Systems approach for analysing problems in IT system adoption at work

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to describe and analyse use-related problems when new information technology (IT) systems are adopted in organisations. Traditionally, IT adoption has been studied with the help of technology acceptance models (TAMs). However, an alternative approach, the activity system model, was used as a systemic and holistic tool to analyse and understand the problems relating to the adoption of an IT system in an organisational context. The data were collected using qualitative semi-structured interviews with 39 employees in three organisations. The results show that most of the problems were identified in the social context and only one-fifth of the problems were related to the employees' experiences of a lack of skills and competencies in using the IT systems. A practical implication is that the successful adoption and use of an IT tool requires interventions and innovations that also address the social mediatedness of the use. A theoretical implication is that the activity system model proved to be a useful yet rather complex tool for describing and analysing IT adoption problems.

Keywords:

• activity theory
• adoption
• information technology
• technology acceptance models
• user problem
• qualitative research

Acknowledgements

This research was supported by the Doctoral Program for Multidisciplinary Research on Learning Environments, Finland, and the Finnish Work Environment Fund. Mari Kira's research work has been funded by the Academy of Finland, grant number: 119612. We cordially thank the participating organizations, the University of Helsinki, the Finnish Defence Forces, and the Global Technology Company for their involvement in the study. We would like to acknowledge the helpful comments from Prof. Matti Vartiainen, Prof. Jyri Manninen, Dr. Niina Rintala, and Dr. Laura Seppälä.