Firm Adoption Research Articles

E-EXTINCTION: AN ILLUSION OF KNOWLEDGE, THE PRESENCE OF IGNORANCE, OR EVOLUTIONARY FATE?

At present, the rate of small firm adoption of the Internet's ubiquitous World Wide Web (the web) far exceeds the actual exploitation its commercial potential. An inability to strategically acquire, comprehend and use external knowledge is proposed as a major barrier to optimal exploitation of the Internet. This paper discusses the limitations of applying market orientation theory to explain and guide small firm exploitation of the web. Absorptive capacity is introduced as an alternative theory that when viewed from an evolutionary perspective provides potentially more insightful discussion. An inability to detect emerging business model dominant designs is suggested to be a mixture of the nature of the technology that supports the Internet and underdeveloped small firm knowledge processing capabilities. We conclude with consideration of the practical and theoretical implications that arise from the paper.

New process technologies: barriers to adoption in small firms

This project explores the barriers that hamper SMEs from adopting new process technologies. Previous research suggests that process innovations enhance productivity appreciably. Often, economics literature on new technology adoption relates to developing countries; do these findings and theories hold for industrial countries' SMEs? The paper reports a national survey sent to SMEs within the engineering and electronic industries. The regression equation indicates that process innovation was a response to competition, as firms were 'pushed' to introduce new techniques. Yet, our research highlights other factors: the importance of strategic plans and a focus on innovation in those firms with the capacity to raise their heads above the day-to-day struggle for survival.

The evolution of organizational routines among large Western and Japanese firms

Students of innovation and evolutionary economists have long recognized the significance of organizational adaptation, as a consequence of changes in production technology and adoption of technological innovations and in understanding transformation of firms in competitive environments. But changes in organizational structure and procedures of firms remain largely unexplored. The paper explores the adoption and adaptation of new structural and procedural organizational routines and emerging dominant managerial practices, and their relations with technological innovation activities. Drawing on a large-scale survey of organizational characteristics in large European, Japanese and US firms between 1992 and 1996, we map the emergence, diffusion and adaptation of new organizational routines. The analysis identifies firms that show high adoption of organizational routines and firms that leapfrog the leading edge companies. We find a high movement of Western firms toward the frontier previously defined by Japanese managerial practices. We also find a strong association of high R&D intensity with the adoption of new routines in European and American firms, but not in Japan. Overall the analysis supports a dynamic view of adoption of emerging organizational routines and finds an evolutionary pattern of imitation and selection of such routines.

Modeling the adoption rates of manufacturing technology innovations by small US manufacturers: a longitudinal investigation

This study provides conclusive evidence to support the view that small plants are slower than larger plants to adopt manufacturing innovations. This empirical study based on over 1000 US manufacturing plants engaged in producing discrete products, studies the adoption of manufacturing technologies in small plants relative to large plants between 1993 and 1997. Under the assumption that small manufacturers are disadvantaged, several federal and state programs have been created to assist small manufacturers in acquiring and adopting manufacturing innovations. Through quantification of technology adoption in small manufacturing firms, this study’s findings reveal which manufacturing innovations are in greater need of governmental assistance programs. While small plants are making progress over time in catching up with larger plants in computerized technology use, they are not making similar progress in adopting manufacturing technology innovations in soft technologies. Several propositions for future research and recommendations for public policy are offered.

A model of Internet adoption by SMEs

The study discussed in this paper used evidence from seven small firms to determine the significant factors that influenced their Internet adoption. Evidence from four firms was used to create a preliminary model of Internet adoption by SMEs. An additional three firms were then examined to refine the preliminary model. The study concluded that three factors significantly affect Internet adoption by small firms: perceived benefits, organisational readiness, and external pressure. The study identified both similarities and differences between Internet adoption and EDI adoption in small firms. The findings have important implications for managers and service providers.

