Organizing for the Effecitve Diffusion of Corporate Information Systems: Manage Project Scale and Scope

Incremental innovations reinforce the capability of established organizations, while radical innovations cause firms to develop new technical and commercial skills. In this paper, we will present the results of an exploratory study examining the technologydiffusion process associated with eleven different systems initiatives iii eight organizations and suggest that. in addition to the important distinctions the technology life cycle model provides, another useful perspective is that one differentiates the innovation based on its scale and scope. We will present the findings of this exploratory research and suggest that to successfully diffuse projects of different scale and scope requires the building of differentiated project selection processes mid criteria, organizational structures and management involvement. As a first step in this process, we propose classifying RaD initiatives based on scale and scope and suggest that this classification will enable managers to identify and establish appropriate managerial and organizational processes that will facilitate the technology diffusion.