The Effect of Influence Tactics and Contingency Factors on the Adoption and Diffusion of IS/IT Innovations in Social Networks

Despite considerable research on the adoption and diffusion of information systems (IS)/ information technology (IT) innovations by individuals in organizations, very little is known about the processes underlying the adoption of innovations, and how those processes contribute to the diffusion and assimilation of innovations within organizations. Viewing processes as sequences of actions, this research conducted two studies to: a) uncover the adoption and influence processes employed by individuals, and b) identify the factors that influence diffusion and assimilation within social networks. The first study, situated at the individual level, involved field interviews with 27 individuals from ten organizations in a large mid-western city in the United States. Three categories of actions were identified from the interview data: contextual actions, influencer actions, and adopter (pre-adoption) actions. The actions from each interview were used to construct two sequences (for adoption and influence), which were then examined using optimal matching and cluster analysis. Taxonomies of three adoption processes (Conscious Quest, Requisite Compliance, and Piloted Trial) and three influence processes (Directed Assistance, Queried Disclosure, and Logical Persuasion) were empirically developed. These processes provide insights into the adoption of innovations by individuals. The second study, situated at the network level, involved an agent-based simulation. Building on the field interviews, the simulation modeled the behaviors of individuals within 5000 networks adopting multi-feature IS/IT innovations over 50 time periods. Cross-sectional time-series analyses of the resulting data supported 13 of the 20 hypotheses, and revealed that: a) diffusion was facilitated by: a centralized organization structure, an individualistic cultural orientation, and all three actions, b) assimilation was facilitated by: a centralized organization structure and an individualistic cultural orientation during the early periods but by a decentralized organization structure and a collectivistic cultural orientation during the later periods, and c) all three actions facilitated assimilation in the early periods but only contextual and adopter actions influenced assimilation during the later periods. Overall, this study yielded insights into the diffusion and assimilation of innovations within networks. Together, the two studies provided insights into the complex processes by which individuals within networks adopt IS/IT innovations with multiple features

The Effect of Influence Tactics and Contingency Factors on the Adoption and Diffusion of IS/IT Innovations in Social Networks

Despite considerable research on both adoption and diffusion of IS/IT innovations, there is a lack of coherent understanding of the processes by which innovations diffuse within social systems. This research proposes that the nature of the innovation diffusion process will depend on the characteristics of the innovation, the personal attributes of the individual, the interpersonal relationships, the composition of the social networks, and the specific influence tactics used by individuals. The empirical investigation involves a combination of three different research methods: meta-analysis, interpretive case studies, and simulation. The meta-analysis, at the organizational level, identifies the various factors (individual, dyad, social network, organization, and innovation) that affect innovation diffusion and their effect sizes. The interpretive case studies, at the social network level, help understand the interpersonal processes underlying innovation diffusion. The simulation, at the dyad level, traces how an individual’s adoption behavior may be affected by the combination of different influence tactics over time. Finally, findings from the three research methods will be synthesized to provide an overall understanding of innovation diffusion processes. This research should provide valuable insights into the ways in which IS/IT innovations diffuse within social networks, and how the diffusion processes vary depending on the nature of the IS/IT innovation, the influence tactics used by individuals within the social system, and the contingency factors relating to the dyad, network, and organization

The Effect of Influence Tactics and Contingency Factors on the Adoption and Diffusion of IS/IT Innovations in Social Networks

Despite considerable research on both adoption and diffusion of IS/IT innovations, there is a lack of coherent understanding of the processes by which innovations diffuse within social systems. This research proposes that the nature of the innovation diffusion process will depend on the characteristics of the innovation, the personal attributes of the individual, the interpersonal relationships, the composition of the social networks, and the specific influence tactics used by individuals. The empirical investigation involves a combination of three different research methods: meta-analysis, interpretive case studies, and simulation. The meta-analysis, at the organizational level, identifies the various factors (individual, dyad, social network, organization, and innovation) that affect innovation diffusion and their effect sizes. The interpretive case studies, at the social network level, help understand the interpersonal processes underlying innovation diffusion. The simulation, at the dyad level, traces how an individual’s adoption behavior may be affected by the combination of different influence tactics over time. Finally, findings from the three research methods will be synthesized to provide an overall understanding of innovation diffusion processes. This research should provide valuable insights into the ways in which IS/IT innovations diffuse within social networks, and how the diffusion processes vary depending on the nature of the IS/IT innovation, the influence tactics used by individuals within the social system, and the contingency factors relating to the dyad, network, and organization