A69. Majchrzak, A.,
Rice, R.E., Malhotra, A., King, N., & Ba, S. (2000). Technology adaptation:
The case of a computer-supported inter-organizational virtual team.
MIS
Quarterly, 24(4), 569-600.
The adaptation process for new technology is not yet well understood.
This study analyzes how an inter-organizational virtual team, tasked with
creating a highly innovative product over a 10-month period, adapted the
use of a collaborative technology and successfully achieved its challenging
objectives. The study of such a virtual team is especially useful
for extending our understanding of the adaptation process, as virtual teams
have more malleable structures than typical organizational units and controlled
group experiments. Data were obtained from observations of weekly virtual
meetings, electronic log files, interviews, and weekly questionnaires administered
to team members. We found that the team initially experienced significant
misalignments among the pre-existing organizational environment, group,
and technology structures. To resolve these misalignments, the team
modified the organizational environment and group structures, leaving the
technology structure intact. However, as the team proceeded, a series
of events unfolded that caused the team to reevaluate and further modify
its structures. This final set of modifications involved reverting
back to the pre-existing organizational environment, while new technology
and group structures emerged as different from both the pre-existing and
the initial ones. A new model of the adaptation process -- one that
integrates these findings and those of several previous models -- is proposed.