The transition of businesses to the digital marketplace has presented many opportunities andchallenges for e-commerce and ICT services providers. This research was carried out during theongoing diffusion of a technological innovation, at Telia Company's Content Delivery Network(CDN) unit, in a bid to understand the technology adoption process. The researchers' approachwas to get insights from different stakeholders in the Swedish e-commerce industry and tocompare the qualitative research findings with theoretical secondary data and definitions. Sixinterviews were performed, constituting the empirical data. After the analysis and discussion ofthe results and frameworks, the researchers propose a merged theoretical framework thatcould be used for designing compelling value propositions, and as such improve the conveyingof the value of an offering. The thesis concludes with recommendations to further validate theproposed framework through further research.

Social robots and artificial intelligence are radical innovations at the cutting edge of technology. Touted as the fourth industrial revolution, the future is looking bright for social robotics, and for the markets which can benefit from this technology. However, despite a wealth of research regarding technical functionality, there has been little research conducted into the future strategies required to ensure the successful diffusion of these innovations into society or effective methods of influencing rapid adoption rates in target markets.  The following research questions have been designed to identify potential solutions to existing and future problems facing the social robotics industry: What are the barriers to the early stages of the diffusion of innovation for social robotics start-ups? How can these innovative companies cross the chasm? In order to formulate the findings, primary research was conducted in the form of interviews within three categories: academics, practitioners and social robotics experts. Secondary research was undertaken to analyse and compare primary findings. The research is purely qualitative as quantitative data was purposefully disregarded due to limitations on time and scope.  In summary, social robotics start-ups face significant barriers to diffusion such as inherently expensive products and misaligned customer expectations. Attracting ‘pragmatists in pain’ is vital to be able to cross the chasm and a strong reference base is necessary for social robots to be adopted in the mainstream market. Start-ups need to meet the demands of the ‘expected product’ to attract the early majority (pragmatist) segment, providing a greater possibility of crossing the chasm and enabling rapid adoption. It is assumed that either a mass or niche strategy can be chosen, depending on the type of product in subject. An adaptation to the technology adoption life cycle has been made in the form of the ‘double-bell curve’ and the ‘V’ in the chasm has been identified within the process of successful diffusion. Methods of improving the rate of adoption have been applied in consideration of the ‘technology acceptance model’, with a heavy focus on increasing trialability and observability. There is a risk of potential ‘overadoption’ in the social robotics industry, however the changing shift in customer attitudes towards technology adoption lowers boundaries to diffusion.

Real estate lags behind other industrial sectors in technology adoption and digitalization of its products and services. The current qualitative study looks at the digitalization efforts in a major German real estate firm – RealT Group. The firm, through its activities in real estate, aims to promote value-added digital products and services to new and existing customers.  To facilitate this study structured study, the research proposes a key question: How can real estate organizations adapt and implement innovation diffusion to provide value, and improve the accessibility of financial products for real estate investors? Further, the study aims to identify factors that play a role in the digitalization of the sector and to better understand the underlying reasons for the lag in the adoption of digital technologies. The proposed questions are answered using three theoretical frameworks that look at the diffusion of innovation, technology adoption by users, and by relevant stakeholders in the firm. Analysis of the generated data reveals several key factors retarding digitalization. Key amongst them is the seniority in the age of employees and investors, which makes them reluctant to change the existing workflow. However, younger employees and investors are more engaged with digital change and welcome the infusion of digital technologies. Prior user experiences play a key role in the adoption of new technologies.  Top-down infusion of new technologies by senior management was accepted albeit with reservations. Technology was better accepted where solution providers engaged the employees and stakeholders from the beginning and allowed trials for some time. It was observed that when the firm facilitated these conditions, the chances of successful adoption were significantly higher. Complexity in technological solutions meant that employees and investors needed to reskill themselves; something the employees were ready to do if it improved their chances of career progression  The size and reach of the firm through its products and services and employees with prior experience in the sector point to important industry-wide findings: high-net-worth investors are older, prefer to work in secrecy through middlemen and avoid complex solutions to the investment workflow. However, reducing the barrier to entry might reveal that younger investors with better technological skills could speed up the digitalization process.

