A grounded theory approach to information technology adoption

Abstract

This study explores the nature of information technology adoption based on phenomena found in the real world. We selected the grounded theory method (GTM) for this study, which involved two sites located in the USA. and eight sites located in Taiwan. The results exemplify a multi-year, multi-site grounded theory approach to generating theory that helps explain information technology (IT) adoption in an organizational context. The core categories of the model are developed from, grounded on, and extracted from the data, and are casually linked into four adoption processes: motivation, solutions fit, values, and decision stage. The nature of the information technology adoption model could help researchers and practitioners understand that managers have one or more motivations, seek IT solutions to fulfill their motivations, evaluate IT solutions, and make decision after judging IT value. We also present an assessment of the theory, and discuss its relevance and directions for future research. © 2014 by the Association for Information Systems.