Technology Adoption Decisions Research Articles

Examining the Effects of TAM Constructs on Organizational Software Acquisition Decision

The use of multicriteria decision analysis (MCDA) methodology is not uncommon in organizational decisions. However, information systems (IS) researchers have focused on statistical hypothesis testing in examining organizational technology adoption decisions. In this study, an MCDA methodology is adopted in examining the effects of the technology acceptance model (TAM) constructs on organizational software acquisition decision. Analytic hierarchy process (AHP) provides an evaluation model based on the experiential knowledge of domain experts. The results of the study show that software performance plays a significant role in the software acquisition decision matrix, while vendor characteristic is given the least priority. The study also points to the fact that perceived usefulness is more vital than perceived ease of use in software evaluation and acquisition.

Medical technology adoption, uncertainty, and irreversibilities: is a bird in the hand really worth more than in the bush?

The influence of current medical technology adoption decisions on the use of future potential interventions is often overlooked. Some health interventions, once exercised, restrict future potential interventions for both related and unrelated medical conditions. For example, treatment of a patient with an antibiotic may lead to resistance in that patient that precludes future treatment with the same or related compounds. This irreversibility raises the value of treatment modalities that preserve future treatment options. Surprisingly, partial reversibility with or without learning can either increase or decrease this value, depending on the distribution of patient types within the treated population. Evaluations that ignore these option values miss an important part of the welfare equation that is becoming increasingly important as individuals live longer and the stock of medical treatments increases.

HOSPITAL ADMINISTRATORS PERCEPTION ON THE ADOPTION OF RFID: EMPIRICAL STUDY INCLUDING PRIVACY/SECURITY

Various areas including retail, manufacturing, healthcare, service, and government have used RFID. Hospitals have adopted RFID technology to improve management of medical equipment and patient service. Even though the technology has provided various benefits, privacy/security issues regarding patients have been involved. The authors had a research question as to whether privacy/security factors were as important as environmental, organizational, and technological factors for hospital administrators to make technology adoption decisions. As a modified version of innovation diffusion theory, the authors developed a research model that added ethical/legal/privacy/social factors to environmental, organizational, and technological factors. Survey questionnaires were mailed out to 1,068 hospital administrators in the Northwest areas of the U.S. and 75 responded. As a result of factor analysis and canonical discriminant analysis, ethical/legal/ privacy/social factors were as important as other environmental, technological, and organizational factors for the technology adoption decision. Moreover, hospital administrators who have not adopted RFID, but have the intention to adopt RFID were more concerned about privacy policies for patients and employees. They were ethically anxious about getting employees’ consent before the adoption of RFID applications, because hospital administrators can locate employees on the real time basis by RFID applications.

Technology adoption decisions under a mixed regulatory system of tradable permits and air pollution fees for the control of Total Suspended Particulates in Taiwan

By using a newly proposed tradable permit system built under the current air pollution fee regulation for the control of Total Suspended Particulates in Taiwan as an example, a mixed-integer non-linear programming model that minimizes the total regulatory costs of firms is applied to investigate how different permit trading ratios and the design of banking might affect firms’ technology adoption decisions and permit trading behavior. By incorporating binary variables in the model to represent firms’ decisions as to whether or not to install new control equipment, the results show that when the unit air pollution fee rate is higher than the firms’ abatement costs, the design of banking causes many firms to install new control equipment that results in an over-reduction of emissions. If no air pollution fee is imposed, the trading ratio plays a more important role than the reservation rate for banking in determining the firms’ emission reduction strategies under a pure permit trading scheme. While the conclusion from this study that uses a non-uniformly mixed pollutant as an example may hold only when certain conditions are met, the framework can be applied to other uniformly mixed pollutants through parameter changes without any limitation. In addition, the modeling technique presented here offers policy-makers a very convenient approach to empirical analysis.

