Technology assimilation: understanding the user - IT professional relationship

It is argued that a substantial gulf exists between the investment made in technology and the ability of organisations to realise significant improvements in business performance. In the fields of Innovation and Technology Transfer there have been developments in the application of more process focused and human elements as a way of addressing the deficiencies of the previous generation of linear and more structured research. In this thesis the conceptual models from such research have been adapted and modified in order to apply it to the specific problem of the adoption and assimilation of information technology (IT). The conceptual models are operationalised through a set of research activities which include investigation into the congruence between technology deliverers and recipients, the technocratic nature of the IT professional role (as determined by employers), the values and perceptions of IT managers, the preoccupation of the IT research and practitioner literature, and the values and perceptions of IT users, as 'service' clients. The substantive conclusions are that the nature of the role of IT professionals is dominated by relatively project orientated and technology orientated characteristics. This, in part, inhibits the ability of organisations to develop strategy and for organisations to consider the service function of IT. This is displayed in the form of an interactive, conceptual model. The thesis also demonstrates the extent to which the distinction between the adoption of an IT technological opportunity, by an organisation, can be usefully distinguished from the problems of assimilating that opportunity into the daily routine of the organisation and therefore for business advantage.