Assimilation of Flexible Information Technologies

This research focuses on the process of how flexible information technologies assimilate into work processes and become routinized in an organization’s activities. The success of this post-implementation phase is essential if organizations are to reap the benefits of their investments in these technologies. However, many organizations struggle to integrate them with their processes and consequently, do not fully realize the benefits and value of those technologies. We attempt to study IS assimilation using the grounded theory approach to respond to the call for researchers to take the sociomaterial nature of the IS phenomenon into account. To develop a better understanding of the sociomaterial findings of this research, we view these findings through the lens of the Imbrication concept in order to better explain how technology assimilates into organizational practices through gradual interactions of technological and social elements. Several implications for research and practice are discussed