The adoption of radical manufacturing technologies and firm survival

AbstractThe emergence of dramatically innovative, or radical, new manufacturing technologies can force pivotal and life‐threatening decisions for industry competitors. These technologies can represent a huge cost for adopting firms, but may also offer the chance to achieve competitive advantage through superior manufacturing. While prior research has considered a range of production process decisions (e.g., JIT, mass customization) and outcomes for end‐product technologies, little attention has been given to adoption decisions relative to core manufacturing technologies. This study examines an industry's adoption of major manufacturing technologies over several decades and demonstrates that two groups of contingencies related to adoption (e.g., timing and cumulative effects) have a significant impact on firm performance. Based on a sample of over 1,000 firms, the results provide insights into the effects of adoption timing and ‘manufacturing technology bundles’ on firm survival. We also find that adoption of manufacturing technologies prior to the inflection point of the estimated Bass diffusion curve for each technology leads to significant reduction in firm mortality. Thus, we are able to demonstrate the ability of the Bass model to predict the survival outcomes of firms facing manufacturing technology adoption decisions. The strategic implications of these pivotal decisions are considered. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

UNLOCKING TECHNOLOGY: ANTITRUST AND INNOVATION

Technology lock-in advocates argue that governments should step in to coordinate technology adoption decisions. Due to the presence of network effects, advocates warn that consumers may fail to adopt the best technology, thus missing out on potential benefits. Even worse, consumers may split, adopting multiple technologies and thus missing out on the benefits of network effects. Due to coordination problems, consumers cannot mitigate the effects of bad technology choices and the economy becomes stuck with inferior innovations. This article demonstrates that consumer coordination solves the underlying network effects problem, thus eliminating technology lock-in. Network effects are confined at most to the information and communications technology and selected electronics industries, which have developed mechanisms for interconnection and interoperability. Firms have incentives to provide interconnection and interoperability when it is efficient to do so. Rapid technological innovation is apparent whereas technology lock-in is a rare phenomenon. Antitrust policy founded on technology lock-in arguments is misguided and is likely to damage incentives for innovation.

An Exploration of Technology Diffusion

We develop and estimate a model where technology diffusion depends on the level of productivity embodied in capital and where this is, in turn, determined by two key mechanisms: the rate at which the quality embodied in new technology vintages increases (embodiment) and the gains from varieties induced by the introduction of new vintages (variety). In our model, these two effects are related to technology adoption decisions taken at two different levels. The capital goods suppliers%u2019 decisions of when to adopt a given vintage determines the embodiment margin. The workers%u2019 decisions of which of the adopted vintages to use in production determines the variety margin.Estimation of our model for a sample of 19 technologies, 21 countries, and the period 1870-1998 reveals that embodied productivity growth is large for many of the technologies in our sample. On average, increases in the variety of vintages available is a more important source of growth than the increases in the embodiment margin. There is, however, substantial heterogeneity across technologies. Where adoption lags matter, they are largely determined by lack of educational attainment and lack of trade openness.

Toward a unified theory of consumer acceptance technology

AbstractIn the last few decades, scholars and practitioners have increasingly tried to understand the factors that influence technology acceptance. Theories and models developed by scholars have tended to focus on the role of cognition and have rarely included affect. The few studies that have incorporated affect have tended to measure a single emotion rather than modeling it comprehensively. This research addresses that inadequacy in our understanding of technology adoption by merging two previously unrelated models: TAM (the Technology Acceptance Model) and PAD (the Pleasure, Arousal, and Dominance paradigm of affect). This study also examines an enhanced view of cognition. The product of this unified theoretical framework is referred to as the Consumer Acceptance of Technology (CAT) model. The results of a test using structural equation modeling provide empirical support for the model. Overall, the CAT model explains over 50% of the variance in consumer adoption intentions, a considerable increase compared to TAM. These findings suggest that substantial improvement in the prediction of technology adoption decisions is possible by use of this model with its integration of affect and cognition. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Modelling Chinese manufacturers' technology adoption behaviour

AbstractThis paper uses firm-level survey data from Hong Kong to identify determinants of technology adoption. The data analysis was guided by proposing a new model that was built upon the Theory of Planned Behaviour and Technology Acceptance Model. Three types of determinants are considered. They are determinants controllable by the technology suppliers and technology buyers, respectively; an external determinant that is not controllable by both the technology suppliers and buyers. This paper reviews research in related areas and the proposed model suggests ways in which behavioural, environmental and organisational issues may be important to technology adoption. The result reveals that behavioural and organisational issues are relevant to technology adoption decision, whereas the relevance of environmental issues is questionable.

