1

Introduction to Innovation
Adoption

Copyright 2014. Taylor and Francis. All rights reserved.

1.1 Background of the Problem

Innovation offers the potential for substantially improving the performance
of organizations, such as businesses in the global economy. However,
performance gains are often obstructed by users unwillingness to accept
and use the available innovation. Due to the persistence and importance of
this problem, explaining users acceptance of innovation has been a longterm study issue in organizations and information systems research (Davis,
1989). According to Frambach, Barkema, Nooteboom and Wedel (1998, p.161)
environmental conditions increasingly force organizations to innovate and
bring new products to the market. As only a fraction of new products are
successful, a thorough understanding of factors underlying the innovation
adoption decisions by potential adopters is necessary. Similarly, Bhattacherjee
and Sanford (2006, p.805) state that understanding IT acceptance is important
because the expected benefits of IT usage, such as gain in efficiency, effectiveness
or productivity, cannot be realized if individual users do not accept these
systems for task performance. Venkatesh, Morris and Ackerman (2000) note
that organizational investments in information technologies have increased
significantly in the past decade and these investments specifically aim to increase
individual productivity, which consequently contributes to organizational
productivity. While advances in innovation continue at an astronomical pace,
the use of these innovations have fallen well below expectations and has
been identified as one of the reasonable explanations for productivity gains
from innovation investments being less than expected (Venkatesh, Morris &
Ackerman, 2000). Consequently, understanding the factors influencing user

Talukder, Majharul. Managing Innovation Adoption, edited by Majharul Talukder, Taylor and Francis, 2014. ProQuest Ebook Central, .
Created from uasbiblioteca-ebooks on 2017-01-23 11:34:14.

M a n a g i n g I n n ovat i o n A d o p t i o n

Copyright 2014. Taylor and Francis. All rights reserved.

acceptance of innovation in the workplace has long been a concern of scholars

and practitioners (Sherif, Zmud & Browne, 2006, p.339; Venkatesh, Morris &
Ackerman, 2000, p.34).
According to Bhattacherjee (1998) investment in innovation represents
substantial capital budget expenditure for any organization. Management
expects that innovation will be appropriately utilized by employees within the
organization in order to achieve increased worker productivity, better decision
making, efficiency in performing jobs or other expected benefits. However, the
availability of innovation does not automatically guarantee that employees
will use it. According to Bhattacherjee (1998), the shelf-ware syndrome has
been coined to describe software productivity packages sitting idle on bookshelves without being utilized by the individuals for whom they are intended.
Motivating users to use innovation remains a major problem for organizations.
Nelson (1990, p.79) concluded that the adoption of new technology in the
workplace has become a transition experience common to many organizations.
The success of these endeavors depends on the nature of the individuals
within the organization and the technology itself. Innovation represents a
social change affecting the behaviors of individuals within the organization
as well as a structural change that alters the work design of the organization.
The introduction of innovation in an organization requires its employees to
change their attitude and behavior. Without employees behavior changes the
organizations plans may fail to reach its desired outcomes as they may either
refuse to adopt it, or not use it to its potential (Nelson, 1990). As Youngblood
(2005) put it, a solution without the involvement of those who use the system is
not a solution at all. A successful technology solution needs early and ongoing
involvement of the people who use the system (Youngblood, 2005, p.12).
Organizational innovations that need to be incorporated in the work
processes of an organization are of little value if they are not adopted by
employees (Frambach & Schillewaert, 2002). Employees must actually use an
innovation to realize the intended benefits. According to Rogerss (2003) model
of innovation adoption, innovation passes through a set of stages before it is
implemented by people. Individuals develop the ability to formulate attitudes,
make decisions, implement and confirm whether or not innovations should
be practiced. Despite an organizational decision to adopt an innovation, its
actual usage depends on how employees implement an innovation. Therefore,
it is important to examine the adoption of innovations by employees within
organizations because if there is no acceptance among employees, the desired
benefits cannot be realized and the organization may eventually abandon the

Talukder, Majharul. Managing Innovation Adoption, edited by Majharul Talukder, Taylor and Francis, 2014. ProQuest Ebook Central, .
Created from uasbiblioteca-ebooks on 2017-01-23 11:34:14.

I n t ro d u c t i o n to i n n ovat i o n a d o p t i o n

innovation. People, by nature will resist change unless they can be convinced
that they can directly benefit from the change (Ajzen, 1991). New technologies
are rapidly replacing old ones by providing more powerful tools, efficiency
and speed for users. Their adoption can be successful, however, only when
the employees accept and effectively use them, which means an organization
should understand the acceptance process and factors that are essential in
making this process effective (Lee, Kim, Rhee & Trimi, 2006, p.470).

Copyright 2014. Taylor and Francis. All rights reserved.

