Organizational Adoption of Web 2.0 Technologies: An Empirical Analysis

Introduction

The article “Organizational Adoption of Web 2.0 Technologies: AnEmpirical Analysis” by Saldanha and Krisnan focuses on the use and adoption of Web 2.0 technologies by business firms. The authors desire to establish an empirical approach to the issue and the key factors of what may encourage and discourage the adoption of Web 2.0 technologies by businesses. While this article provides an insightful foray into business and the private sector, it does prove useful for organisations outside of the business sector when looking at factors that facilitate adoption and integration of new technologies, their potential uses, and impact upon staff and systems such as work-flow and information collation and dissemination.

What it does right

The clear establishment of research parameters in this study gives it a real authority when looking at Web 2.0 technologies and their adoption by business. The focus on the strengths of Web 2.0 technologies seeks to prove their usefulness for business and other organisations, especially through the collaborative nature of Web 2.0 techs and the way they can 'bank' the knowledge within an organisation through collaborative blogs and wikis.

The authors strive to provide a starting point for academic research in this field as there is very little empirical research available. The hypotheses they develop are great starting points for exploring the reasons why Web 2.0 technologies are and are not adopted by business.

There is also a very strong focus on the benefit of open standards, meaning that the more open an organisations IT infrastructure is to adaptation and integration of technologies, the more likely new technologies will be adopted, as there is no need to overhaul the system, or to support legacy infrastructure. Building and Maintaining open standards within Information and Communications Technology is a fundamental step in providing flexibility for the future of the organisation.

What it does wrong

Many businesses claimed the reluctance to move to Web 2.0 technology was in part based on a fear of the risk to the security of the organisation. This is not looked at very closely in this paper, as it clearly states its focus is on 'large' business and not on 'small' business. It is implied that large business invest in internal IT departmental support, whereas smaller businesses may have to out-source their support and thus may find security a more significant issue.

The focus on organisation size also creates an inhibiting factor to the study as it is assumed that larger organisations have more money to spend on new systems and adoption of new technologies, while a small firm may not be able to risk dedicating to experimental technology. This focus on non-constrained adoption is not helpful for smaller businesses or other organisations who simply cannot afford to adopt something that is not proven as helpful.

The article focuses on the private sector, and how adoption of Web 2.0 tech can improve business practices, but I think that Web 2.0 technologies have potentially more significant use and application outside of competitive market edge. Non-profit and service-industry organisations, such as libraries, can benefit greatly from the application of Web 2.0 technologies.

In conclusion, the report is a great place for the conversation to start, and for the academic research to begin, and I feel it would be a great topic to review bi-annually as the technology changes and as businesses restructure their technological commitments.

For further information listen to MIT's Andrew McAffee discuss how Web 2.0 is changing the way we work.

References:

McAffee, Andrew (2009) How Web 2.0 is changing the way we work: An interview with MIT’s Andrew McAfee, Accessed here: http://www.mckinsey.com/insights/business_technology/how_web_20_is_changing_the_way_we_work_an_interview_with_mits_andrew_mcafee

O'Reilly, Tim (2005) What Is Web 2.0: Design Patterns and Business Models for the Next Generation of Software, Accessed here: http://oreilly.com/web2/archive/what-is-web-20.html

Saldanha, T. J. V & Krishnan, M. S. (2010). Organizational Adoption of Web 2.0 Technologies: An Empirical Analysis, Journal of Organizational Computing and Electronic Commerce, 22 (4), 301-333.