Akos Nagy
| Date of Ph.D. defense: | 9 December 2009 |
| Title of thesis: | Adoption of Interorganizational Information Systems: The Adoption Position Model |
| ISBN: | 978 90 5668 244 6 |
| Promotor: | Prof.dr. P.M.A. Ribbers |
Abstract:
The integration of supply networks to ensure timely and high quality information sharing between trading partners is an essential component in supply chain performance development. This dissertation investigates how various interorganizational relationships among supply network partners affect the adoption and spread of interorganizational information system standards. The thesis develops the Adoption Position theoretical model and applies it in the form of comparative case studies to explain the reasons of success and failure of recent IOS adoptions. The analysis spans multiple tiers of three international supply chains, providing altogether 15 cases of dyadic relationships.
The cases suggest that the electronic exchange of information between trading partners does not only depend on their intention to adopt the system, but on the underlying power structure as well. A conflict of interest in IOS adoption coupled with an unsupportive power structure can lead to inefficiencies in the supply network and can indirectly thwart the efforts to realize an integrated supply chain. The results suggest that the intention to adopt a specific IOS and the relative power relationship between trading partners together determine the adoption decision and the degree of collaboration within the supply network. Using the Adoption Position model the study identifies the type of relationships that are supportive towards collaboration and the ones which are not. The model is used to map entire supply chains and to examine the prospect of supply chain-wide diffusion of an integrating technology. The thesis contributes to business practice by offering strategies on how to make IOS integration a success.
Global / English