adjustment to technology, implementation, and applicable tasks.

CONCLUSIONS

This study identified the factors to be considered in the adoption and implementation of active back-support exoskeletons in the construction industry from the perspective of stakeholders. The study also elucidates the impact of active exoskeletons on construction organizations and the broader environment.

PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS

This study provides useful guidance to construction companies interested in adopting active back-support exoskeletons. Our results will also help manufacturers of active back-support exoskeletons to understand the functional requirements and adjustments required for utilization in the construction industry. Lastly, the study expands the application of the TOE framework to the adoption of active back-support exoskeletons in the construction industry.

Factors for the implementation of the circular economy in Big Data environments in service companies in post pandemic times of COVID-19: The case of Colombia

In emerging economies, Big Data (BD) analytics has become increasingly popular, particularly regarding the opportunities and expected benefits. Such analyzes have identified that the production and consumption of goods and services, while unavoidable, have proven to be unsustainable and inefficient. For this reason, the concept of the circular economy (CE) has emerged strongly as a sustainable approach that contributes to the eco-efficient use of resources. However, to develop a circular economy in DB environments, it is necessary to understand what factors influence the intention to accept its implementation. The main objective of this research was to assess the influence of attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral norms on the intention to adopt CE in BD-mediated environments. The methodology is quantitative, cross-sectional with a descriptive correlational approach, based on the theory of planned behavior and a Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Model (PLS-SEM). A total of 413 Colombian service SMEs participated in the study. The results show that managers' attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived norms of behavior positively influence the intentions of organizations to implement CB best practices. Furthermore, most organizations have positive intentions toward CE and that these intentions positively influence the adoption of DB; however, the lack of government support and cultural barriers are perceived as the main limitation for its adoption. The research leads to the conclusion that BD helps business and government develop strategies to move toward CE, and that there is a clear positive will and intent toward a more restorative and sustainable corporate strategy.

Exploring the contextual factors affecting financial shared service implementation and firm performance

Purpose

Although the financial shared service (FSS) mode has become a well-established organizational arrangement, current information system (IS) research remains limited and mixed. The purpose of this study is to narrow research gaps in the literature on shared services from an FSS practice perspective. The following research questions guide this study: (1) what are the important antecedents of FSS implementation? (2) what is the impact of FSS implementation on firm performance?

Design/methodology/approach

Drawing on the technology–organization–environment (TOE) framework and previous innovation studies, this study explores the impact of FSS implementation on firm performance. A questionnaire survey was conducted on Chinese firms using partial least squares (PLS) for data analysis.

Findings

The authors find technological, organizational and environmental factors affect the extent and depth of FSS implementation. The empirical results show that relative advantage, compatibility, top management support, managerial obstacles and competitive pressure significantly affect FSS implementation, but bandwagon pressure does not have a direct impact on it. Top management support is the most important factor, and managerial obstacles and compatibility are controllable and manageable factors for firms. The study confirms that FSS improves the financial and non-financial performance of firms significantly, and the degree of improvement in non-financial is greater than that in financial performance.

Practical implications

A comprehension of the key factors influencing FSS implementation will help companies predict weaknesses in their implementation plan and design suitable strategies to handle deployment to achieve these benefits. Managers can make a comprehensive decision regarding the long-term development of combining FSS and the suitability of companies.

Originality/value

The findings contribute to the shared services implementation theory by identifying a set of theoretical factors that shape a firm's shared service implementation. This study provides empirical support to gauge the impact of FSS implementation on firm performance and provides new evidence for a shared-service payoff study. Moreover, the study extends the applicability of the TOE framework and the balanced scorecard (BSC) viewpoint to the FSS implementation field.

Evaluating the adoption of cybersecurity and its influence on organizational performance

Cyberattacks negatively impact the performance of enterprises all around the globe. While organizations invest more in cybersecurity to avoid cyberattacks, studies on the factors affecting their overall cybersecurity adoption and awareness are sparse. In this paper, by integrating the diffusion of innovation theory (DOI), technology acceptance model (TAM), and technology-organization-environment (TOE) with the balanced scorecard approach, we propose a comprehensive set of factors that influence cybersecurity adoption and assess the effects of these factors on organizational performance. Data are collected through a survey of IT experts in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the United Kingdom, with 147 valid responses. Structural equation modeling based on a statistical package for the social sciences (SPSS) was used to assess the model. The findings identify and confirm the importance of eight factors affecting SMEs' cybersecurity adoption. Moreover, cybersecurity technology adoption is found to positively impacts organizational performance. The proposed framework depicts variables influencing cybersecurity technology adoption and assesses their importance. The outcomes of this study provide a basis for future research and can be adopted by IT and cybersecurity managers to identify the most appropriate cybersecurity technologies that positively impact their company's performance.

