What’s your archetype? Understanding how IT Identity influences information systems adoption

Abstract

Motivated by a recognized need to comprehend how Information Systems (IS) switching costs interact with Information Technology Identity (ITID) to influence IS infusion behavior, this study explores issues that may affect the success of IS implementations when information workers are required to switch from an incumbent IS to a new IS and incur IS switching costs. ITID describes the extent to which an Information Technology (IT) is viewed as integral to a person’s self-concept and provides an interesting theoretical lens with which to study this interplay between IS usage and identity. Drawing on interviews with 28 IS community practitioners within the software industry, we unpack the complex relationships between ITID, Status Quo Bias (SQB), and Lingering Identity (LI) that explain how workers deal with IS adoption in the context of change. We present a model for establishing a baseline of existing user attitudes towards IS usage based on incumbent IS usage. Individual user baselines can be subsequently mapped to eight archetypes which can guide managers seeking to improve IS adoption and infusion. We then discuss our theoretical and managerial contributions and close the paper by outlining the study’s limitations and a set of directions for future research.