The development and implementation of inter-organizational systems: considered at three levels of analysis

Using the case of a Taiwanese automobile manufacturer, the authors explore how an inter-organizational system (IOS) is developed and implemented. Organization and diffusion of innovation theory are used to explain the influence of variables at individual, organizational, and environmental levels of analysis. The in-depth case study shows that variables at all three levels are important to explaining the development, implementation, and use of the IOS but that the environmental level is most powerful in its impact. Given these findings, the predictive power of rational models which focus on the individual level of analysis are qualified, and more balanced methodologies which include data collection and theory development at all three levels are urged