Pull and Push Factors of Data Analytics Adoption and Its Mediating Role on Operational Performance

Despite the influx of data analytics (DA) practices among firms, their impact on operational performance remains ambiguous. This study examined the pull and push factors affecting the data analytics adoption (DAA) from the theoretical perspectives of the technology–organization–environment (TOE) model, theory of perceived risk (TPR), and resource-based view (RBV). The study analyzed data from 169 firms on the basis of the positivist paradigm and employed the partial least square to run the reflective–formative two-stage analysis. Accordingly, the results indicated that the three TOE model aspects exhibited a positive direct impact on DAA and indirectly impacted operational performance through DAA. However, the perceived risk did not display a similar effect in both situations. This study further revealed that the environment push factor had more explanatory power than the perceived risk pull factor, suggesting that a conducive TOE environment would motivate DAA, subsequently enhancing operational performance. The study provided valuable empirical evidence on the determinants of DAA and its subsequent effect on firms’ operational performance. Uniquely, the study also contributed to the literature from the perspective of higher-order-construct analysis in examining the determinants of DAA and its effect on operational performance. Furthermore, the mediation analysis covered the interaction of indirect-path coefficients, minimizing errors in interpreting the mediation effect.

Dilemmatic dual-factor determinants of discontinuous intention in cryptocurrency usage

Purpose

Cryptocurrency, an important application of blockchain technology, has gradually circulated, and its use has become widespread. While cryptocurrency is growing rapidly, potential risks are simultaneously emerging. Users thus may abandon their usage behavior of cryptocurrency, hindering the future development of cryptocurrency. While prior studies focus more on the intention to use cryptocurrency in the pre-adoption phase, less studies pay attention to discontinuance usage intention in the post-adoption phase. To fill this knowledge gap, this stfudy aims to explore factors that cause discontinuance usage intention regarding cryptocurrency.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on the net valence framework theoretically grounded on the theory of reason action, a dilemmatic dual-factor model is proposed to figure out cryptocurrency users' discontinuance usage intention from the perceived risk and perceived benefit. This study identifies four potential risks and three potential benefits that affect perceived risk and benefit. The model with nine hypotheses were developed, and research data were collected by a survey method. A total of 343 valid responses were received, and PLS-SEM with SmartPLS was utilized to test the nine hypotheses, with seven hypotheses supported empirically.

Findings

Our findings demonstrate that financial, legal and operational risks are critical to increase users' perceived risk, and perceived usefulness and seamless transactions play important roles in enhancing users' perceived benefit. Moreover, while perceived risk can increase users' discontinuance usage intention to cryptocurrency, perceived benefit can mitigate such intention.

Originality/value

This study contributes nascent knowledge to the literature by examining factors that influence discontinuous usage intention in regard to cryptocurrencies, to firms that have issued or attempted to issue cryptocurrencies and to the potential users of cryptocurrencies by adjusting the mode of operation and investment strategies and reducing user costs, achieving a win-win situation for firms and users.

Factors Influencing the Adoption of Big Data Analytics in the Digital Transformation Era: Case Study of Jordanian SMEs

Big data (BD) analytics has been increasingly gaining attraction in both practice and theory in light of its opportunities, barriers and expected benefits. In particular, emerging economics view big data analytics as having great importance despite the fact that it has been in a constant struggle with the barriers that prevent its adoption. Thus, this study primarily attempted to determine the drivers of big data analytics in the context of a developing economy, Jordan. The study examined the influence of technological, organizational and environmental factors on big data adoption in the Jordanian SMEs context, using PLS-SEM for the analysis. The empirical results revealed that the relative advantage, complexity, security, top management support, organizational readiness and government support influence the adoption of BD, whilst pressure of competition and compatibility appeared to be of insignificant influence. The findings are expected to contribute to enterprise management and strategic use of data analytics in the present dynamic market environment, for both researcher and practitioner circles concerned with the adoption of big data in developing countries.

Augmented reality adoption intention among travel and tour operators in Malaysia: mediation effect of value alignment

Purpose

This study evaluated the determinants of augmented reality (AR) adoption in Malaysia's travel and tour operator sectors through an integrated technology-organization-environmental (TOE) and diffusion of innovation (DOI) model.

Design/methodology/approach

The TOE and DOI were considered the primary theoretical models but are combined and extended by including few additional variables. Data were collected from 220 respondents of travel and tour operating businesses in Malaysia and analyzed by applying PLS structural equation model technique.

Findings

The empirical results established that perceived cost, relative advantages, complexity and compatibility, observability, competitor pressure, value alignment, customer pressure, and trialability are positively connected with the behavioral intention except for external support. The results reveal that value alignment partially mediates the association between relative advantages and behavioral intention, complexity and behavioral intention, compatibility and behavioral intention, perceived cost and behavioral intention except in between trialability and observability.

Originality/value

This research is unique as the value alignment construct is included in the model, and thus it fulfills the literature gap by adding the mediation construct. This study contributes to enhancing AR's understanding of the Malaysian travel and tour operator industry through the lenses of owners or managers. It offers an integrated model that combines the TOE and DOI models, rare in this sector, and can be replicated or extended with validated scales.

A Fuzzy Multicriteria Group Decision Making Approach for Evaluating and Selecting Fintech Projects

The use of financial technologies (Fintech) has increased recently due to their support to financial institutions in managing their financial operations and achieving competitive advantages. Even though there are several benefits with Fintech development and implementation, selecting the most suitable Fintech project can be complex. This is due to the involvement of numerous decision makers, the conflicting nature of multiple evaluation criteria, and fuzzy data derived from imprecise judgments of qualitative performance ratings. Interval-valued based intuitionistic fuzzy numbers are used to deal with the inherent vagueness and imprecision of the evaluation process. An algorithm based on an interval-valued intuitionistic fuzzy weighted geometric (IIFWG) and the concept of ideal solutions is developed. As a result, the most suitable Fintech project alternative can be selected across all evaluation criteria. To demonstrate the effectiveness of the approach, a Fintech project selection problem is presented.

