Search results

Since 2007, the cloud computing term had been introduced to the information technology (IT) dictionary. The theme is attracting growing interest from both the IT world and the business players, who need to enhance information systems agility, reduced costs, or even less dependence on internal IT teams when they are judged too slow. However, the fact that cloud computing, as presented by providers, increases the agility, is unclear. Business Managers; IT professional, and academics are querying about relationship between cloud computing and IT agility. This chapter aims to answer two major concerns: Factors that influence cloud computing adoption in medium and large organizations, and the cloud computing role to improve the agility of information systems. This chapter argues that cloud computing impacts Information System (IS) performance by organizational capabilities (agility). One of the primary motivations of this chapter is the lack of fieldwork when considering how cloud computing improves the information systems’ agility.

The main objective of this study is to investigate the factors that influence the adoption intention of cloud computing services among individual users using the extended theory of planned behavior.

A purposive sampling technique was used to collect a total of 339 data points, which were analyzed using SmartPLS to derive variance-based structural equation modeling and fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA).

The results obtained from PLS-SEM indicate that attitude towards cloud computing, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, perceived security, cost-effectiveness, and performance expectancy all have a positive and significant impact on the adoption intention of cloud computing services among individual users. On the other hand, the findings from fsQCA provide a clear interpretation and deeper insights into the adoption intention of individual users of cloud computing services by revealing the complex relationships between multiple combinations of antecedents. This helps to understand the reasons for individual users' adoption intention in emerging countries.

This study offers valuable insights to cloud service providers and cyber entrepreneurs on how to promote cloud computing services to individual users in developing countries. It helps these organizations understand their priorities for encouraging cloud computing adoption among individual users from emerging countries. Additionally, policymakers can also understand their role in creating a comfortable and flexible cloud computing access environment for individual users.

This study has contributed to the increasingly growing empirical literature on cloud computing adoption and demonstrates the effectiveness of the proposed theoretical framework in identifying the potential reasons for the slow growth of cloud computing services adoption in the developing world.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the determinants of cloud computing adoption (CCA) in a developing country context through the lens of the technology, organisation and environment (TOE) framework.

The study was carried out using the quantitative research methodology based on a survey of 305 organisations from different industries in Ghana. Based on the TOE framework, a conceptual model consisting of ten hypotheses were proposed and tested through a confirmatory factor analysis and logistic regression analysis.

The findings indicate that relative advantage, security concern, top management support, technology readiness, competitive pressure and trading partners’ pressure were the TOE factors found to be significant in CCA in a developing country context. Conversely, firm size, scope, compatibility and regulatory support were found to be insignificant.

This study provides insights into CCA across different industries in a developing country environment. The study is arguably the first kind of empirical research into CCA in a developing country context, specifically in Ghana. The findings from this study provide a foundation for other studies as well as constructive insights for the development of cloud computing, due to its infancy in the developing world.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the influence of Technology Providers, Public Administrations and R&D Institutions on Cloud Computing adoption. This research also considers Killer Applications and Success Cases as other environmental factors.

Factorial analyses and structural equation models were used on a sample of high-technology firms located in technological parks in Southern Europe, with more than ten employees and sustained investments in R&D.

Results show that Technology Providers and Success Cases are determinant in Cloud Computing adoption. Moreover, Killer Applications are a forerunner for Success Cases.

An appropriate fit between the tools and resources provided by suppliers and the internal resources of the company is needed to create competitive advantages. Firms should evaluate Technology Providers, identify Success Cases to Cloud Computing adoption and implement technological benchmarking.

This study contributes to Cloud Computing adoption literature because it includes Technology Providers, Public Administrations and R&D Institutions simultaneously as well as other variables as Killer Applications and Success Cases. The importance of the external agents on information technology (IT) adoption, especially when the technologies to be adopted are new and in an emergent stage, together with the lack of prior investigations focusing on specific environmental factors affecting the adoption of these new, emerging IT, justify the value of this research.

Nowadays, the rapid growth of information technology strategies such as cloud computing is very noticeable in organizations. The advantages of the cloud environment are unavoidable because of an increase in innovation, flexibility and economy. Therefore, the critical topic is considering the factors affecting the adoption of cloud computing. This study aims to understand the factors of the adoption of cloud computing and its benefit in companies.

A research framework with four hypotheses has been developed based on the results of previous studies. Structural equation modeling has been used for data analysis.

The proposed model is verified by the results. In addition, the results have shown that cloud computing adoption is affected by four variables as follows, including human factor (with sub-indicator personal innovativeness and knowledge), organizational factor (with sub-indicator size, adequacy of resources and top management support), technical factor (with sub-indicator compatibility and security) and environmental factor (with sub-indicator regulatory environment, competitive pressure and trading partner).

There are crucial implications in the findings: they have an essential contribution to the research community, administrators and Information and Communications Technology providers with respect to framing improved tactics for the adoption of cloud computing. The proposed model can enhance the perception of service providers about why some services sectors accept cloud computing amenities, whereas apparently the same ones having the same market situations do not. In addition, the above providers should enhance their interaction with the services sectors contributed to the cloud computing experience to make a well-organized setting for the adoption of cloud computing, and eliminate any ambiguity about this sort of technology. Moreover, the sample has been limited to Iran respondents.

The research studies about the usage of cloud computing have shown its effects on organizations today. Also, the different impacts of cloud computing on other contexts and organizations are in the center of attention. By carefully considering and managing cloud computing adoption logics, organizations could get significant advantages.

