The reality of rhetoric in information systems adoption: A case study investigation of the Uk National Health Service

Abstract

The UK National Health Service is undergoing a tremendous IS -led change, the purpose of which is to create a service capable of meeting the demands of the 21st century. The aim of this paper is to examine the extent to which persuasive discourse, or rhetoric, influences and affects the adoption of information systems within the health sector. It seeks to explore the ways in which various actors use rhetoric to advance their own agendas and the impact this has on the system itself. As such, the paper seeks to contribute to diffusion research through the use of a case study analysis of the implementation of an Electronic Single Patient Care Record system within one UK Health Service Trust. The findings of the paper suggest that rhetoric is an important and effective persuasive tool, employed by system trainers to coax users into not only adopting the system but also using the system in a predefined manner. © IFIP International Federation for Information Processing 2010.