Intention to Adopt AI-Powered Online Service among Tourism and Hospitality Companies

This study examines the factors affecting the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) powered online service in the tourism and hospitality sector through an extension of the technology acceptance model (TAM) by including self-efficacy, subjective norms, technological knowledge, and perceived cost in the analysis. Data was collected from 336 respondents in Malaysia’s tourism and hospitality industry using the questionnaire survey. The empirical results confirmed that perceived usefulness, ease of use, attitude, cost, and technology knowledge significantly affected behavioral intention. Self-efficacy, perceived ease of use, and perceived usefulness affected the attitude towards AI. Attitude mediated the relationship between perceived ease of use and behavioral intention as well as the relationship between perceived usefulness and behavioral intention. This study contributes to enhancing AI's understanding of the tourism and hospitality industry context. This study also improves TAM by proposing a comprehensive model with cognitive external and technology-specific factors.

Adoption of Social Media Marketing for Sustainable Business Growth of SMEs in Emerging Economies: The Moderating Role of Leadership Support

Social media marketing (SMM) plays an important role in business communication, marketing, operations, and other activities. There is a growing interest among researchers, academicians, and practitioners to understand the role of SMM in business sustainability in small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in an emerging economy, like India. Few studies have attempted to understand this role. Thus, the aim of this study is to examine the impact of adopting social media marketing for sustainable business growth of SMEs in an emerging economy. The study also investigates the moderating role of SME leadership support on the relationship between SMM usage and sustainable business growth of SMEs. After reviewing the existing literature and technology adoption model, a theoretical model is developed, which is then validated using a structural equation modeling technique to analyze 304 samples of Indian SMEs that use different social media marketing applications in their enterprises. This study confirmed that SMM tools significantly and positively improve the sustainable growth of SMEs in an emerging economy. Additionally, the study also found that SME leadership team plays a vital role in supporting actual usage of SMM tools that accelerate sustainable business growth of SMEs.

E-learning intention material using TAM: A case study

COVID-19 pandemic has impacted various walks of life. A critical aspect of human development is education, which has been transformed from traditional face-to-face to online education. Various researchers have studied the impact of online modes of education on the learning curve of students. This research envisions identifying the intention among students on whether to continue e-learning or revert to face-to-face mode. Factors like Perceived Usefulness, Perceived Ease of Use, and Behavioral Intention is studied through Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). To evaluate the model, structure analysis was conducted. Two hundred ninety-one students participated and responded to the questionnaire specially designed for this study. Based on the results obtained, academic motivation is positively related to Behavioral Intention, which is completely related to Perceived Usefulness and Perceived Ease of Use. Knowledge Quality and Technology Fit are other salient factors that impact the students' perceived usefulness and ease of use. On the other hand, the relationships between Information Quality and Perceived Usefulness, Perceived Ease of Use and Behavioral Intention, and Social Influence and Behavioral were not supported because of insignificant relationships.

The Effective Factors on Continuity of Corporate Information Security Management: Based on TOE Framework

In the Fourth Industrial Revolution era, data-based business management activities among enterprises proliferated are mainly based on digital transformation. In this change, the information security system and its operation are emphasized as essential business activities of enterprises the research aims to verify the relationship among the influence factors of corporate information security management based on the TOE framework. This study analyzes the effects of technical, organizational, and environmental factors on the intention, strengthening, and continuity of information security management. To this, a survey was conducted on professional individuals who are working in areas related to information security in organizations, and 107 questionnaires were collected and analyzed. According to major results of the analysis on adopted hypotheses. In results, as to the intention of information security management, organization and environment factors were influential. In the other side, technology and environment factors were affected to the strengthening of information security management. Hence this study pointed out that the environmental factors are most significant for the information security administration of an organization. In addition, it turned out that the strengthening of information security management was influential on the continuity of information security management more significantly than the intention of information security management.

Analysis of the factors influencing adoption of 3D design digital technologies in Colombian firms

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to analyse the factors influencing intention to adopt 3D design digital technologies (3DDTs) by Colombian firms.

Design/methodology/approach

A conceptual framework was developed using technology-organization-environment (TOE) and technology acceptance model (TAM) theoretical frameworks. From a sample of 138 firms, a structural equation model was analysed with partial least squares (SEM-PLS).

Findings

The study identified that perceived usefulness in the technological dimension; technological competence and top management support in the organizational dimension; and competitive pressures in the environmental dimension, are variables affecting intention to adopt 3DDT. The effects of the mediating variables with respect to intention to adopt the technology are also analysed, such as perceived usefulness on the effect of ease of use; top management support on the effect of technological competence and financial readiness; and competitive pressures on the effect of stakeholder pressure. The model explained 71.1% of the 3DDT intention to adopt.

Practical implications

The model can be used as a guideline to ensure a positive outcome of the 3DDT adoption in organizations. The results could be useful to understand a technological adoption process for digital transformation.

Originality/value

The proposed model integrates some contributions from the TAM and TOE theories and identifies some novel mediating effects that improve its predictive and explanatory power. Furthermore, this is a pioneering study in empirical research on 3DDT in the context of a developing country, specifically in Colombia. The findings from this study provide a foundation for other studies, as well as constructive insights for digital transformation, due to its infancy in an emerging economy.

