The Role of Collective Mental Models in IOS Adoption: Opening the Black Box of Rationality in RFID Deployment

Risks associated with change in technology standards and uncertainty over the sharing of costs and benefits among trading partners impede inter-organizational information system (IOS) adoption even when potential adopters prefer arriving at a common solution over realizing their heterogeneous preferences. In this coordination game, how the actors perceive their options with respect to other adopters’ perceptions may influence how they collectively proceed. Examining adoption from the adopters’ mental models as developed in the cognitive science, management, and political science literature, we develop propositions related to joint IOS adoption. First, convergent mental models across adopters accelerate the adoption process. Second, convergent mental models lead to the identification of the adoption option which results in the greatest collective welfare. Finally, convergent mental models impede innovative applications of new technologies. We discuss these propositions within the RFID adoption context and conclude by identifying practical implications and suggesting empirical approaches to testing these propositions.