Assimilating Innovative Technology: A More Comprehensive Model

This paper proposes a comprehensive approach for dealing with assimilation of innovative technology. The need for structural adaptation of the organizati on i n support of activities to manage adopti on and impl ementation i s model ed by both associative and causal expl anatory model s. Assimil ation success is studied as both a social and a technical construct. Results include: (1) success as absenteeism rate and goal attainment exhibits significant associative models; (2) successful resistance management, successful transition management and structural adaptation for transition appear most frequently as significant constructs expl aining assimil ation success in its various forms; (3) the two-stage causal model model cannot be either accepted or rejected; (4) the need for better measurement model s for several of the constructs is indicated; and (5) factors commonly associated with organizational innovativeness have seemingly little expl anatory power of assimil ati on success. Proposal s are made for future research efforts designed to yield more conclusive resul ts. INTRODUCTION 1981), and the implementation process itself (e.g., Ginzberg, 1978, 1979, The introduction of innovative tech1980, 198la, 198lb; Zand and Sorensen, nol ogy such as a new information 1976; Zmud and Cox, 1979). One recent system or office automation equipment study (Zmud, 1982) has attempted to into the workplace presents many probinvolve organizational structural faclems even to the largest and most aftors i n the impl emention process, but fl uent organizations. The problems without fully adaptive characarising from trying to assimil ate new teristics. What appears to be missing, technol ogy at the organizational 1 evel however, is an overall approach treathave 1 ed to a great deal of research ing technol ogy introduction factors, into two major aspects of this procthe impl ementation process, and possiess: the factors which aid or impede ble complementary organization structechnology adoption (e.g., Rogers, ture changes as components of the same 1962; Rogers and Shoemaker, 1971; Balframework. The goal of this study is dridge and Burnham, 1975; Downs and to assess the possible impact of these Mohr, 1976; Bigoness and Perreault, constructs on assimilation success,: