The role of context in IT assimilation: A multi-method study of a SaaS platform in the US nonprofit sector

• Published in: European journal of information systems Vol. 26; no. 5; pp. 509 - 539
• Main Authors: Wright, Ryan T., Roberts, Nicholas, Wilson, David
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Taylor & Francis 01.09.2017; Palgrave Macmillan UK; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: Assimilation; Business and Management; Business Information Systems; cloud computing; Empirical Research; enterprise SaaS platforms; enterprise systems; Environmental management; Information systems; Information Systems and Communication Service; Information technology; Innovation/Technology Management; Internet resources; nonprofit; Nonprofit organizations; Operations Research/Decision Theory; Organizational aspects; SaaS; Software services; Software-as-a-service; United States > US; nonprofit; enterprise systems; cloud computing; SaaS; assimilation; enterprise SaaS platforms
• DOI: 10.1057/s41303-017-0053-2
• ISSN: 0960-085X

Nonprofit organizations (NPOs) operate in environments characterized by growing competition for resources and greater stakeholder demands for accountability, which makes deploying and maintaining information systems a struggle. In this competitive, resource-constrained environment, enterprise Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) platforms offer NPOs a cost-effective way access reliable, low-maintenance information technology services. Thus, the extent to which NPOs assimilate SaaS is an important area of inquiry. Yet despite the wealth of research on organizational IT assimilation, we know little regarding whether, when, and how NPOs assimilate IT innovations. We further our understanding of NPO assimilation of SaaS by conducting a context-based study. To do so, we employ multiple methods with data collected from US-based NPOs executives. Our first study showed that organizational factors (e.g., readiness, top management participation) and environmental factors (e.g., social gains, industry) affect the degree to which NPOs assimilate SaaS. However, we also found that technological factors do not appear to play a significant role in NPO SaaS assimilation. We conducted a phenomenological analysis to shed further light on this unexpected finding. Our analysis found that readiness to adopt SaaS, perceptions about SaaS complexity, and the use of outside consultants all played a key role in NPOs' assimilation process.