Making the solution work: Leadership makes all the difference when smaller enterprises adopt information technology.

Abstract

Comments on the findings of research which has shown that small businesses adopt IT for their processes more slowly than large companies, and that various theories explain how different enablers and inhibitors interact during the process of implementing new technology. Explains that the most proven and accepted theories include the technology acceptance model (TAM), and the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT). Argues that understanding IT adoption through the interaction of an organization’s players is not a simple task, since large organizations have many players, and this makes studying IT adoption complex. Illustrates the issues involved in studying IT adoption by smaller enterprises using two case studies that yielded opposite outcomes, involving two dental clinics in Santiago, Chile, having similar settings and business processes. Reveals that the settings allowed researchers to examine personal and organizational factors rather than other variables to understand how internal dynamics played out when each owner decided to buy practice management software. Reports that, regardless of size, a small company is no stranger to the social dimension of IT and the owners’ personal characteristics and how they practice leadership are key success factors. Concludes that, if owners want to ensure successful IT adoption and not waste significant resources, they should be involved in the project, train their employees in the new tool, and present clear organizational leadership.