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Purpose - The purpose of this study is to receive an understanding for how to enable higher rates of adoption implementation success of hospital IT (HIT) systems in ambulatory surgical care settings.   Method - The study is an explorative deductive multiple case-study, incorporating 15 ambulatory surgical centers situated in Sweden, Germany, and the United States. In total, 24 interviews were conducted with managers and users at the selected ASCs in three waves and analyzed through thematic analysis.   Findings - The study resulted in the identification of six barriers and eight enablers in the adoption- and implementation phase of HIT systems. In addition, an implementation framework was developed based on the findings from RQ1 and RQ2, with critical activities to execute to facilitate adoption- and implementation success of HIT systems in ASCs.   Theoretical contribution - This study adds to the literature by identifying new barriers and enablers in HIT adoption and implementation characterizing ambulatory surgical centers. Furthermore, the findings extend on previous literature by presenting an new all-encompassing implementation framework, showing the necessity to approach the implementation process as a whole process-improvement project for successful HIT adoption and implementation.  Managerial implications - This study emphasizes the important role managers in ambulatory surgical centers hold in facilitating successful HIT implementation and provides managers with a practical implementation framework to serve as a roadmap to guide them in achieving a successful implementation of HIT systems.   Limitations and future research - The study is limited to investigating adoption- and implementation of HIT systems (EHR, EMR, HIS) in the context of ambulatory surgical centers. Future studies can explore the identified barriers and enablers in more ambulatory surgical settings and extend upon the developed implementation framework.

Digitalization and adaptation of technology are the current and future areas for organizations to gain efficiency within. Nevertheless, in a context where digitalization is an uprising trend, this research is needed now more than ever due to the COVID 19 Pandemic in the world. Many companies are having a hard time with the complexity of the digital age, facing challenges, and searching for support. This research will aim to solve these obstacles by collaborating with company X, who currently are in a similar situation. In order to understand the reasons of managerial resistance to adapt to new digital technology, the investigation also looked at the impact of managers and how it affects the digital technology adoption in the organization. This is done by considering the specific context of asset management (AM) since AM systems substitute to part of the control that is used by managers to support operations and maintenance processes. The research was explorative in the research approach in order to delimit the study after analysing the findings. The research is conducted through a literature review and empirical data that was conducted through a pre-study and interviews with company X. Many theories from the literature and findings from the analysis of the interviews shed some light on the contingency factors influencing the adoption of digitalization in the context of AM. The empirical and theoretical findings also supported the impact that managers have towards an organization's ability to go towards a more digitalized organization. The conclusion from this research found that the factors that affect the adoption of technologies are organizational capabilities and the underlying factors of task complexity and internal capability. The second factor is the organizational culture with the underlying factors of decision-making and management by fear. And lastly, the organization's business model with the underlying factor of customer orientation. All these factors are overlapping each other, and are essential to focus on in a changing environment in order to manage a digital transformation. The conclusion that was drawn for managers' implications that are Managerial behavior and Managerial communication, and therefore stated that they have an impact. This research recommends steps for a company to leverage the identified factors that affect the ability to adapt to digitalization. These were first to go toward a digital transformation, by revising work methods. Then to construct a global IT strategy in order to strategize the internal strategies. Then in order to align the strategy and bridge the gap between business and IT, it is through a balanced scorecard. Another critical step is to involve middle managers in decision making by implementing a change management plan. Benefit management will help to engage the entire organization towards change. Lastly, all steps need to be supported with digital solutions by taking into consideration the established actions as analysing risks, creating a digital roadmap, identifying a clear process owner, following up on digital interventions, and working with customers and politicians towards an integrated AM solution. / Digitalisering och anpassning av teknik är de nuvarande och framtida områdena för organisationer att effektivisera sig med. Men i ett sammanhang där digitalisering är en uppåtgående trend behövs denna forskning nu mer än någonsin på grund av COVID 19- pandemin i världen. Många företag har det svårt med den digitala tidens komplexitet, står inför utmaningar och söker support. Denna forskning representerar det exemplet genom att samarbeta med företaget X som befinner sig i den aktuella situationen. För att förstå orsakerna till ledarens motstånd att anpassa sig till ny digital teknik såg utredningen också på effekterna av chefer och hur det påverkar antagandet av digital teknik i organisationen. Detta görs genom att beakta det specifika sammanhanget för kapitalförvaltning (AM), eftersom AM-system ersätter en del av kontrollen som används av chefer för att stödja drift och underhållsprocesser. Forskningen var förklarande i forskningsmetoden för att avgränsa studien efter att ha rat resultaten. Forskningen utförs genom en litteraturöversikt och en empirisk data som genomfördes genom en förstudie och intervjuer med företaget X. Många teorier från litteraturen och fynd från n av intressena, kastar lite ljus på beredskapsfaktorer som påverkar antagandet av digitalisering i samband med AM. De empiriska och teoretiska fynden stödde också effekterna som chefer har för en organisations förmåga att gå mot en mer digitaliserad organisation. Slutsatsen från denna forskning av de faktorer som påverkar han antagande av teknik är organisatoriska förmågor, med de underliggande faktorerna av uppgift komplexitet och intern kapacitet. Den andra faktorn är organisationskulturen med de underliggande faktorerna för beslut och förvaltning av rädsla. Och slutligen organisationens affärsmodell med den underliggande faktorn för kundorientering. Alla dessa faktorer överlappar varandra och är viktiga att fokusera på i en föränderlig miljö för att hantera en digital transformation. Slutsatsen som drogs för chefsimplikationer som är ledningsbeteende och ledningskommunikation, och bekräftade därför att de påverkar organisationen. Denna forskning rekommenderar åtgärder för ett företag för att utnyttja de identifierade faktorerna som påverkar förmågan att anpassa sig till digitaliseringen. Dessa var först för att gå mot en digital transformation genom att revidera arbetsmetoder. För att sedan konstruera en global IT-strategi för att strategisera de interna strategierna. För att anpassa strategin och överbrygga klyftan mellan affär och IT är det sedan genom ett balanserat resultatkort. Ett annat kritiskt steg är att involvera mellanledare i beslutsfattandet genom att implementera en plan för förändringshantering. Förmånshantering hjälper till att engagera hela organisationen mot förändring. Slutligen måste alla steg stöds med digitala lösningar genom att ta hänsyn till de etablerade åtgärderna som att ra risker, skapa en digital färdplan, identifiera en tydlig processägare, följa upp digitala interventioner och arbeta med kunder och politiker mot en integrerad AM-lösning.

