The Whys and Wherefores of New Technology Adoption

Given the inherent flexibility of new technology, there is a range of possibilities for its utilisation in organisations. This implies, for example, that alternatives for organisation (re)structuring and job (re)design should be considered. Decisions and actions taken before the new technology actually gets introduced into the organisation also become critical. Unfortunately, this is a neglected research area. This pre‐introduction phase is termed the adoption phase of new technology. The article examines each of these two major phases, and argues that time and effort put into adoption can pay off in terms of a less‐problematic, and, hence time‐consuming and costly, introduction.