Modeling the dynamics of enterprise architecture adoption process

Abstract

During the last few years Enterprise Architecture (EA) has received increasing attention among industry and academia. EA can be defined as a formal description of the current and future state(s) of the organisation, and as a managed changes between these states. By adopting EA, organisations may gain a number of benefits such as better decision making, increased revenues and cost reduction, and alignment of business and IT. Despite of the benefits, EA is not widely adopted in organisations. One of the reasons for this is that the adoption has been found to be difficult. In this paper a model to explain the complex dynamics of EA adoption is introduced. The model of the Resistance during the EA adoption Process (REAP) is based on selected EA literature and on general organisational change and change resistance literature. The model introduces novel relationships between strategic level of EA, resulting organisational changes, and the sources of resistance during the planning and execution phases of the adoption. REAP is validated empirically using data collected from an EA-pilot conducted among 11 Finnish higher education institutions. Validation revealed that most of the resistance faced during the adoption was caused by the lack of EA knowledge. By utilising REAP model, organisations may anticipate and prepare for the organisational change resistance during EA adoption.