| Abstract: | While governmental agencies and large corporations were the first to make use of computing technologies, small businesses have expanded their use of the technologies substantially in recent years. In many cases these efforts to adopt computer-based systems failed, due to a variety of contextual and organizational factors. This paper presents the results of one of a series of studies of the organizational and environmental factors affecting introduction of computing technology into small businesses. The research is exploratory at this stage in the overall research effort. In-depth interviews were carried out to ascertain the nature of each of the computerization efforts and to identify the factors which contributed to success or failure. Preliminary results on organizational factors affecting the implementation of information systems in these companies are reported. |