The adoption of new technology: the case of object-oriented computing in software companies

This study examines the adoption of new technologies within organizations, The significance of this research is to broaden the understanding of technology adoption within organizations by focusing on adoption at the individual level, The key research question that is examined is: "what factors contribute to the adoption of new technology by individuals within firms?" A model is presented to distinguish adopters from nonadopters based on four sets of constructs: (1) the characteristics of the individual; (2) individual's perception of group characteristics; (3) individual's perception of company characteristics; and (4) individual's perception of technology. Unlike previous studies that focus only on top management in firms, this study examines adoption at the level of middle managers, engineers and technical personnel, i.e., those individuals who are more likely to actually use this technology in the workplace. The study links previously studied elements of adoption and diffusion of innovations to the specific case of a relatively recent innovation for organizations, As an example, an empirical examination of adoption of object-oriented technology (OT) in software companies is conducted. This technology is a software development technique that uses pretested and routine methods or "objects" to design, construct and assemble software programs. It is a new way of thinking about software based on abstraction that exists in the real world. The results of this study show that individual characteristics, perception of group characteristics and company characteristics are significantly related to OT adoption, but the individual's perception of the technology is not. The proposed model predicts adopters of new technology, such as OT, with 86% accuracy, The results suggest the factors that top management need to focus on in order to facilitate new technology adoption in firms.

IT adoption strategies: best practice guidelines for professional SMEs

This paper discusses information technology (IT) assessment and adoption in small firms. More specifically, it evaluates different approaches to IT assessment and adoption undertaken in professional SMEs, focusing on four professions: architecture; dentistry; law; and veterinary science. Adoption variables examined include: IT planning; choice of IT implementation strategy; the employment of external support; and investment in IT training. The study draws on survey data from over 260 firms in order to evaluate which approaches to IT assessment and adoption add most value in terms of the impact of IT upon the organisation. The research also identifies barriers to effective IT assessment and acquisition, and how these might be overcome.

Choice of Inventory Valuation Method and Self-Selection Bias

Prior literature recognizes the existence of sample self-selection bias in LIFO-FIFO studies (e.g., Sunder 1973, Jennings et al. 1992, Maddala 1991, Hand 1995). However, these studies do not directly account for the self-selection bias. In this study, we develop a model where the choice of the inventory valuation method and its effects are jointly determined. Using Compustat data from 1973-1981, we find: (1) that the self-selection bias is a significant factor in analyzing a firm's LIFO adoption or nonadoption decision, (2) that correcting for self-selection bias leads to the robust inference that, on average, FIFO firms would pay more taxes if they were using LIFO, and LIFO firms would pay more taxes if they were using FIFO, (3) the probability of a switch from FIFO to LIFO is estimated to be between 12 and 20 percent for a typical FIFO firm, and (4) the average dollar value of tax savings for LIFO adoption lies between $3 to $11 million. We also compare our estimated selectivity-adjusted tax savings for LIFO-FIFO firms with corresponding estimates obtained under the as-if method, similar to one used in the prior literature (e.g., Dopuch and Pincus 1988, Morse and Richardson 1983, Biddle and Lindahl 1982). Our results show that the selectivity-adjusted mean dollar tax savings to LIFO firms are larger than under the as-if method. Our findings suggest that the tax benefits of adopting LIFO firms are smaller than normally understood and that the tax benefits to FIFO firms from remaining as FIFO are larger than is otherwise believed.

Managing Innovation in SMEs: A Multiple Case Analysis of the Adoption and Implementation of Product and Process Design Technologies

This work offers the results of a study which describes the experiences of twenty-six small manufacturing firms, operating in the machine tool industry in Italy, which have recently adopted and implemented advanced production technologies. A multiple case study approach was used to explore the reasons for, and obstacles to adopting the new technology, to identify key critical factors in implementation management, and to describe the characteristics of an environment that nurtures innovation. Perceived advantages, internal constraints and external context were identified as the main variables that could explain the CAD-CAM adoption and implementation practices of these small firms. Based on an analytical framework comprising 26 factors regrouped into the three mentioned variables, three groups of firms, characterized by different technology management profiles are identified. However, the system of relationships that characterizes the customer-buyer-supplier relation and the network of "real" services offered to the firm appeared two critical factors.

