The Process of Innovation Assimilation by Firms in Different Countries: A Technology Diffusion Perspective on E-Business

Abstract

This paper extends our previous studies on the assimilation of Internet-based e-business innovations by firms in an international setting. Drawing upon theories on the process and contexts of technology diffusion, we develop an integrative model to examine three assimilation stages: initiation -> adoption -> routinization. The model features technological, organizational, and environmental contexts as prominent antecedents of this three-stage assimilation process. Based on this model, we hypothesize how technology readiness, technology integration, firm size, global scope, managerial obstacles, competition intensity, and regulatory environment influence e-business assimilation at the firm level. A unique data set of 1,857 firms from 10 countries is used to test the conceptual model and hypotheses. To probe deeper into the influence of the environmental context, we compare two subsamples from developed and developing countries. Our empirical analysis leads to several key findings: (1) Competition positively affects initiation and adoption, but negatively impacts routinization, suggesting that too much competition is not necessarily good for technology assimilation because it drives firms to chase the latest technologies without learning how to use existing ones effectively. (2) Large firms tend to enjoy resource advantages at the initiation stage, but have to overcome structural inertia in later stages. (3) We also find that economic environments shape innovation assimilation: Regulatory environment plays a more important role in developing countries than in developed countries. Moreover, while technology readiness is the strongest factor facilitating assimilation in developing countries, technology integration turns out to be the strongest in developed countries, implying that as e-business evolves, the key determinant of its assimilation shifts from accumulation to integration of technologies. Together, these findings offer insights into how innovation assimilation is influenced by contextual factors, and how the effects may vary across different stages and in different environments.technology diffusion, innovation assimilation, assimilation process, e-business, competition, firm size, technology integration, international perspective

An evaluation model for the implementation of hospital information system in public hospitals using multi-criteria-decision-making (MCDM) approaches

“…Moreover, in developing countries, public hospitals encountered some issues regarding the IS infrastructure [125]. According to Zhu et al [126], regarding the technical context, there is less developed IS infrastructure within organizations in developing countries. As an example, in Pakistan, hospital sector faces a barrier of IS infrastructure, which finds difficulty in obtaining a suitable software and hardware [126].…”

“…According to Zhu et al [126], regarding the technical context, there is less developed IS infrastructure within organizations in developing countries. As an example, in Pakistan, hospital sector faces a barrier of IS infrastructure, which finds difficulty in obtaining a suitable software and hardware [126]. Additionally, Ismail et al [21] surveyed several tertiary public hospitals in Malaysia to identify the issues and challenges in the development of HIS.…”

eHealth adoption factors in medical hospitals: A focus on the Netherlands

“…According to Iacovou et al [26], organisational readiness falls apart into technological readiness and financial readiness. The first has been supported by a number of empirical studies [26], [32] and refers to the sophistication level of IT usage and IT management, which reflects the level of required technological resources. We may distinguish between the following four dimensions of technological readiness: 1) available IT infrastructure, including interoperability, 2) available IT human resources (support), 3) IT governance in terms of IT vision and strategy, and 4) IT security in terms of compliance to information security standards, including privacy issues.…”

Journal of Strategic Information Systems

“…Drawing from the above theory and upon the innovation diffusion literature (Fichman, 2000;Zhu et al, 2006), this study defines the assessment of a firm's innovation capability such as the decision to implement its Green IT initiatives via (2000) and Zhu et al (2006) suggests that the post-initiation (i.e., postinitialization) stages of the undertaking of technological innovation are especially worthy of a focused study. The IS literature (Armstrong and Sambamurthy, 1999;Sethi and King, 1994) suggests that the potential of IT to enhance a firm's performance in value chain activities (Porter and Millar, 1985) is a significant motivation for the firm to adopt IT.…”

“…Following initialization is the stage of integration. Consistent with the technology adoption literature (Chau and Tam, 1997;Rogers, 1995;Zhu et al, 2006), we define Green IT integration -the second stage, as a shift from the acclimation with the fundamental concepts, benefits and tools of Green IT undertaking via virtualization to the strategic consolidation of Green IT undertaking via virtualization. This is possible due to the firm having reached a level of comfort with the virtualization concept and tools and their stability of use based on the experience and knowledge gained during the time period since initialization.…”