Organizational Factors Affecting Propensity to Adopt Cloud Computing

Abstract

Cloud computing (CC) is emerging as a new paradigm of ICT resources acquisition and management by firms. This paper empirically investigates and compares the effects of a set of organizational factors on the propensity to adopt CC, based on data from 676 European firms from the glass, ceramics and cement industries, collected through the e-Business Watch Survey of the European Commission. Our results do not confirm the initial expectations that CC would be adopted primarily by the SMEs, as they indicate that the size has a positive effect on the propensity to adopt CC. Furthermore, we have found that the latter is associated with ICT investment reduction strategy (quite usual today due to the existing economic crisis), and only to a lower extent with innovation oriented strategy. Our results also indicate that previous experience of ICT outsourcing and employment of ICT specialized personnel have positive effects on the propensity to adopt CC. Finally, we have found that firms with higher ICT infrastructure sophistication have higher CC adoption propensity.