Investigating user responses to mandatory IT-induced organisational changes: findings from a multiple-case study

Abstract

Mandatory IT-induced organisational changes often engender drastic alterations in business processes, employees’ skillsets, and the work environment in general. Reaping the benefits of mandatory IT-induced changes depend on how employees respond to, and use, the implemented IT systems for their work processes. Prior Information Systems research provides valuable insights into IT system usage in organisations, including when users accept and resist the introduced IT systems. However, there is still a need for a more nuanced perspective on the phenomenon of user responses to IT in organisations, as past studies have dichotomised IT acceptance and resistance research. This has led to fragmented findings that limit our understanding of the complex phenomenon of user responses to IT in organisations. In addition, existing studies do not provide an in-depth perspective on the changes in user responses over time and the factors that influence these changes in user responses. This study addresses these identified gaps by investigating how employees respond to mandatory IT-induced changes in their work environment, how user responses evolve over time, and the factors that trigger the changes in user responses. The study adopted a qualitative interpretive multiple case study method, with the use of semi-structured interviews as the primary data collection tool. Interviews were conducted with 29 participants in two organisations across two phases. The ‘coping theoretic model of user response to mandated IT use’ (Bhattacherjee et al., 2017) was adopted as a theoretical lens for the study. Data collected from the interviews were analysed using a thematic analysis approach. During the data analysis process, lower-level codes, sub-themes and themes were developed in order to answer the study’s research questions. The findings from the study reveal that users respond to mandatory IT-induced changes in three ways: engaged; compliant; and reluctant. The findings also indicate that the three identified user response types are influenced by individual-related, organisational and process-related, and IT system-related factors. The findings indicate that user responses can transition in a progressive or regressive manner, depending on the influence of three factors: training; social influence; and IT infrastructure. The findings of this study have theoretical and practical implications. From a theoretical perspective, this study extends Bhattacherjee et al.’s (2017) model and responds to multiple calls by Information Systems researchers for the need to integrate IT acceptance and IT resistance research. In addition, this study provides a richer and more accurate description of user behavioural reactions to new technologies in the work environment. From a practical perspective, this study can help organisations and managers involved in IT-induced change projects to design initiatives that lead to progressive transitions and continuous IT system usage by employees in organisations.