ABSTRACT INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY INNOVATION IN THE U S ARMY THE CASE OF THE ADOPTION, ADAPTATION, AND UTILIZATION OF THE STRATEGIC CRISIS EXERCISE INTRANET By

The U.S. Army has undergone dramatic changes in its structure and operating procedures in recent years as a result of the introduction of new information technologies. This study examines the adoption and adaptation of an information technology innovation in a U.S. Army organization. While previous studies have focused on the technologies themselves, this study investigates the process of innovation adoption, with special attention paid to how the technology and the organization influence each other. Data was collected through direct observation of the Strategic Crisis Exercise (SCE) intranet, in use in the Center for Strategic Leadership (CSL), located at the Army War College in Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania. Semi-structured interviews were also conducted with key leaders, system developers, system maintainers, and users of the intranet. Despite the unique military context, theories and frameworks developed for similar studies of information technology innovation adoption in business organizations were found to be valid with minimal modifications