Differing Perceptions of the Smartwatch by Users Within Developed Countries

This article aims to identify differences in the impact of Self-connectivity and the variables of the technological acceptance model (TAM) on smartwatch adoption in developed countries. The countries involved in the data collection were the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Germany, and France. A sample of 1,197 respondents was used. The study identifies distinct adoption behaviours of smartwatch users in these countries and the moderating impacts of age and gender. The study's results confirm that perceived ease-of-use has no impact on attitude-toward-using the smartwatch and its findings emphasize the key role of perceived-connectivity and the moderating effect of culture on the adoption of innovative products.

Organizational Adoption of Social Media in the Hospitality Industry: An Integrated Approach Based on DIT and TOE Frameworks

The importance of the organizational adoption of social media is increasingly raised in hospitality literature because of the recognition of Web 2.0 technologies as a significant tool for improving customer information searching and experience, as well as for enriching firm digital strategy. The present study seeks to empirically explore the determinant factors that affect a hospitality firm’s decision to adopt social media by following a theoretical approach that integrates the Diffusion of Innovation Theory (DIT) with the Technology-Organization-Environment (TOE) framework. Using survey data from 106 hospitality firms operating in Greece, and by applying structural equation modelling (SEM), we identify seven factors that influence the adoption of organizational social media adoption. These factors are grouped into three categories: Technological, organizational, and environmental. Out of the three groups of factors, technological features are considered as the most important ones in terms of their predicting power. Theoretical and practical implications of our findings are discussed.

Adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) for talent acquisition in IT/ITeS organizations

Purpose

Human resource managers are adopting AI technology for conducting various tasks of human resource management, starting from manpower planning till employee exit. AI technology is prominently used for talent acquisition in organizations. This research investigates the adoption of AI technology for talent acquisition.

Design/methodology/approach

This study employs Technology-Organization-Environment (TOE) and Task-Technology-Fit (TTF) framework and proposes a model to explore the adoption of AI technology for talent acquisition. The survey was conducted among the 562 human resource managers and talent acquisition managers with a structured questionnaire. The analysis of data was completed using PLS-SEM.

Findings

This research reveals that cost-effectiveness, relative advantage, top management support, HR readiness, competitive pressure and support from AI vendors positively affect AI technology adoption for talent acquisition. Security and privacy issues negatively influence the adoption of AI technology. It is found that task and technology characteristics influence the task technology fit of AI technology for talent acquisition. Adoption and task technology fit of AI technology influence the actual usage of AI technology for talent acquisition. It is revealed that stickiness to traditional talent acquisition methods negatively moderates the association between adoption and actual usage of AI technology for talent acquisition. The proposed model was empirically validated and revealed the predictors of adoption and actual usage of AI technology for talent acquisition.

Practical implications

This paper provides the predictors of the adoption of AI technology for talent acquisition, which is emerging extensively in the human resource domain. It provides vital insights to the human resource managers to benchmark AI technology required for talent acquisition. Marketers can develop their marketing plan considering the factors of adoption. It would help designers to understand the factors of adoption and design the AI technology algorithms and applications for talent acquisition. It contributes to advance the literature of technology adoption by interweaving it with the human resource domain literature on talent acquisition.

Originality/value

This research uniquely validates the model for the adoption of AI technology for talent acquisition using the TOE and TTF framework. It reveals the factors influencing the adoption and actual usage of AI technology for talent acquisition.

Adoption of Green Supply Chain Management among SMEs in Malaysia

The purpose of this study is to integrate the Diffusion of Innovation (DOI) theory and Technology, Organization and Environment (TOE) theory to examine the factors that affect the adoption of green supply chain management (GSCM) practices among SMEs in Malaysia. Twelve hypotheses were developed based on the integrating theories in technology adoption context. In this study, data were collected through questionnaire survey on the SMEs in Klang Valley Malaysia. A total of 298 responses were analyzed. The regression analysis method was used to test the hypothetical relationships among technological, organizational and environmental factors and SMEs’ intention to adopt GSCM practices. Research findings show that perceived relative advantage, perceived cost, top management support, complexity, compatibility, firms size, customer pressure, regulatory pressure and the quality of human resources are statistically significant factors influencing GSCM adoption among SMEs in Malaysia. However, observability and governmental support do not have significant effects on GSCM adoption intention. According to research findings, some implications which are valuable to academics and practitioners are also addressed. This study can serve as a guideline for successful implementation of GSCM among the SMEs in an emerging country.

Understanding the Determinants and Future Challenges of Cloud Computing Adoption for High Performance Computing

High performance computing (HPC) is widely recognized as a key enabling technology for advancing scientific progress, industrial competitiveness, national and regional security, and the quality of human life. Notwithstanding this contribution, the large upfront investment and technical expertise required has limited the adoption of HPC to large organizations, government bodies, and third level institutions. Recent advances in cloud computing and telecommunications have the potential to overcome the historical issues associated with HPC through increased flexibility and efficiency, and reduced capital and operational expenditure. This study seeks to advance the literature on technology adoption and assimilation in the under-examined HPC context through a mixed methods approach. Firstly, the determinants of cloud computing adoption for HPC are examined through a survey of 121 HPC decision makers worldwide. Secondly, a modified Delphi method was conducted with 13 experts to identify and prioritize critical issues in the adoption of cloud computing for HPC. Results from the quantitative phase suggest that only organizational and human factors significantly influence cloud computing adoption decisions for HPC. While security was not identified as a significant influencer in adoption decisions, qualitative research findings suggest that data privacy and security issues are an immediate and long-term concern.

