ANU SCHOOL OF ACCOUNTING & BUSINESS INFORMATION SYSTEMS
NATIONAL CENTRE FOR INFORMATION SYSTEMS RESEARCH
Friday, 19th May 2006

Speaker: Professor Graeme Shanks

Understanding Adoption of Inter-Organisational Systems: the Role of Organisational Motivations

Inter-organisational systems (IOS) which automate boundary-spanning activities of organizations play a critical role in today's e-commerce environment. It is reported in the IOS literature that organisations introduce IOS following different adoption processes and experience varying types of benefits as a result of IOS adoption. Existing literature however does not explain why different organisations initiate IOS adoption processes differently and experience different benefits from IOS. Developing a clear understanding of the variations in IOS adoption processes and benefits is important as it helps IT managers in reducing the uncertainties associated with ISO adoption. To address this concern, a theory of IOS adoption known as IOS Motivation Model (IMM) is proposed which examines IOS adoption practices from an organisational motivation perspective. The model identifies four generic types of IOS adoption scenarios, and suggests that the IOS adoption processes and the expected IOS benefits are likely to vary among these scenarios. This variation is attributed to the differences in organisational motivations for IOS adoption. Two sets of propositions are also developed: one is concerned with the relationships between organisational motivations and the IOS adoption processes, and the other is about IOS benefits. This paper presents partial validation of the IMM by applying the model in the Australian pharmaceutical and automotive industry segments using two revelatory case studies. The findings provide some support for the model and are useful for IT managers in reducing the uncertainty associated with IOS adoption practices.

Professor Graeme Shanks

Graeme Shanks is Professor and Associate Dean (Research) in the Faculty of Information Technology at Monash University, Australia. He has also held academic positions at the University of Melbourne and Chisholm Institute of Technology. Before becoming an academic, Graeme worked for a number of private and government organizations as a programmer, systems analysts and project leader. His teaching and research interests include information quality, conceptual modelling, identity management, implementation and impact of enterprise systems, and decision support systems. Graeme has published the results of his research in over 100 refereed journal and conference papers. He is on the editorial boards of the Journal of Data Warehousing, the Journal of Database Management, the International Journal of Data Warehousing and Mining and the Journal of Knowledge Management Research and Practice. Graeme is a member of the College of Experts of the Australian Research Council, a member of IFIP WG8.3 Decision Support Systems and a Fellow of the Australian Computer Society.

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