Acculturative enactments of IT use in organizations: An interpretive analysis

Abstract

Information technologies over the years have become complex and customizable artifacts that are used in a variety of settings with varied outcomes. Their use is influenced by contextual factors in an organization, resulting in situated and emergent use. Similarly, organizational culture too has taken centre stage, with a focus on its emergent nature in organizations. There is yet a need to understand the interaction of organizational members with IT through culture perspective at subculture or individual level. Hence, we investigate IT use in organizations through an interpretive case study at the National Library Board in Singapore, which transformed itself from a traditional library organization into a dynamic service organization through innovative and effective use of IT. Users at NLB acculturated differently, conceptualized as acculturative adaptations to examine a spectrum of IT use. The proposed acculturative model of IT use identifies key influences that shape user adaptation with IT in organizations.