With each new wave of technology, organizations are faced with a number of choices, many of which begin with the decision of whether to adopt and implement the technology. Social science has several wellestablished theories to explain this general process.Diff usion theory looks at how the communication of innovation leads to growing numbers of adopters over time in aggregate over a population of potential users. Th is theory gives rise to the classic S-shaped curve and its numerous variations. Because the diff usion process unfolds over time, it is often organized into stages refl ecting diff erent points in the process. Th roughout the history of ICT innovation, staged models have been used to describe, predict, and control the process for practicing managers. A critical review of several such staged models applied to e-government is provided by Coursey and Norris (2008). Sometimes these models focus on whether individual organizations are likely to be early adopters or laggards. Others view the process as moving from simple to more complex forms of the technology or more complete integration within organizational processes.At the same time, social science has developed a number of theories related to the individual decision processes used by individuals and organizations to adopt new technology. So-called adoption theories focus on individual decision units. Some derive from economic theory and cost-benefi t analysis, while others apply a communication of innovation element such as information media and conduits, and still others look at a more complex array of institutional and organizational factors. While diff usion models tend to focus on aggregate behavior over time, adoption is the micro-level adoption process. Diff usion begins from the assumption that individuals learn about the innovation from others and decide to adopt, but it does not provide an explanation of why they decide to adopt. Th e implied assumption is that exposure to the idea is suffi cient to make them want to adopt.In the context of the current cluster of new ICTs, social media applications (e.g., Facebook, blogs, and Twitter), this article refl ects on government organizations' previous experiences with new ICTs to construct a staged model that focuses on adoption and implementation. Unlike previous work, this model does not attempt to explain the adoption decision or
JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact
JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.