The influences of employees' emotions and cognition on IT adoption: Some perspectives from Iran

Abstract

This paper presents an extended model of individuals’ reactions to IT implementation initiatives. The aim is to explore the relationship between an employee’s cognitive appraisal of an IT initiative, their emotional response and the processes they undergo when faced with difficulties in accepting IT adoption and change in an organizational setting. The paper presents the results of an interpretive case study based in Iran. According to the findings of the study, employees’ evaluations of a new IT initiative can become an obstacle to change. The paper’s first contribution is to provide a deeper understanding of the effects of an IT implementation on individuals’ emotions and cognition. The second contribution is the use of the extended model in a real organizational setting in Iran, a country in which the importance of employee’s reactions to technology change has never been considered as crucial.