Assessing Three Theories of Information Systems Innovation: An Interpretive Case Study of a Funds Management Company

There is a growing body of research looking at the adoption and diffusion of IS innovations. This paper assesses three theories of IS innovation and adoption: the stages model, the decision episode framework, and the technological framework model. The three theories are assessed with reference to an in-depth interpretive case study of a funds management company in New Zealand. The most important finding is that no one theory on its own is able to explain what happened in this particular case. All three theories of IS innovation are useful in highlighting particular areas of interest, and contribute to our understanding of the entire IS adoption process.

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