UNSPECIFIED (1996) The role of networks in the diffusion of technological innovation. JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES, 33 (3). pp. 333-359. ISSN 0022-2380

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Abstract

This research considers the diffusion of computer-aided production management (CAPM) technology in the UK manufacturing sector during the mid to late 1980s, focusing on the role of inter-organizational networks in the diffusion process. Research on innovation diffusion has tended to adopt a 'pro-innovation bias' such that adoption of prescribed best practice technologies is always considered to be the best policy. In the UK, one particular form of CAPM (MRP/MRPIT) has been heavily promoted by technology suppliers as best practice. However, the notion of 'best practice' de-emphasizes the importance of decisions about technology design when users attempt to develop firm-specific solutions. Crucial to these decisions are the inter-organizational networks through which potential adopters learn about relevant technologies. Using three case companies, where the introduction of CAPM occurred at approximately the same time, decisions regarding adoption, design and subsequent implementation, are explored in order to establish the influence of inter-organizational networks on the diffusion and subsequent appropriation of CAPM technologies. These cases revealed that potential adopters engaged in a range of inter-organizational networks through which they learned about new technologies. However, the knowledge diffused through many of these networks was shaped by technology suppliers who were promoting similar ideas about best practice. Thus, while involvement in interorganizational networks gave potential adopters access to information about new technology, this information tended to reinforce supplier images of best practice and did not always lead these firms to develop appropriate technological solutions. Problematic relationships between the suppliers of the technology and the users was seen here to limit the redesign and further diffusion of CAPM.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HF Commerce H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor > HD28 Management. Industrial Management
Journal or Publication Title:	JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES
Publisher:	BLACKWELL PUBL LTD
ISSN:	0022-2380
Date:	May 1996
Volume:	33
Number:	3
Number of Pages:	27
Page Range:	pp. 333-359
Publication Status:	Published
URI:	http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/id/eprint/18829

Data sourced from Thomson Reuters' Web of Knowledge

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