ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book consists of an analysis of managerial strategies in relation to new technology and cognate organizational matters, along with the derivation and presentation of a model of the stages of new technology adoption. It presents an examination of who gets involved in new technology adoption, in what respects, and of the external and internal contexts of adoption, with particular reference to the latter's relevance for the nature and quality of employee involvement. The book consists of four case studies of new technology adoption. Two of these are of the adoption of branch office 'online' terminal systems, linked to the head offices of these two building societies. The other two case studies were conducted in the engineering industry. The case studies show that finance, engineering, technical and computer specialists dominate the origination, progression, and systems design stages of new technology adoption.