The effect of information sources on technology adoption and modification decisions

AbstractThis article focuses on adoption and modification decisions on improved maize storage technologies in southern Benin. Modification implies changing a technology to adapt to farmers' circumstances. A sample selection framework is used to account for selectivity bias as some farmers were not aware of the new technologies. Using this framework, the study investigates the effect of alternative information sources on adoption and modification decisions. Farmers are either informed by extension agents or by other farmers. The empirical results show that there are differences in adoption and modification decisions between these two groups.

Determinants of motor carrier safety technology adoption

In this paper, we investigate the organizational determinants of safety technology adoption. To shed light on this important question, we develop and test nine hypotheses. Results are based on a national survey of motor carriers sponsored by the United States Department of Transportation. Using a Poisson regression model, we find statistical support for seven hypotheses. A key finding is that prior safety performance influences a firm’s adoption of safety technologies. Additionally, a firm’s optimism about the potential for safety technologies, its technological innovativeness, and its level of comfort with new technologies contribute to its safety technology adoption decisions.

An Evaluation of the Adoption of Integrated Soil Fertility Management Practices among Women Farmers in Danja, Nigeria

The relationship between technology adoption and farmers’ socio-economic characteristics can never be over emphasized. This study tests the determinants of technology adoption by women farmers. The result from the Logit analysis of data from Unguwan-Madaki showed that the socio-economic characteristics of women farmers significantly affect their technology adoption decisions.

An Iterative Assessment Approach to Improve Technology Adoption and Implementation Decisions by Healthcare Managers

ABSTRACT The User-in-Context Iterative Assessment (UCIA) approach allows decision makers to acquire rich knowledge about their users and the way technology is used in the context of their work. A case study involving the introduction of a handheld medication administration device for nurses on a medical-surgical ward is used to illustrate how a UCIA approach can help provide healthcare IT professionals and hospital administrators with the data that they need to choose and implement IT applications that have the potential to maximize cost savings, while improving the delivery of patient care.

Eliciting Stated Preferences for Health-Technology Adoption Criteria Using Paired Comparisons and Recommendation Judgments

Objectives The principal aim of this study was to illustrate applying discrete-choice methods for eliciting preferences for technology adoption criteria, including threshold values for cost-effectiveness ratios. A secondary objective was to compare the criteria weights of a sample of industry stakeholders with the results obtained from a study of National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) recommendations. Methods We administered a two-stage stated-preference (SP) question format to a sample of respondents who have expertise in applying economic analysis to technology adoption decisions. We elicited paired comparisons and recommendation judgments for similar criteria from a sample of International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research members. Respondents evaluated nine pairs of hypothetical drugs, first indicating which drug was “better,” then indicating what they would recommend to a reimbursement authority such as the National Health Service. Stated-choice studies often obtain only paired-comparison judgments. Results Parameter estimates from the initial paired-comparison question indicate only incremental cost-effectiveness ratio and number of affected patients influence evaluations. These two factors have identical weights in the second recommendation question, but all four factors were considered in determining the recommendation threshold. Our sample was more willing than NICE to accept trade-offs between cost-effectiveness and other drug features and was less concerned about cost-effectiveness ratios and information uncertainty. Nevertheless, our sample was in agreement with NICE about the importance of the number of patients who would benefit as a criterion for influencing adoption recommendations. Conclusion This study demonstrates that including a question allowing respondents the opportunity to reject both alternatives in a forced-choice paired comparison can be important for obtaining accurate preference estimates. Our results demonstrate that SP methods offer a feasible means of quantifying a broad set of valuations that incorporate the preferences of patient, citizen, payer, and other stakeholder groups.

Spatial Modeling in Technology Adoption Decisions: The Case of Shuttle Train Elevators

This article empirically models a strategic game of technology adoption of shuttle train grain elevators with information on location of the firm and its competitors. A spatial econometric model illustrates the role of spatial interdependence of rivals' decisions as well as agronomic and competitive variables on discrete adoption decisions. The analysis assesses equilibria conditions that characterize technology adoption, in this case of shuttle train adoption, and the results provide an explanation of shuttle train adoption decisions in the grain handling industry in which spatial competition is critical.