Why Do Firms Adopt Green Design?: Organizational Opportunity, Organizational Resources, Costs, or Regulation

This paper evaluates four explanations for industrial facilities' incorporation of environmental considerations in their product designs (i.e., design): organizational opportunity, organizational resources, cost reduction, and environmental regulatory pressure. Initial analyses of facility-level workplace practice and environmental data support all four explanations. Facilities vigorously practicing cost reduction, with greater opportunities and resource bases to engage in green design, and facing more intense environmental regulatory pressure are substantially more likely to adopt green design. The results of multivariate analyses, however, indicate that adoption of green design is primarily determined by organizational opportunities and resources.

Hungary's Adoption of a Market Orientation

The nation of Hungary has been a model of a transforming socialist state. Yet recently Hungary has followed the trend in other transforming Eastern European countries by electing a socialist parliament majority (Economist, 1994). This vote may be a reflection of how the Hungarian people feel about the reforms which are impacting their social welfare. Market and economic reforms are linked in a cycle where an improving economic environment should help firms adopt a philosophy of directing resources to meet the needs of the customers. In return, when the customer feels that their needs are being met, they are more likely to vote into control those who will allow the free market to meet their needs. Hungarian firms adoption of a market orientation, or a focus on meeting the needs of the customer, is a vital link in that nation's movement to free market reform.

Why Do Firms Adopt Profit‐Sharing and Employee Ownership Plans?

AbstractProfit‐sharing and employee ownership in companies have attracted considerable interest, yet there has been little research on factors predicting the adoption and maintenance of these plans. This study uses new data from a survey of 500 US public companies, and panel data on corporate financial variables, to examine factors predicting the presence and adoption of profit‐ sharing and employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs) in the 1975–91 period. Several findings support productivity‐related motivations for such plans (including higher R&D levels among old profit‐sharing firms, and recent adoption of job enrichment programmes among new profit‐sharing firms), while others support flexibility‐related motivations (including higher variance in profits prior to the adoption of profit‐sharing plans and ESOPs). Unionized firms were less likely to have either type of plan in 1975, but equally likely to adopt them subsequently (often in concessionary contracts). Comparisons of cross‐sectional and panel results illustrate advantages of panel data in disentangling the causes and effects of profit‐sharing and ESOPs.

Bandwagon Influences And Installed-Base Conversion In U.S. Telecommunications

The idea that firms are subject to bandwagon or imitation influences occupies a key position as an explanatory variable in the literature on technology adoption and diffusion. This study examines whether bandwagon influences help to explain differences in the patterns of conversion to a new technology, electronic switching, across firms in the U.S. telecommunications industry. The sample analyzed consists of 40 of the largest firms in the local operating sector of the industry, and firm-level data collected for the years 1973, 1978, 1981, 1984, and 1987 are used to undertake the analysis. The results strongly support the bandwagon hypothesis as a key influence on firm's technology adoption or conversion decisions.

Design-manufacturing practice in the US and Sweden

In a comparative study of 208 US and 109 Swedish durable goods firms, and their practices for promoting design-manufacturing integration, greatest convergence was found for the adoption of manufacturing sign-off of product plans. Sign-off was also the most widespread practice, currently being used by about 75% of all companies in both countries. The US and Swedish firms were also similar, but not identical, in their promotion of mobility among engineers across functions. Permanent moves occur in about half these firms in both countries, but the details, such as which positions are involved, were not available. New structures to promote design-manufacturing integration mere adopted by about 60-65% of all Swedish firms and the larger US companies (1991), but 46% for small US firms (1993). Both countries report the widespread use of teams. There appears to be considerable difference between the two countries in adoption of design training. In 1992 the Swedish adoption rate of DFM (Design for Manufacturing) training was about 20% which is nearly the same as the US large firm adoption rate of 18% in 1987. The larger firm US adoption rate was nearly 56% in 1991 (41% for smaller firms in 1993) but institutional factors such as engineering education have not been controlled. The widest divergence between Swedish and US policies and practices for design-manufacturing integration concerns job rotation. Correlation results indicate convergence of adoption practices in the area of DFM training and manufacturing sign-off for Sweden and the US. >

The Regional Extent of Computer Numerically Controlled (CNC) Machine Tool Adoption and Post Adoption Success in Small British Mechanical Engineering Firms

