Chasing the Hottest It - Summary

Chasing the Hottest IT: Effects of Information Technology Fashion on Organizations.

Introduction

Fashion becomes common place in IT nowadays.

IT fashioned = transitory collective belief that an IT is new, efficient, and at the forefront of practice.

Study found:

* Firms associated with IT fashions in media -> better reputation +higher executive compensation in near term.

* Companies investing in IT -> higher reputation and executive pay, but lower performance in short-term and improved performance in long-term.

IT brings about serious consequences to organizations on their performance, reputation, and executive compensation.

* Support a fashion explanation for the middle phase diffusion of IT innovations, illustrating that following fashion can legitimize their leaders regardless of performance improvement.

* Study suggest that practitioners balance between performance pressure and social approval when they confront whatever is hottest in IT.

2. Theories

Organizational innovation is a structure, practice, or technology new to the organization adopting it.

Diffusion is the process by which an innovation spreads over time among organization.

Why adopt innovations?

* Economic-rationalistic perspective: focused on performance, extent to which company realized its objectives. Recognize performance problems -> search and adopt innovations to solve the problems efficiently.

* Institutional perspective: stresses legitimacy, refers to generalized perception or assumption that the actions taken are desirable or appropriate. To gain organization legitimacy, regardless of the actual impact of the innovation.

in its early diffusion: focused on performance, later diffusion: to pursue legitimacy.

So early diffusion economic realistic

Later diffusion institutional

But what happens in the middle?

This phase is crucial:

* IT has to cross from early adopters to majority of adopters.

* Various...