Quantifying the sustainability of Bitcoin and Blockchain

Purpose

The authors develop new quantitative methods to estimate the level of speculation and long-term sustainability of Bitcoin and Blockchain.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors explore the practical application of speculative bubble models to cryptocurrencies. They then show how the approach can be extended to provide estimated brand values using data from Google Trends.

Findings

The authors confirm previous findings of speculative bubbles in cryptocurrency markets. Relatedly, Google searches for cryptocurrencies seem to be primarily driven by recent price rises. Overall results are sufficient to question the long-term sustainability of Bitcoin with the suggestion that Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash and Ripple may all enjoy technical advantages relative to Bitcoin. Our results also demonstrate that Blockchain has a distinct value and identity beyond cryptocurrencies – providing foundational support for the second generation of academic work on Blockchain. However, a relatively low estimated long-term growth rate suggests that the benefits of Blockchain may take a long time to be fully realised.

Originality/value

The authors contribute to an emerging academic literature on Blockchain and to a more established literature exploring the use of Google data within business analytics. Their original contribution is to quantify the business value of Blockchain and related technologies using Google Trends

Critical determinants for electronic market adoption

Purpose

Understanding the critical determinants for the adoption of electronic markets (e-markets) is significant for the development of sustainable electronic business. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the critical determinants for the adoption of e-markets in Australian small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) for electronic business.

Design/methodology/approach

A comprehensive review of the related studies is conducted. That leads to the development of a conceptual model for exploring the critical determinants for the adoption of e-markets in Australian SMEs. Such a model is then tested and validated using structural equation modelling on the survey data collected, leading to the identification of the critical determinants for e-market adoption in Australian SMEs.

Findings

The study reveals that perceived direct benefit, perceived trust, top management support and external pressures are critical for the adoption of e-markets in Australian SMEs. Perceived indirect benefit and organization readiness are insignificant for the adoption of e-markets.

Originality/value

This paper contributes to existing electronic business research by enriching the understanding of the critical determinants for the adoption of e-markets in Australian SMEs. Such a study provides government departments, e-market operators and SMEs with practical guidelines for the better use of e-markets in electronic business.

Rahim NZ. A multifaceted framework for adoption of cloud computing in Malaysian SMEs

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to develop a model to understand the relationships among technology, organizational and environmental (TOE) contexts, intention to adopt cloud computing (IACC) and actual usage of cloud computing (AUCC) in small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Malaysia as a developing country. More specifically, this paper seeks to explore the mediation effect of IACC on the relationship between TOE context and AUCC.

Design/methodology/approach

A positivist research approach was selected for this study. Drawing largely upon the TOE framework, this study uses survey data from 209 Malaysian SMEs. Structural equation modelling (SEM) based on partial least squares (PLS) was used to assess the structural relations of the research model.

Findings

The results of the structural model show that data security, technology readiness, top management support, competitive pressure and innovativeness are the most significant factors in predicting the adoption of cloud computing in Malaysian SMEs. Further, the results indicate that intention to adopt cloud computing can play a mediating role between TOE factors and the actual usage of cloud computing.

Research limitations/implications

The focus upon Malaysian SMEs may diminish the generalizability of the findings. This study provides profound insight into the management and foundation of cloud computing, different types of cloud services and deployment models that could facilitate the management of enterprise strategic resources and contribute to the performance improvement. This study also provides another important implication for practitioners regarding the absolute necessity of value drivers’ identification within enterprise and understand the causal relationships, which are vital in driving those values.

Practical implications

This study provides several practical guidance for practitioners in deploying cloud services which are most suitable option for their specific technology requirement in their enterprise to enjoy the full benefits of their intangible assets. Another significant implication of this study lies in the fact that it may require a different emphasis on nature and adoption design when there is a higher level of stress on technology-related and cloud computing resources.

Originality/value

This study contributes to the extant literature by developing an integrative model to identify how a wide set of contextual factors can determine the intention to adopt cloud computing and, in turn, influence the actual usage of cloud computing in SMEs in Malaysia as a developing country.

Critical internal organization’s forces influencing sustainability of post ERP in UAE service industry

Purpose

Despite the wide recognition of enterprise resource planning’s (ERP’s) multiple uses, little research has examined the internal forces that influence success after ERP implementation in the service industry. This study aims to identify the factors influencing post-implementation ERP capabilities (PERPC) and improving post-implementation sustainability and user satisfaction (PERPSUS). Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) are used for this, with advance managed outsourced solutions (AMOS) and an entanglement view of all firm ERP users.

Design/methodology/approach

A theoretical model is created to explain internal organizational factors impacting post-implementation ERP sustainability and user satisfaction. Data were collected from 152 executive ERP users in two organizations in the UAE. Two CFA models were created.

Findings

The results show that adoption by internal organizational forces leads to more sustainable post-implementation ERP. A 69 per cent variance in user satisfaction and post-implementation ERP sustainability was found through a PERPC model and its dimensions, which are significantly highly correlated.

