An Institutional Lens on Cloud Computing Adoption - a Study of Institutional Factors and Adoption Strategies

This paper reports from an empirical study that focuses on cloud computing (CC) adoption in various contexts. The findings build upon 25 interviews conducted in both Norwegian and Egyptian organizations. We utilized a neo-institutional lens as a guide to understand the internal and external factors, and their various influences on shaping CC adoption strategies. We identified five external institutional factors; governments and regulatory bodies, cloud service providers, media, socio-political changes, and culture. Furthermore, three internal institutional factors have been identified; internal stakeholders, organization characteristics, and IT infrastructure. We identified three different adoption strategies in this respect; efficiency-motivated adoption, legitimacy-motivated adoption and nonadoption. This research gives an insight into which institutional factors that influence the adoption and non-adoption of CC services.