Although innovation adoption has been studied extensively, drivers of

adoption and research on individual innovation acceptance remains limited
(Frambach & Schillewaert, 2002). Designing an effective approach for
increasing end-user acceptance and subsequent use of innovation continues
to be a fundamental challenge that has not always provided straight-forward
solutions. While advances in hardware and software capabilities continue
at an extraordinary pace, the problem of underutilized systems remains
(Kukafka, Johnson, Linfante & Allegrante, 2003, p.218). The current literature
indicates that we know relatively little about the ways in which individuals
adopt and the factors that influence individual adoption of innovation
(Bhattacherjee, 1998; Frambach & Schillewaert, 2002; van Everdingen &
Wierenga, 2002; Venkatesh & Davis, 2000). Hence, further research is required
regarding the role of organizational, individual and social processes affecting
individual adoption of innovation (Frambach & Schillewaert, 2002; Schepers &
Wetzels, 2007; Yi, Jackson, Park & Probst, 2006). This study is designed to fill
that gap. The identification of these factors is important to organizations that
want to create a work environment that is conducive to individual adoption of
innovation and thereby gain the expected benefits from the innovation.
From an empirical study conducted in South Australia, this study proposes
a new theoretical framework and develops an advanced research model
of innovation adoption taking into account the strength and limitations of
previous innovation acceptance models such as the theory of reasoned action
(Ajzen & Fishbein, 1980), the technology acceptance model (Davis, 1989) and
the conceptual framework provided by Frambach and Schillewaert (2002)
while introducing several modifications, which were not in these earlier
models. The new theoretical framework and improved model will help greater
learning in innovation adoption and facilitate an understanding of the factors
affecting individuals adoption of innovation. Theoretically, such research
will enrich the innovation acceptance literature by addressing a construct that
combines innovation adoption issues into a coherent model. The combination
of variables and the testing of a wide range of factors in this study represent a

Talukder, Majharul. Managing Innovation Adoption, edited by Majharul Talukder, Taylor and Francis, 2014. ProQuest Ebook Central, .
Created from uasbiblioteca-ebooks on 2017-01-23 11:34:14.

M a n a g i n g I n n ovat i o n A d o p t i o n

novel approach to the understanding of an individuals adoption of innovation.

In addition, this research examines moderating factors that influence the
process of innovation adoption, a previously unexplored area of research.
In the case of practitioners, this research can help managers to identify and
benchmark strategies to motivate innovation adoption in their organizations
and customize these strategies to best fit the unique characteristics of their
organizational users.

1.2 Research Questions

The implementation of an innovation in an organization when it has committed
to it often happens slowly. This being the case, this study seeks to analyze the
following:
1.

What is the impact of organizational factors training, managerial

support and incentives on individual adoption of innovation?

2.

Do individual factors perceived usefulness, personal

innovativeness, prior experience, image and enjoyment of
innovation affect individuals adoption of innovation?

3.

What is the impact of social factors peers and social network on

individual adoption of innovation?

Copyright 2014. Taylor and Francis. All rights reserved.

1.3 Studys Rationale

1.

The study will develop a new model and extend previous research
by investigating multiple factors in individual adoption of
innovation.

2.

Findings of the study will contribute to the existing knowledge

in the context of factors affecting the use and continued use of
innovation.

3.

The study will help organizations understand the determinants

and the process of innovation adoption by individuals within an
organization.

4.

The results of the study will help organizations understand what

changes are needed in organizational policies and strategies in
order to develop and promote the adoption of innovation and

Talukder, Majharul. Managing Innovation Adoption, edited by Majharul Talukder, Taylor and Francis, 2014. ProQuest Ebook Central, .
Created from uasbiblioteca-ebooks on 2017-01-23 11:34:14.

I n t ro d u c t i o n to i n n ovat i o n a d o p t i o n

consequently improve the wellbeing of employees as well as

productivity of the organization.
5.

The study will provide better understanding of employees

adoption of innovation and thereby increase the level of innovation
usage in the organization.

The research contributes to knowledge and promotes the adoption of

innovations by individual employees within organizations.

1.4 Studys Contribution to Knowledge

Copyright 2014. Taylor and Francis. All rights reserved.

Development of a theoretical construct that correlates

individual innovation adoption issues into a coherent model.
The combination of variables in this study goes beyond previous research in an
attempt to bring together all the relevant factors that may influence adoption
into a coherent model. It examines the relationship between individual adoption
and the factors that affect and determine the adoption and continued use of
an innovation by individual employees within an organization. This research
involves the combination of multiple variables, found in different innovation
adoption-related studies, into a single-study context. Organizational,
individual and social factors influence individual attitudes that consequently
lead to individual adoption. In short, this study addresses numerous factors,
tests whether they are significant and assesses differences between the factors;
thereby contributing to knowledge and the broader theoretical understanding
of the phenomenon.

1.5 Studys Contribution to Practice

Promotion of management awareness, understanding and
support of innovation adoption by individual employees.
In addition to being of academic interest, the results of this research will be
useful for various groups of practitioners engaged in introducing innovation in
an organization. With the trend towards end-user applications, these findings
will be crucial for guiding management toward more effective adoption and
usage of innovation in an organization. The study will help to identify the
extent to which the innovation can be used to support organizational needs

Talukder, Majharul. Managing Innovation Adoption, edited by Majharul Talukder, Taylor and Francis, 2014. ProQuest Ebook Central, .
Created from uasbiblioteca-ebooks on 2017-01-23 11:34:14.

M a n a g i n g I n n ovat i o n A d o p t i o n

and improve the work environment within the organization. Furthermore,

it will determine the factors that affect individuals to adopt innovation. For
management, this research may help to reduce innovation implementationrelated cost and enable faster and more efficient individual uptake of innovation
in the organization.

1.6 Conclusion

Copyright 2014. Taylor and Francis. All rights reserved.

This chapter has provided background information on the research effort,

research questions and the studys contribution to knowledge and practice.
Chapter 2, which presents a literature review, will examine various studies
dealing with different aspects of adoption of innovation within an organization,
theoretical foundations and relevant factors that affect individuals adoption of
innovation.

Talukder, Majharul. Managing Innovation Adoption, edited by Majharul Talukder, Taylor and Francis, 2014. ProQuest Ebook Central, .
Created from uasbiblioteca-ebooks on 2017-01-23 11:34:14.