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Advances in wireless networking and the Internet move us toward ubiquitous and embedded computing. Ubiquitous and embedded computing enhances computer use by making computers available throughout the physical environment while making them effectively invisible to the user. In the ubiquitous and embedded computing era, computers in the traditional sense gradually fade, and information mediated by computers is available anywhere and anytime through devices that are embedded in the environment. Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) is one of the key technologies of the ubiquitous and embedded computing era. RFID is a technology used to identify, track, and trace a person or object and enables the automated collection of important business information. RFID minimizes human intervention in the person and object identification process by using electronic tags and is expected to complement or replace traditional barcode technology. RFID is a highly beneficial technological advancement which ultimately may change the way of doing business. This study examines the RFID adoption decision process and proposes a model predicting the likelihood of adopting RFID within organizations in the healthcare industry. A considerable number of studies have been conducted regarding organizational information technology (IT) adoption, but the nature of the organizational IT adoption process is still not well understood. It is even posited that the only consistency found in the organizational adoption literature is the inconsistency of research results. The inconsistency of results is partially explained by changes in technological, organizational, and environmental statuses. Therefore, factors explaining traditional IT adoption may not justify RFID adoption and should be revisited and revalidated. In addition, given the ongoing importance of RFID, it is very important to identify the unique factors that contribute to the likelihood of adopting RFID. In this study, an organizational RFID adoption model is proposed and empirically tested by a survey using a sample of 865 senior executives in U. S. hospitals. The model posits that three categories of factors, technology push, need pull, and decision maker characteristics, determine the likelihood of adopting RFID within organizations. The relationships between those three categories and the likelihood of adopting RFID are strengthened or weakened by organizational readiness. This study may serve as the theoretical and empirical basis for research on other forms of ubiquitous and embedded computing systems.

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