Abstract

This is a study based on observational learning or the idea that an organization as a potential acquirer of a new technology in IT can be influenced by the acquisition of the technology by other organizations. The paper takes the framework of informational cascades and herding behavior from economics and applies it to acquisition of new technology decisions by organizations in the early majority phase of adoption of a new technology. The concept of an organizing vision for a new technology is used to locate the organization's view of a new technology in a larger community view of the technology. A conceptual model is presented that encompasses the initiation of cascades, the characteristics of cascades, and possible deleterious outcomes of cascades.

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