It. is well known that t.he introduction of a new technology in one organization not always produces the intended benefits (Levine, 1994). In many cases, either the receivers do not reach the intended level of use or simply the technology is rejected because it does not match with the expectations (true or false) and the accepted psychological effort to use it. The case of formal methods is a paradigmatic example of continual failures. The published cases with problems or failures only constitute the visible part of a large iceberg of adoption cases. It. is difficult to get companies to openly express the problems they had; however, from the experience of the author, failure cases are very common and they include any type of company. Many reasons to explain the failures (and in some cases the successes) could be postulated; however, the experiences are not structured enough and it is difficult to extract from them useful guidelines for avoiding future problems. Generally speaking, there is a trend to find the root of the problems in the technol ogy itself and in its adequacy with the preexistent technological context. Technocratic technology transfer models describe the problems in terms of these aspects. Although it is true that those factors limit the probability of success, there is another source of explanations linked to the individuals and working teams and how they perceive the technology.

What is the state of digital adoption by businesses? Are businesses able to leverage and keep up with the rapid pace of technological change? What policies are needed to ensure robust adoption by start-ups and small businesses? This panel will take stock of business adoption in the enterprise and small business sectors of Canada, and explore the challenges and opportunities to digital technologies. A new body of Canadian research has shown that the majority of businesses are online and using a range of digital tools, from social media to e-commerce to mobile applications. A report by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business that polled over 2000 small and medium sized enterprises concludes that businesses of all sizes and from all sectors are adopting various digital technologies in their operations. Arriving at a similar conclusion a report by Start-up Canada, a trade association representing the Canadian start-up community determined that digital networks have vastly expanded potential market opportunities for small businesses, enabling them to reach customers world-wide. Yet, the research also highlight clear challenges and persistent divides in digital adoption among businesses. The reports broadly agreed that the complexity and time required to adopt digital tools is a significant challenge. The report from Start-up Canada highlighted the pressure of digital onboarding, technology implementation, and maintenance as a significant upfront investment in time and cost for small business owners. An OECD report suggests that training is a barrier to adopting digital technologies in Canada and other G20 nations. Data from the Canadian Chamber's survey revealed that only 37% of businesses invest in digital skills literacy, 50% invest in software training and only 31% invest in cybersecurity training. Moreover, survey data show that specific groups are particularly unequipped to leverage advanced digital tools. Women entrepreneurs are 20 per cent less likely to leverage digital technologies when operating their business than men. At the same time, digital adoption rates are two times higher amongst immigrant small business owners (SBO) than born-Canadians. Immigrant SBOs are also more likely to both leverage digital technologies in their companies and invest in digital skills building. These findings raise questions on the trends and barriers to online adoption. What are the hurdles inhibiting participation beyond the cost of access? How can we formulate policy that sparks adoption? With the aim of widening and deepening the TPRC community's knowledge of adoption issues, this panel will frame the challenge and ignite a data-driven, candid conversation using Canada as a case-study. The TPRC community will grapple with the big and broad question on how to ensure that the internet remains a meaningful and transformative technology the digital economy. The panel will be composed of the following voices. Panelist #1 will discuss a Canadian research study that provides insights on internet usage in the small business and start-up scene. Panelist #2 will provide a deeper dive into the challenges felt by enterprise-size businesses. Panelist #3 will consider the trends internationally, including but not necessarily limited to North America.

"This book focuses on isolating what determines the adoption of e-commerce applications that will optimize potential opportunities presented to small businesses through adoption"--Provided by publisher.

This title provides a thorugh overview of the issues high-tech marketers must address, and provides a balance between conceptual discussions and examples; small and big business; products and services; and consumer and business-to-business marketing contexts.

This edited collection investigates the potential impact of long-term planning and strategic awareness on the ability of SMEs to remain competitive. The authors demonstrate that whether SMEs are able to identify and act upon external forces and factors, or not, is the defining indicator of their likelihood to struggle, survive, or thrive.

This volume constitutes the proceedings of the 6th Working Conference on Practice-Driven Research on Enterprise Transformation (PRET), held in Utrecht, The Netherlands, on June 6, 2013, co-located with the Enterprise Transformation Track of the 21st European Conference on Information Systems (ECIS). Successful enterprises have well-defined managerial responsibilities and understandable project priorities and enable their processes to be sufficiently agile, even improvisational and continuously changing. They do not solely rely on only mechanistic or purely organic processes and structures, but see enterprise transformation as a combination of deliberate and organic change. This year's papers represent this hybrid view. Moreover, most of them are based on practical cases, which will further contribute to our understanding of enterprise transformation. The eight papers presented in this volume were allocated to tracks on: practical experiences with methods and techniques; cases in enterprise transformation; and enterprise architecture in practice.