Research limitations/implications

ERP professionals and stakeholders believe that identification of ERP capabilities (ERPCs) and user satisfaction must be multi-dimensional.

Practical implications

CIOs and ERP professionals could use these results to increase the success of ERP in the service industry, and they can support the inclusion of post-implementation ERP practices.

Originality/value

Using AMOS, this paper explores the role of ERPCs in system sustainability and user satisfaction in the service sector, utilizing stakeholder perspectives and an entanglement view of ERP users in the service industry.

Do strategy, processes, personnel and technology affect firm’s propensity to adopt cloud computing?

Purpose

Previous empirical research on cloud computing (CC) adoption factors has examined the effects of only a small number of firm’s characteristics on CC adoption. The purpose of this paper is to investigate empirically the effects of a wide set of firm’s characteristics, which concern four important aspects of it, its strategy, processes, personnel and technology, on the propensity to adopt CC.

Design/methodology/approach

Having as theoretical background the technology, organization and environment (TOE) theory of technological innovation adoption, in combination with Scott-Morton’s framework on firm’s main elements, ten research hypotheses have been developed based on previous CC and management literature. They were tested using data collected through the e-Business W@tch Survey of the European Commission from 676 European firms from three traditional manufacturing sectors.

Findings

The results reveal three characteristics of a firm that affect positively its propensity to adopt CC for all firm sizes: the adoption of ICT investment reduction strategy, the adoption of product/service innovation strategy and the sophistication of firm’s administration support ICT infrastructure. Furthermore, they reveal four additional characteristics of a firm that affect positively the propensity for CC adoption only in the small firms: the adoption of process innovation strategy, the employment of ICT personnel, as well as the sophistication of firm’s production support and e-sales ICT infrastructures.

Research limitations/implications

First, this study provides a theoretical foundation for the elaboration of the organizational perspective of the TOE theory of technological innovation adoption, which opens a new stream of CC adoption factors research, investigating the effects of a wide range of firm’s characteristics on CC adoption. Second, based on the above foundation, this study enriches substantially the empirical literature on CC adoption factors. The main limitation of this study is that it has been based on data from only three European manufacturing sectors.

Practical implications

The findings provide new interesting insights concerning specific firm’s characteristics and therefore internal conditions that increase its propensity for CC adoption, and reveal specific kinds of strategy and ICT infrastructures for which CC is more appropriate and beneficial.

Originality/value

The authors have developed a theoretical foundation for extending our knowledge concerning the characteristics and internal conditions of firms that favor/promote the adoption of CC, which supports and enables the substantial extension of the existing knowledge base on CC adoption factors. Based on this theoretical foundation, the authors have formulated and tested ten research hypotheses concerning effects of firm’s strategic directions, processes, ICT infrastructures and ICT personnel, which have not been investigated previously, on CC adoption propensity.

How New HRM Practices, Organizational Innovation, and Innovative Climate Affect the Innovation Performance in the IT Industry: A Moderated-Mediation Analysis

Considering the cutthroat competition in IT organizations, public and state-based organizations are trying to develop strategies to promote innovation in the organizations. However, due to monopolistic structure, employee rigidness, and lack of innovation climate, employees are reluctant to perform innovatively in such organizations. New HRM practices (NHRM) can enrich the talented, motivated, committed, and innovative staff to enhance innovation. However, empirical evidence to prove this relationship is insufficient. Therefore, this study aims to analyze the effect of NHRM practices on innovation performance with the mediating role of organizational innovation and the moderating role of the innovation climate. Data collected from semi-government IT-based organizations provide results that there is a significant positive relationship between NHRM practices and innovation performance. The mediating role of organizational innovation was also found. Moreover, the results of the moderated-mediation show that the mediating role of organizational innovation is also strong if the organizational climate is more innovative. These results provide managerial guidelines to promote NHRM practices to enhance innovation performance in the semi-government IT-based organizations of Pakistan.

Integrated technology-organization-environment (T-O-E) taxonomies for technology adoption

Purpose

The T-O-E framework enjoys robust scholarly accolade but it rarely espouses clearly task and individual factors. Although task and individual contexts had been separately addressed by task-technology-fit (TTF) and unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT), respectively, the purpose of this paper is to complement and/or extend the T-O-E’s insights by integrating TTF and UTAUT frameworks, and developing and empirically testing a 12-factor framework that spans five contexts.

Design/methodology/approach

Survey data were proportionally collected from six groups of small service enterprises with strong operations in Port Harcourt, Nigeria and the mode of sampling was purposive and snow-ball while analysis involved logistic likelihood regression.

Findings

The relationship between adoption and the factors within the contexts of technology, organization, environment and task were statistically supported though some had negative coefficients. For individual context, social factor had a statistically significant negative coefficient but hedonistic drive was not statistically supported.

Research limitations/implications

The study is limited by its scope of coverage; therefore, extended data are needed to apply the findings to other sectors/industries and to factor in the implementation and post-adoption phases and business-to-business adoption in order to forge a more integrated and holistic adoption framework.

Practical implications

The findings encourage vendors and policy makers to place more premiums on organizational and task factors than on technological, environmental and individual factors and to craft informed marketing programs that would appeal to actual and potential adopters and cause them to progress in the loyalty ladder.

