The Diffusion of Internet Technology in Rural Minnesota: An Empirical Study

The research problem for this study was to determine to what extent organizational size, organizational complexity, and organizational social ties impacted the creation of an organizational Web page and its relative time of adoption among the organizational members of the chamber of commerce in a small city in Minnesota. The research utilized a cross-sectional design, with data being gathered via a self-administered mail survey. A total of 173 surveys were completed and returned for a response rate of 48.60%. Two independent variables were statistically significant in predicting whether an organization would have a Web page: 1) organizational size measured by the number of paid employees; and 2) organizational complexity indexed by the number of unique job descriptions, physical locations in Minnesota, and physical locations in other states. The results of this research provide practical information to formal organizations considering the adoption of an organizational Web page. DOI: 10.4018/978-1-60960-463-9.ch016

[1]  K. Knight.  A Descriptive Model of the Intra-Firm Innovation Process , 1967 .

[2]  B. Ryan.  The diffusion of hybrid seed corn in two Iowa communities , 1943 .

[3]  M. Feldman.  The Internet Revolution and the Geography of Innovation , 2002 .

[4]  Herbert A. Shepard,et al.  Innovation-Resisting and Innovation-Producing Organizations , 1967 .

[5]  Harvey M. Sapolsky,et al.  Organizational Structure and Innovation , 1967 .

[6]  Toby E. Stuart,et al.  A Role-Based Ecology of Technological Change , 1995, American Journal of Sociology.

[7]  Barbara Wejnert.  Integrating models of diffusion of innovations: a Conceptual Framework. , 2002 .

[8]  P. Blau.  A FORMAL THEORY OF DIFFERENTIATION IN ORGANIZATIONS , 1970 .

[9]  Walter W. Powell,et al.  Review Essay: Explaining Technological Change. , 1987 .

[10]  G. Black,et al.  Innovation in Business Organizations: Some Factors Associated with Success or Failure of Staff Proposals , 1967 .

[11]  S. Majumdar.  The determinants of investment in new technology: An examination of alternative hypotheses , 1995 .

[12]  R. Smits.  Innovation studies in the 21st century , 2002 .

[13]  R. Hall,et al.  Organizational Size, Complexity, and Formalization , 1967 .

[14]  P. Blau,et al.  The Hierarchy of Authority in Organizations , 1968, American Journal of Sociology.

[15]  Réjean Landry,et al.  Does social capital determine innovation? To what extent? , 2002 .

[16]  J. Hage,et al.  Program Change and Organizational Properties a Comparative Analysis , 1967, American Journal of Sociology.

[17]  J. Dutton,et al.  The Adoption of Radical and Incremental Innovations: An Empirical Analysis , 1986 .

[18]  M. L. Levin,et al.  Traditions of Research on the Diffusion of Innovation , 1963 .

[19]  Selwyn W. Becker,et al.  The Innovative Organization: A Selective View of Current Theory and Research , 1967 .

[20]  R. G. Corwin.  Innovation in Organizations: The Case of Schools. , 1975 .

[21]  Lawrence B. Mohr,et al.  Determinants of Innovation in Organizations , 1969, American Political Science Review.

[22]  Amy L. Sales,et al.  The implementation and adoption of new technology in organizations: The impact on work, people, and culture , 1991 .

[23]  Elihu Katz,et al.  The Social Itinerary of Technical Change: Two Studies on the Diffusion of Innovation , 1961 .

[24]  B. Wellman.  Computer Networks As Social Networks , 2001, Science.

[25]  Daniele Archibugi,et al.  The globalization of technological innovation: definition and evidence , 2002 .

[26]  Mark S. Granovetter.  T H E S T R E N G T H O F WEAK TIES: A NETWORK THEORY REVISITED , 1983 .

[27]  B. Wellman.  Network Analysis: Some Basic Principles , 1983 .

[28]  D. Guthrie.  A Sociological Perspective on the Use of Technology: The Adoption of Internet Technology in U.S. Organizations , 1999 .

[29]  M. Becker,et al.  Sociometric Location and Innovativeness: Reformulation and Extension of the Diffusion Model , 1970 .

[30]  W. Powell.  Explaining Technological Change , 1987, American Journal of Sociology.

[31]  B. Wellman,et al.  Different Strokes from Different Folks: Community Ties and Social Support , 1990, American Journal of Sociology.