Diffusion, Technology Transfer, and Implementation

Diffusion and technology transfer must be understood as essentially phenomenological issues. Technology is information, and exists only to the degree that people can put it into practice and use it to achieve values. This article outlines a series of issues that complicate this perspective: defining the content of technology, coping with the embedding of technology in organizational contexts, assessing the effects of politics and culture on technology use, dealing with dynamics of implementation, and assessing effects. It is suggested that organizations need to emphasize creative processes for coping with change, and that research on technology transfer should stress context over content and process over prescription.

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