Originality/value

This paper contributes to the growing research on technology adoption; it uses factors within the T-O-E, TTF and UTAUT frameworks to explain adoption of technologies and to establish the underlying relationships amongst T-O-E factors through integrating other useful frameworks.

Health Information Technology (HIT) Adaptation: Refocusing on the Journey to Successful HIT Implementation

In past years, policies and regulations required hospitals to implement advanced capabilities of certified electronic health records (EHRs) in order to receive financial incentives. This has led to accelerated implementation of health information technologies (HIT) in health care settings. However, measures commonly used to evaluate the success of HIT implementation, such as HIT adoption, technology acceptance, and clinical quality, fail to account for complex sociotechnical variability across contexts and the different trajectories within organizations because of different implementation plans and timelines. We propose a new focus, HIT adaptation, to illuminate factors that facilitate or hinder the connection between use of the EHR and improved quality of care as well as to explore the trajectory of changes in the HIT implementation journey as it is impacted by frequent system upgrades and optimizations. Future research should develop instruments to evaluate the progress of HIT adaptation in both its longitudinal design and its focus on adaptation progress rather than on one cross-sectional outcome, allowing for more generalizability and knowledge transfer.

Revisiting technology-organization-environment (T-O-E) theory for enriched applicability

Purpose

This paper aims to propose and test a ten-factor framework of four contexts from technology-organization-environment (T-O-E) theory and unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) to provide insight(s) that complements and extends extant inquiries on technology adoption.

Design/methodology/approach

Survey data were collected from small service enterprises with strong operations in Port Harcourt, Nigeria, and the mode of sampling was purposive and snow ball, whereas analysis involved structural equation modeling.

Findings

The results show that factors in the technological, organizational and environmental contexts have direct statistically significant relationship with adoption; thus, adoption is more driven by T-O-E factors than by individual factors. For individual context, social factor equally was statistically supported, whereas hedonistic drive was not.

Research limitations/implications

The study is limited by its scope of data collection and phases; therefore, extended data are needed to apply the findings to other sectors/industries/countries and to factor in the implementation and post-adoption phases and business to business (B2B) adoption to forge a more holistic framework.

Practical/implications

Implicit is that the findings encourage vendors and policy makers to recognize the strength of interpersonal and group relationships in addition to T-O-E contexts in developing investment decisions.

Originality/value

The paper contributes to the growing research on innovation adoption by using factors within the T-O-E and UTAUT frameworks to explain SMEs’ adoption of technologies.

A meta-analysis of e-health applications acceptance

Purpose

The increasing importance of electronic health (e-health) has raised the significance of exploring the factors influencing the users’ acceptance of e-health applications. There has been an extensive usage of the technology acceptance model (TAM) in e-health applications acceptance research. However, not all TAM relationships are borne out in all the studies. There is a variation in predicted effects in several studies with different user type and application type. The purpose of this paper is to bridge a research gap by providing a holistic view of the e-health applications acceptance research by integrating the findings of existing relevant literature.

Design/methodology/approach

A statistical meta-analysis of the effect size of causal relationships between common TAM constructs was conducted on 111 peer-reviewed academic studies published in various journals.

Findings

The results confirm the validity and robustness of the TAM in e-health applications acceptance research. Further, a moderator analysis based on user type and e-health application type demonstrated that the effect size of causal relationships between TAM constructs majorly depends on the user type, but not on e-health application type.

Research limitations/implications

This research provides a ready reference of the existing studies on e-health applications acceptance to the researchers. Further, if researchers or practitioners want to learn more about the particular user or application type, they may find the results valuable.

Practical implications

This research suggests that the general public can be used as the surrogates for patients in e-health applications acceptance research. The implementation strategy found successful for medical staff may not work for general public and patients. This research also suggests ways to enhance acceptance of e-health applications among different user groups.

Originality/value

The research is original and is based on the existing literature and its interpretation.

Operational or strategic benefits

Purpose

The purpose of this study is twofold: identifying important determinants for effective adoption of internet technologies in an organizational supply chain context and examining and classifying benefits yielded from internet adoption in supply chain.

Design/methodology/approach

A structured Web-based questionnaire was designed and administered to respondents to collect the primary data. With two reminders, this study managed to obtain 236 respondents from different industries in Malaysia. Structural equation modelling was applied to test the seven hypotheses.

Findings

Four of five factors were significant for successful implementation of internet technologies in organizations. In addition, results suggested that internet technologies contribute more to operational activities rather than strategic initiatives, which would be one of the main contributions of this study.

Research limitations/implications

This study is limited by its being based on organizational perception rather than absolute value for measuring the benefits of internet adoption. Moreover, this study applied the cross-sectional technique which may limit generalizability of the findings.

Practical implications

This study provides in-depth knowledge about internet adoption and benefits for the organization by combining both theoretical and empirical knowledge. It helps managers to understand the importance and process of internet adoption.

Originality/value

Organizations who are interested in adopting the internet in their supply chain may feel that these results will guide them in making their final decision.

A model of adoption determinants of ERP within T-O-E framework

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to attempts to provide further insight into IS adoption by investigating how 12 factors within the technology-organization-environment framework explain small- and medium-sized enterprises’ (SMEs) adoption of enterprise resource planning (ERP) software.

