Adopters of telecommunications initiatives: A profile of progressive US corporations

摘要

The increasing pervasiveness and importance of telecommunications technologies is making it critical for organizations to make ‘rational’ choices regarding their adoption. This study identifies 15 telecommunications initiatives and examines the differences between adopters and non-adopters of these initiatives across a variety of factors. The results suggest different profiles for each technology initiative. However, more importantly, the results alert us to the diversity of factors that could potentially influence or be influenced by these technology decisions. While some initiatives are related to structural characteristics like centralization and integration, others relate to risk taking disposition and vendor interaction. The results provide descriptive insight into telecommunications initiatives and their use, as well as potential prescriptive insight into factors that could affect decision making processes regarding the initiatives. Potential future trends regarding these initiatives are also discussed.