OAKEY R. P. and O'FARRELL P. N. (1992) The regional extent of computer numerically controlled (CNC) machine tool adoption and post-adoption success in small British mechanical engineering firms, Reg. Studies 26, 163–175. Several recent papers have been concerned with the regional level and rates of computer numerically controlled (CNC) machinery diffusion. This paper, however, investigates regional variations in the depth of CNC adoption in small mechanical engineering firms, both in terms of the numbers and types of CNC machine adopted, and the post-adoption problems created by such acquisitions. This approach is based on the principle that adoption is a necessary but not sufficient requirement for the successful introduction of CNC machinery into small firms. Evidence in this paper on the role of government assistance in prompting CNC machinery adoption stimulates concluding comments on the value of regional incentives in ensuring more equitable rates of technological change throughout Britain. OAKEY R....

Exploring the relationship between productivity problems and technology adoption in small manufacturing firms

Small manufacturing companies are generally less sophisticated than large companies. Their decisions to adopt new manufacturing technologies are often based more on short-term operating realities than on long-term strategic plans. This research study conducted on 100 smaller manufacturing firms investigates how the process innovators in that group differ from the other firms in terms of the operating problems they face. The global picture of a process innovator which emerges from this study is that of a company with tighter capacity management, better process design, more qualified and better trained employees, a more flexible and more responsive manufacturing system, better quality, and a more harmonious labor relations climate than other companies. >

Soviet Strategic Doctrine and Limited Nuclear Operations

In January 1974, Secretary of Defense James Schlesinger announced a reorientation of U.S. nuclear targeting strategy to incorporate a set of Limited Nuclear Operation (LNO) options into U.S. war plans. This doctrine, which is diametrically the opposite of announced Soviet doctrine, produced a chorus of criticism from both U.S. and Soviet commentators. This paper attempts, using metagame theory, to determine U.S. and Soviet incentives for misrepresenting their attitudes concerning the use of LNOs and the likely reaction of each to a firm adoption of a particular strategy by the other.

Mass and Relative Abundance of Isotopes

The history of the measurement of isotopic masses and abundances parallels closely the history of the development of vacuum and electronic techniques. Today, practically all determinations of isotopic masses and abundances are made with mass spectrometers or mass spectrographs, and the modern versions of these instruments lean heavily upon the latest tech­ niques in the vacuum and electronic fields. The isotopic Tables of 1933 are made up almost exclusively of the mass spectrographic measurements of Aston (1). Both packing fractions and iso­ topic abundances were determined by allowing ion beams to impinge on photographic plates and observing the position and intensities of the lines found on the developed plates. Only in the early work of Dempster (2) was any serious systematic attempt made to measure isotopic abundances by electrical means. The techniques employed by Smyth (3), Bleakney (4), Tate & Smith (5), and others in the studies of impact of gases by electrons were soon applied in isotopic abundance studies, and in 1932 Bleakney (6) and his co-workers began reporting isotopic abundance measurements with an instrument using a common magnetic field for collimating the electron beam and making a mass analysis of the ions produced by electron impact. The use of this type of instrument was extended, by Nier (7) and others, so that by 1942 when the second edition of Aston's book appeared, of the 83 naturalIy occurring elements, 48 had been measured by electrical means. During the war years few isotope abundance measurements were made, but by the end of 1949 electrical abundance measurements had been made in 73 of the 83 elements reported in Tables. By the end of 1950 this number had grown to 78. Whereas in 1930 Aston was the sole worker measuring precise atomic masses, the 1930's saw new workers enter the field. Included among these were Bainbridge (8), Dempster (9), Bainbridge & Jordan (10), Mattauch (11), and Jordan (12). Each name or combination of names is associated with a particular type of instrument. For example, to a mass spectroscopist, a Bainbridge & Jordan instrument means a double focusing mass spectro­ graph employing a 1270 electrostatic analyzer followed by a 600 magnetic analyzer. The 1930's also saw the firm adoption of the doublet for the determination of atomic masses. In this method the mass difference between two atomic or molecular ion fragments having the same mass number is found. The determination of a number of such doublets, at least one of them containing 016, permits the computation of the masses of the various isotopes