Exploring small firm IS adoption behaviour: from buddy to technology?
by Maria Woerndl; Philip Powell
International Journal of Management Practice (IJMP), Vol. 6, No. 1, 2013

Abstract: Despite resource and skill constraints, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) do adopt new technologies successfully. Yet, a knowledge gap exists as to how SMEs achieve this. This paper examines how 16 European SMEs came to adopt new information technologies. Rooted in the Social Network Analysis (SNA) domain, the data used in this research originates from 20 different Information Systems (IS) projects. Using the networking aspect of 'how' small firms adopt new IS, the focus here is on the type of tie, intensity of the connection (professional vs. personal) and direction of networking activities (push, pull and discovery). The evidence suggests that the networking activities of small firm owners and managers critically affect the adoption of new IS and that these activities occur mainly between managers and their professional peers, supporting the notion of the strength of weak ties in a new technology context.

Online publication date: Tue, 05-Mar-2013

The full text of this article is only available to individual subscribers or to users at subscribing institutions.

 
Existing subscribers:
Go to Inderscience Online Journals to access the Full Text of this article.

Pay per view:
If you are not a subscriber and you just want to read the full contents of this article, buy online access here.

Complimentary Subscribers, Editors or Members of the Editorial Board of the International Journal of Management Practice (IJMP):
Login with your Inderscience username and password:

    Username:        Password:         

Forgotten your password?


Want to subscribe?
A subscription gives you complete access to all articles in the current issue, as well as to all articles in the previous three years (where applicable). See our Orders page to subscribe.

If you still need assistance, please email subs@inderscience.com