Use of Information Technology in Mandatory Settings: A Proposal for an Objective View of Appropriation

Organizations invest in information technology (IT) looking for positive results that can only be produced if the technology is effectively used by individuals. The Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) applies a simple and quantitative model to predict intention of use, but it has difficulties to keep its explanatory power when analyzing implementation in mandatory settings (which are usual in business organizations). The more interpretive and constructivist approaches of Social Construction of Technology (SCOT) and Adaptive Structuration Theory (AST) propose interesting concepts technological frame and appropriation – to qualitatively analyze the complex process of IT use as socially constructed. This research proposes the application of the main concepts of SCOT and AST in an objective causal model to analyze the appropriation of IT and its effects on the outcomes in organizational mandatory settings. We expect to contribute to appropriation theory and to the practice of IT implementation in the field.