Design/methodology/approach

The approach for data collection was questionnaire survey involving executives of SMEs drawn from six fast service enterprises with strong operations in Port Harcourt. The mode of sampling was purposive and snow ball and analysis involves logistic regression test; the likelihood ratios, Hosmer and Lemeshow’s goodness of fit, and Nagelkerke’s R2 provided the necessary lenses.

Findings

The 12 hypothesized relationships were supported with each factor differing in its statistical coefficient and some bearing negative values. ICT infrastructures, technical know-how, perceived compatibility, perceived values, security, and firm’s size were found statistically significant adoption determinants. Although, scope of business operations, trading partners’ readiness, demographic composition, subjective norms, external supports, and competitive pressures were equally critical but their negative coefficients suggest they pose less of an obstacle to adopters than to non-adopters. Thus, adoption of ERP by SMEs is more driven by technological factors than by organizational and environmental factors.

Research limitations/implications

The study is limited by its scope of data collection and phases, therefore extended data are needed to apply the findings to other sectors/industries and to factor in the implementation and post-adoption phases in order to forge a more integrated and holistic adoption framework.

Practical implications

The model may be used by IS vendors to make investment decisions, to meet customers’ needs, and to craft informed marketing programs that would appeal to actual and potential adopters and cause them to progress in the customer loyalty ladder.

Originality/value

The paper contributes to the growing research on IS innovations’ adoption by using factors within the T-O-E framework to explains SMEs’ adoption of ERP.

Modeling information risk in supply chain using Bayesian networks

Purpose

– Information sharing enhances the supply chain profitability significantly, but it may result in adverse impacts also (e.g. leakages of secret information to competitors, sharing of wrong information that result into losses). So, it is important to understand the various risk factors that lead to distortion in information sharing and results in negative consequences. Information risk identification and assessment in supply chain would help in choosing right mitigation strategies. The purpose of this paper is to identify various information risks that could impact a supply chain, and develop a conceptual framework to quantify them.

Design/methodology/approach

– Bayesian belief network (BBN) modeling will be used to provide a framework for information risk analysis in a supply chain. Bayesian methodology provides the reasoning in causal relationship among various risk factors and incorporates both objective and subjective data.

Findings

– This paper presents a causal relationship among various information risks in a supply chain. Three important risk factors, namely, information security, information leakages and reluctance toward information sharing showed influence on a company’s revenue.

Practical implications

– Capability of Bayesian networks while modeling in uncertain conditions, provides a prefect platform for analyzing the risk factors. BBN provides a more robust method for studying the impact or predicting various risk factors.

Originality/value

– The major contribution of this paper is to develop a quantitative model for information risks in supply chain. This model can be updated when a new data arrives.

Impact of individualism and collectivism over the individual’s technology acceptance behaviour

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to develop an extended model of technology acceptance to include behavioural beliefs (perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use), subjective norms, management support (at institutional and governmental levels) to examine the academics’ internet acceptance behaviour within the Pakistan and Turkish context. In addition to this, impact of cultural dimension individualism-collectivism (IC) is also examined on the basis of moderator construct.

Design/methodology/approach

– Data were collected from 380 academics’ using a cross-sectional survey. Data were analysed using structural equation modelling (partial least squares) in conjunction with multiple group analysis.

Findings

– The results revealed that proposed model achieved acceptable fit with the data (i.e. R2=39 per cent in intention) and most of the hypothesised relationships were supported. The results also revealed that culture showed a moderating effect on hypothetical relationships. Specifically, the effects of management support were stronger for the respondents having high on collectivist society (i.e. Pakistan).

Originality/value

– The study is useful in non-western cultural contexts. Specifically, in contrast to previous studies, diversity of individuals’ acceptance behaviour is examined in Turkey and Pakistan. Additionally, this study had examined moderating impact of cultural dimension (i.e. IC) over academic’s behavioural intention to accept the internet technology.

Technological, organisational and environmental factors influencing managers’ decision to adopt cloud computing in the UK

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to determine the factors influencing managers’ decision to adopt cloud computing in the UK using the “Technology-Organisation-Environment” (TOE) framework.

Design/methodology/approach

– Data were collected through a self-created questionnaire based survey that was completed by 257 mid-to-senior level decision-making business and information technology (IT) professionals from a range of UK end-user organisations. The derived hypotheses were tested using various data analysis techniques including principal component analysis and logistic regression.

Findings

– The results show that four out of the eight factors examined have a significant influence on the adoption decision of cloud computing services in the UK. Those key factors include competitive pressure, complexity, technology readiness and trading partner pressure. The latter predictor; trading partner pressure, was the most significant factor for the adoption decision of cloud services reflecting organisations’ concerns on legal regulations, co-creation and customisation, service linkage and vendor locking which adds complexity to the process of selecting an appropriate vendor.

Research limitations/implications

– This research found trading partners (cloud service providers) significantly influence managers’ decisions to adopt cloud services, however, further research is required to fully understand all the aspects involved especially with the growing number of vendors available. Although over 250 usable responses to the questionnaire were received and analysed, there was not a sufficient quantity of responses from each industry sector or organisation size to conduct further analysis.

Practical implications

– The findings reveal the important role of cloud computing service providers to enable end-users to better evaluate the use of cloud computing. It also reveals that top management support is no longer a driver as organisations are starting to adopt cloud computing services on the basis of cheaper and more agile IT resources in order to support business growth.

Originality/value

– This research provides original insight for cloud computing adoption within the UK from a managerial perspective.