Dynamics of information technology adoption in a complex environment

Abstract

In the real world, the adoption of information technology (IT) innovations is a complex process involving three main entities: (i) promoters, who facilitate the adoption process, (ii) inhibitors, who oppose the adoption of technology, and (iii) imitators who are influenced by both promoters and inhibitors. In the presence of promoters and inhibitors, managing technology innovation and adoption is a complex task. Since most of the IT innovations are characterized by these actors, understanding the dynamics of their diffusion and adoption is imperative. This research seeks to develop a system dynamics model to capture the interactive dynamics of IT adoption in a complex environment involving promoters, inhibitors, and imitators. Based on a set of experiments, we investigate via simulation, the behavior of a typical diffusion and adoption process, drawing useful managerial implications for technology policy makers. What-if analyses experiments are carried out in order to obtain further insights into policy design and evaluation for effective technology management.