A multilevel social network perspective on IT adoption

Adoption of technologies has long been a key area of research in the information systems (IS) discipline, and researchers have thus been interested in the attributes, beliefs, intentions, and behaviors of individuals and organisations that could explain information and communication technology (ICT) adoption. The focal unit of adoption has mainly been individuals and organisations, however, research at group or social network level as well as the inter-organizational level have recently gained increased interest from IS researchers. This recent focus supports the view of the world as being the sum of all relations. Various social network theories exist that seek to emphasize different proficiencies of social networks and explain theoretical mechanisms for behavior in social networks. The core idea of these theories is that social networks are valuable, and the relations among actors affect the behavior of individuals, groups, organizations, industries, and societies. IS researchers have also found that social network theory can help explain technology adoption. Some researchers, in addition, acknowledge that most adoption situations involve phenomena occuring at multiple levels, yet most technology adoption research applies a single level of analysis. Multilevel research can address the levels of theory, measurement, and analysis required to fully examining research questions. This paper therfore adapts the Coleman diagram into the Multi-level Framework of Technology. Adoption in order to explain how social network theory, at the individual and social network level, can help explain adoption of ICT. As Coleman (1990) attempts to create a link between the micro and macro level in a holistic manner, his approach is applicable in explaining ICT adoption