Toward a Process Model of IT Adoption Ambidexterity: A Revelatory Case-Study

Abstract

Central to a process of IT adoption is the managerial ability to simultaneously balance the continuous exploring of the technology and its advantages, while also exploiting it. It is this simultaneity that we refer to as IT adoption ambidexterity, and recognize as an area in need of research. Based on prior research on organizational ambidexterity, this study employed a case study to investigate IT adoption at RE/MAX LLC, a global real estate franchise. The question guiding the investigation was: how were the exploration and exploitation activities that contributed to the firm’s IT adoption balanced over time? The study yielded qualitative data to propose a process model of IT adoption ambidexterity, highlighting the capabilities that contribute to ambidexterity at each phase of the adoption. Implications of this model for research and practice are discussed and propositions for future research are offered