Do safeguard tariffs and antidumping duties open or close technology gaps?

This paper examines how the country-breadth of tariff protection can affect the technology adoption decisions of both domestic import-competing and foreign exporting firms. The contribution of the analysis is to show how firm-level technology adoption changes under tariffs of different country-breadth. I show that a country-specific tariff like an antidumping duty induces both domestic import-competing firms and foreign exporting firms to adopt a new technology earlier than they would under free trade. In contrast, a broadly-applied tariff like a safeguard can accelerate technology adoption by a domestic import-competing firm, but will slow-down technology adoption by foreign exporting firms. Because safeguard tariffs can delay the foreign firm's adoption of new technology, the worldwide welfare costs associated with using them may be larger than is generally believed.

Adopting virtual private network for electronic commerce

PurposeTo identify the content of virtual private network, the suitability of virtual private network for e‐commerce transactions, and the economics issue of virtual private network.Design/methodology/approachA range of virtual private network concepts and technologies are identified and compared. The capability, suitability, and pros and cons of adopting virtual private network for electronic commerce are discussed. An economic analysis is used to compare the cost and benefit of adopting virtual private network in organizations.FindingsThis paper provides information about virtual private network technology. It also indicates the advantages and disadvantages of adopting virtual private network for electronic commerce practices. The economic analysis provides a real example of technology adoption decision making. Strategic implications of adopting virtual private network are detected.Practical implicationsThe economic analysis on adopting virtual private network provides an example of information technology selection decision for the electronic commerce community.Originality/valueThis paper provides an economic approach to analyzing the decision process for information technology adoption. It suggests that the integration of virtual private network into electronic commerce architecture would perform secure and inexpensive online transactions for adopters of this new technology.

A Comment on Choi, Kristiansen and Nahm

Journal Article A Comment on Choi, Kristiansen and Nahm Get access Christian Wey Christian Wey *DIW Berlin, Technische Universität Berlin, and CEPRLondon e-mail: cwey@diw.de . Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar CESifo Economic Studies, Volume 51, Issue 2-3, 2005, Pages 321–328, https://doi.org/10.1093/cesifo/51.2-3.321 Published: 01 September 2005

Evidence-based software engineering for practitioners

Software managers and practitioners often must make decisions about what technologies to employ on their projects. They might be aware of problems with their current development practices (for example, production bottlenecks or numerous defect reports from customers) and want to resolve them. Or, they might have read about a new technology and want to take advantage of its promised benefits. However, practitioners can have difficulty making informed decisions about whether to adopt a new technology because there's little objective evidence to confirm its suitability, limits, qualities, costs, and inherent risks. This can lead to poor decisions about technology adoption. Software engineers might make incorrect decisions about adopting new techniques it they don't consider scientific evidence about the techniques' efficacy. They should consider using procedures similar to ones developed for evidence-based medicine. Software companies are often under pressure to adopt immature technologies because of market and management pressures. We suggest that practitioners consider evidence-based software engineering as a mechanism to support and improve their technology adoption decisions.

Analysing the factors influencing clean technology adoption: a study of the Spanish pulp and paper industry

AbstractTechnological change has a relevant role to play in the transition towards a sustainable industry. However, slow diffusion of clean technologies can be observed in OECD countries. The analysis of the determinants and barriers to clean technology adoption should be a main goal of economists and social scientists. This paper shows that three sets of interrelated factors prevent but also stimulate the widespread adoption and diffusion of clean technology: these are factors external and internal to the firm, conditions of the potential adopters and characteristics of the environmental technology. These factors are included in the so‐called ‘triangular model’, which is further applied to the analysis of clean technology adoption in the pulp and paper industry in Spain. The empirical study shows that clean technology adoption decisions are the result of an interaction between these factors, often involving contradictory signals for the potential adopter. The paper closes with some public policy recommendations for the effective and efficient promotion of clean technology diffusion. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.