Adoption of an Intranet Performance Reporting System
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ORGANIZATIONAL ADOPTION OF AN INTRANET-BASED PERFORMANCE
REPORTING SYSTEM: A TEST OF ROGERS’ MODEL OF INNOVATION
Abstract: A survey (n=187) of professional staff members in the Cooperative Extension
unit at a major western university examined adoption of a new web-based electronic
performance reporting and assessment system (e-Power) within the context of Everett
Rogers’ model of the adoption of innovations (Rogers, 1995). Consistent with the model,
adoption was positively related to staff members’ attitudes toward computing in general,
self-reported familiarity and experiences with the system, and adherence to organizational
norms that stressed the importance of accountability.
Organizations use Intranets for a variety of purposes, including administrative tasks that
can be facilitated by a web-based human-computer interface.
This study reports on the experience of the Cooperative Extension unit at a large western
university that converted its program recordkeeping to a Intranet-based system known as e-Power
to facilitate the reporting and sharing of program plans and results throughout the organization.
This Cooperative Extension unit is composed of more than 300+ professional staff
members, including 188 extension agents dispersed in 57 county offices and more than 110
specialists and administrators at the central campus. An Intranet is an ideal solution to provide