Soft Systems Methodology for Modeling Business Processes in EDI Implementation

EDI is a complex and inter-organizational innovation, hence, using traditional development methods in developing EDI applications is no longer appropriate. Several issues - technical, political, economics, intra- and inter-organizational - need to be simultaneously given serious considerations to ensure the adoption and integration of EDI into an existing information systems will truly benefit the adopting organization. Here, the authors proposed the use of the soft approach advocated by Peter Checkland as an alternative to conventional methods

A Multiple-Perspective Approach as an Inquiry System in Understanding Innovation Adoption and its Level of Use

EDI forms a complex and inter-organizational innovation, hence, using the Innovation Diffusion Theory alone is found insufficient to study the diffusion of EDI across organizations. The Innovation Diffusion Theory is concerned with individual perception (pro-innovation bias and individual blame) while lack in organizational and inter-organizational perspectives of a diffusion process. The multiple perspective approach as advocated by Mitroff and Linstone (1993) consists of assumption surfacing technique and stakeholder analysis, which emphasize the perceptions of the participating stakeholders, is proposed to provide multiple ways of looking at the diffusion process. The approach which is meant for a study of an organization is slightly expanded to deal with the inter-organizational feature of EDI

EDI Diffusion in Malaysia — Towards A Multiple Perspective Framework

242-252EDI is a complex, inter-organisational innovation which requires a multi-theoretical interdisciplinary framework to examine its diffusion. Such a framework is proposed taking into account multiple theoretical perspectives for methodological and analytical purposes of a diffusion study. The framework has been used in a study of EDI diffusion among firms in Malaysia. Preliminary findings show that a coordination problem forms a significant barrier to the adoption of the technology