Innovation translation as a research approach to theorising information systems implementation

In this article I will argue that innovation theory should be allowed to play a more important role than it currently does in any research into factors affecting the successful adoption of an information system by an organisation. The dictionary defines innovation as occurring whenever something new is introduced, and given that the introduction or updating of an information system in an organisation necessarily results in change in that organisation, this introduction should be considered in terms of innovation theory. There are a number of different approaches to theorising innovation, including innovation diffusion and the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). Rather than these commonly known approaches, this article instead describes a different approach to theorising information systems innovation, that of innovation translation, informed by Actor-Network Theory (ANT). It then offers a number of case study examples of the use of this approach and points out some of the explanatory advantages of using innovation translation. Copyright © 2009 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.