84080 Brandyberry
Innovation, Adoption, & Diffusion SYLLABUS Fall 2014
COURSE INFORMATION:
Name of Course:
B AD 84080 - Innovation, Adoption, & Diffusion
Term:
Fall 2014
Room:
M&IS Conference Room
Meeting Time:
11:00-1:40 PM Tuesdays
Prerequisites:
PhD standing and permission of instructor.
Course Description:
This course provides students with theoretical foundations of adoption and diffusion of technological innovations in organizations and society. Topics include: determinants of organizational innovation by acquisition; individual- and organizational-level technology adoption; diffusion of technologies through social systems; and the infusion and assimilation of technologies in organizations.
INSTRUCTOR INFORMATION:
Name of Instructor:
Dr. Alan Brandyberry
Office Address:
BSA A425
Telephone:
(330)672-1146
Office Hours:
Mondays 10:45AM-Noon, 1:30PM-3:15PM
Tuesdays 10:00AM-11:00AM
Thursdays 1:00PM-2:00PM
E-mail:
abrandyb@kent.edu
COURSE MATERIALS:
Required Text:
None.
COURSE OBJECTIVES, REQUIREMENTS & EVALUATION:
Course Objectives:
Upon completion of this course, students will:
1. Have a broad understanding of the important theories used to explain the adoption and diffusion of new technologies in organizations today.
2. Develop an in-depth knowledge of a particular stream of research related to technology innovations. This knowledge will enable them to identify an interesting research gap in that stream, and execute a research project designed to address that gap.
3. Gain experience in making effective research presentations.
4. Develop skills associated with reviewing academic papers on innovation topics.
Collaborative Term Project/Paper:
A research paper will be required for this course. As a small class we will join forces to make one research team (assuming the current enrollment of two. As opposed to what I have tried in other classes, this will be a heavily guided collaborative project between the instructor and three students (on each project). The goal is to impart a certain level of research wisdom as opposed to a more “sink or swim” individual approach. As such, the student will have a great deal of input and will be heavily involved in every step of the project but will not have complete control over the project. The anticipated result is a complete empirical research project where all three authors (instructor and two students) contributed to the project equally (but perhaps in different ways). The end result should have authors listed
alphabetically with a note stating authors contributed equally. Your evaluation for the course on this component will be based on whether you have earned “contributed equally” status as well as the final quality of the research.
We will begin the research projects immediately understanding as we work through material we may decide to modify certain aspects of the course. The projects must pertain to the main course topic but this will be interpreted relatively broadly. Likely topics will investigate the adoption/diffusion of technologies, usage of technologies in organizations, disruptive technologies, etc.
We will (1) choose research topics, (2) develop a research model, (3) design an instrument (if applicable), (4) explore funding opportunities (if applicable) (5) get human subject approval (if applicable), (6) collect and analyze data, (7) write paper (not necessarily as a strict sequence, some activities will be done concurrently with other activities). The goal is to obtain works that are realistically able to target 'A' to 'A-' journals in the IS area.
Readings:
Each class the instructor will assign a research paper or papers that should be read by each student for class discussion.
Presentations:
Each student will present an academic research journal article each week. Some articles may be assigned but most will be of the student’s choosing.
Attendance:
Students are responsible for all in class announcements and material whether absence is excused or unexcused.
GRADES:
Attendance and Overall Contribution
15%
Paper Presentations
20%
Individual Contribution to Project
30%
Quality of Term Research Project
35%
TOTAL
100%
The following scale indicates the minimum course percentage required for each letter grade:
Letter-grade determinations will be made on the following percentage basis (your score rounded to the nearest whole number): A >90; B >80; C >70; D >60. A lower curve may be substituted at the discretion of the instructor. Grade curving is only done at the end of the term for final grades. Do not try to anticipate the curve - target the score that will get you the desired grade on the straight scale above. **Students are welcome at any time to inquire into their current grade status during office hours.
Tentative Course Schedule Week Topic 1 Course Introduction Organizational Sourcing of Innovations 2 Technology Adoption & Acceptance Models (introduction) 3 Technology Adoption & Acceptance Models (extensions to the core models) 4 Assessing System Quality and Fit 5 Self-Efficacy, Experimentation, and Training Issues 6 Individual Resistance 7 Post-Adoption Usage Issues (e.g. what exactly is “usage”?) 8 Conceptualizing and Measuring Success 9 Diffusion of Innovations 10 Impact of Organizational Context (e.g., TOE framework) 11 Diffusion Through Social Systems (e.g., network effects, contagion effects) 12 Power, Politics, and Equity Issues 13 Absorptive Capacity 14 Disruptive Technologies 15 Emerging Topics
The Following Policies Apply to All Students in this Course:
A. Students attending the course who do not have the proper prerequisite risk being deregistered from the class.
B. Students have responsibility to ensure they are properly enrolled in classes. You are advised to review your official class schedule (using Student Tools on FlashLine) during the first two weeks of the semester to ensure you are properly enrolled in this class and section. Should you find an error in your class schedule, you have until Sunday, September 7, 2014 to correct the error. If registration errors are not corrected by this date and you continue to attend and participate in classes for which you are not officially enrolled, you are advised now that you will not receive a grade at the conclusion of the semester for any class in which you are not properly registered.
C. Academic honesty: Cheating means to misrepresent the source, nature, or other conditions of your academic work (e.g., tests, papers, projects, assignments) so as to get undeserved credit. In addition, it is considered to be cheating when one cooperates with another in any such misrepresentation. The use of the intellectual property of others without giving them appropriate credit is a serious academic offense. It is the University's policy that cheating or plagiarism result in receiving a failing grade for the work or course. Repeat offenses may result in dismissal from the University.
D. For Fall 2014, the course withdrawal deadline is Sunday, November 2, 2014.
E. Students with disabilities: University policy 3342-3-01.3 requires that students with disabilities be provided reasonable accommodations to ensure their equal access to course content. If you have a documented disability and require accommodations, please contact the instructor at the beginning of the semester to make arrangements for necessary classroom adjustments. Please note, you must first verify your eligibility for these accommodations through Student Accessibility Services (contact 330-672-3391 or visit http://www.kent.edu/sas for more information on registration procedures).
F. Graduation: If you are eligible to graduate, it is your responsibility to apply for graduation before the set deadline (May Graduation: Apply before September 15th; August Graduation: Apply before December 15th; December Graduation: Apply before March 15th). If you apply after the deadline you will be assessed a $200 late fee. Please see your academic advisor as soon as possible if you are uncertain as to your progress toward graduation. To apply for graduation complete the following steps: Log onto your Flashline account 1. Click on the Student Tools tab, 2. Look in the Graduation Planning Tool Box, 3. Click on Application for Graduation. If an error message appears, you must contact your advisor.
