Overcoming Technology Resistance - Business Strategy Review

Bryce Smart (an MSIM student at the Information School, University of Washington) and I have an article published in the current issue of Business Strategy Review.

Most organizations face dire challenges in adopting new technologies. New technologies are often met with resistance. Resistance is followed by the under-utilization of the technology. This leaves the organization both vulnerable to critical disruptions in business processes and in a poor competitive position. While most organizations face challenges in technology adoption, the challenge for small- to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) is even more dire.

SMEs often do not possess the necessary slack resources to give attention to new technologies as they are too busy making ends meet. They may also lack the necessary know-how to decide on new technologies or decipher the value to their organizations. Perhaps the biggest problem they face is resistance from employees tied to the status quo. Based on our experience, we offer 10 lessons for the SME manager to address “technology resisters”, those who oppose new technology for whatever reason, to get them on board.

Reference: Smart, B.A., and Desouza, K.C. “Overcoming Technology Resistance,” Business Strategy Review, 18(4), 2007, 25-28.

Complexities of Large-Scale Technology Project Failure

I have a new paper accepted for publication. The paper, “Complexities of Large-Scale Technology Project Failure: A Forensic Analysis of the Seattle Popular Monorail Authority”, will appear in Public Performance & Management Review (http://mesharpe.com/mall/results1.asp?ACR=PMR). I co-authored the paper with one of my former graduate students of the Information School (University of Washington), Nina Yuttapongsontorn, and Ashley Braganza (Cranfield School of Management, UK).

Complexities of Large-Scale Technology Project Failure: A Forensic Analysis of the Seattle Popular Monorail Authority
Abstract:
“Being stuck in traffic doesn’t have to be a way of life.” This beautiful prologue came from the Elevated Transportation Company (ETC) board’s letter in the ETC Seattle Popular Monorail Plan, one of the largest public works projects ever proposed in the city of Seattle. Three years after this proposal, the Seattle Monorail Project (SMP) was shut down by voters on November 8, 2005. This paper critically analyzes the SMP through the lens of stakeholder theory. This perspective provides valuable insights into the failure of the SMP. We theorize that SMP’s failure might have been avoided had its leadership recognized the many stakeholders that had power over the plan and, more importantly, the dynamic changes in relationships between the stakeholders. Failure might also have been avoided by managing conflicts in stakeholders’ expectations. Specifically, we use stakeholder theory to develop four propositions that are relevant in the context of large-scale technology projects. One, organizations are more likely to succeed when have effective mechanisms for monitoring and evaluating interactions between stakeholders and changes in their positions in relation to their strategic innovation projects. Two, organizations are more likely to succeed when they tradeoff the conflicts in expectations and interests that stakeholders hold. Three, organizations are more likely to implement complex technology projects by understanding stakeholders’ expectations and the interplay between stakeholders. Four, organizations are more likely to achieve their innovative projects when they define stakeholders in terms of their power over their strategic objectives. The paper makes a contribution both to the research and practice of major technological infrastructure projects, strategic innovations, and government technology management.