Top manager and institutional effects on the adoption of innovations: The case of teleworking

Abstract

In spite of the advances in information and communication technologies, the implementation of teleworking is still behind early expectations. The slow adoption of teleworking may be explained by different organizational drivers that influence its implementation. This article reports the empirical findings of a survey conducted among a sample of Spanish companies to identify potential drivers and constraints based on top manager and institutional perspectives. The results indicate that the potential of teleworking is influenced by the manager's perception of teleworking benefits and barriers, the manager's tenure, the company's use of information and communication technologies, the company's degree of innovation, the proportion of salespeople, women and middle-age employees in the workforce, and the company size. Top manager factors seem to have more influence in the decision to adopt teleworking, while institutional factors are more significant in the potential diffusion in the company.