Cloud computing’s technical and operational issues have been central in most of the previous studies. Some surveys have referred to the adoption of cloud computing by the organizations in terms of human characteristics or the contextual factor. Therefore, there should be a model and outline to assess the effect of aforesaid factors on cloud computing adoption.

The purpose of this paper is to contribute to a growing body of research on cloud computing, by studying the small to medium‐sized enterprise (SME) adoption process. If SMEs have access to scalable technologies they could potentially deliver products and services that in the past only large enterprises could deliver, flattening the competitive arena.

By adopting the Technological, Organisational and Environmental (TOE) framework as a theoretical base, this qualitative exploratory study used semi‐structured interviews to collect data in 15 different SMEs and service providers in the north east of England. The north east of England was selected as it is a region that aspires to become home to innovative digital firms and most of the companies in the region are SMEs.

The main factors that were identified as playing a significant role in SME adoption of cloud services were: relative advantage, uncertainty, geo‐restriction, compatibility, trialability, size, top management support, prior experience, innovativeness, industry, market scope, supplier efforts and external computing support. In contrast, this study did not find enough evidence that competitive pressure was a significant determinant of cloud computing adoption.

These findings have important implications and great value to the research community, managers and information and communication technologies (ICT) providers, in terms of formulating better strategies for cloud computing adoption. For service providers, using the research model in this study can assist in increasing their understanding of why some SMEs choose to adopt cloud computing services, while seemingly similar ones facing similar market conditions do not. Also, cloud computing providers may need to improve their interaction with SMEs which are involved in the cloud computing experience, in an effort to create a healthy environment for cloud computing adoption, and to remove any vagueness surrounding this type of technology.

This study is an attempt to explore and develop an SME cloud computing adoption model that was theoretically grounded in the TOE framework. By adopting the TOE framework this study has shown that the three contexts of this framework (technological, organisational, and environmental) are connected to each other.

The purpose of this paper is to integrate TAM model and TOE framework for cloud computing adoption at organizational level.

A conceptual framework was developed using technological and organizational variables of TOE framework as external variables of TAM model while environmental variables were proposed to have direct impact on cloud computing adoption. A questionnaire was used to collect the data from 280 companies in IT, manufacturing and finance sectors in India. The data were analyzed using exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. Further, structural equation modeling was used to test the proposed model.

The study identified relative advantage, compatibility, complexity, organizational readiness, top management commitment, and training and education as important variables for affecting cloud computing adoption using perceived ease of use (PEOU) and perceived usefulness (PU) as mediating variables. Also, competitive pressure and trading partner support were found directly affecting cloud computing adoption intentions. The model explained 62 percent of cloud computing adoption.

The model can be used as a guideline to ensure a positive outcome of the cloud computing adoption in organizations. It also provides relevant recommendations to achieve conducive implementation environment for cloud computing adoption.

This study integrates two of the information technology adoption models to improve predictive power of resulting model.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the determinants of cloud computing adoption in small and medium enterprises (SMEs), further, to measure the effect of cloud computing adoption on cloud-supported firm performance through enhancing organisational agility.

The research model is developed by combining two popular theoretical models, namely, the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) and the technology–organisation–environment (TOE) framework. Data are collected from 372 SMEs to test the model. The strengths of widely used structural equation modelling (SEM) are applied to analyse the data.

This study reveals that the significant predictors of cloud computing adoption are performance expectancy; effort expectancy; absorptive capacity; data security and privacy; and perceived trust. Also, cloud computing adoption positively influences firm performance directly and through organisational agility. The results of importance–performance map analysis indicate that effort expectancy falls in the critical zone, which needs to be improved.

This research is one of few that blends the strengths of UTAUT and TOE framework. The research outcomes yield noteworthy suggestions to cloud providers, managers and government policymakers on ways of motivating the spread of cloud computing in developing countries.

This study aims to examine the current state of literature on structural equation modeling (SEM) studies in “cloud computing” domain with respect to study domains of research studies, theories and frameworks they use and SEM models they design.

Systematic literature review (SLR) protocol is followed. In total, 96 cloud computing studies from 2009 to June 2018 that used SEM obtained from four databases are selected, and relevant data are extracted to answer the research questions.

A trend of increasing SEM usage over years in cloud studies is observed, where technology adoption studies are found to be more common than the use studies. Articles appear under four main domains, namely, business, personal use, education and health care. Technology acceptance model (TAM) is found to be the most commonly used theory. Adoption, intention to use and actual usage are the most common selections for dependent variables in SEM models, whereas security and privacy concerns, costs, ease of use, risks and usefulness are the most common selections for causal factors.

Previous cloud computing SLR studies did not focus on statistical analysis method used in primary studies. This review will display the current state of SEM studies in cloud domain for all future academics and practical professionals.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the factors that affect the adoption of cloud computing by firms belonging to the high‐tech industry. The eight factors examined in this study are relative advantage, complexity, compatibility, top management support, firm size, technology readiness, competitive pressure, and trading partner pressure.

A questionnaire‐based survey was used to collect data from 111 firms belonging to the high‐tech industry in Taiwan. Relevant hypotheses were derived and tested by logistic regression analysis.

The findings revealed that relative advantage, top management support, firm size, competitive pressure, and trading partner pressure characteristics have a significant effect on the adoption of cloud computing.

The research was conducted in the high‐tech industry, which may limit the generalisability of the findings.

The findings offer cloud computing service providers with a better understanding of what affects cloud computing adoption characteristics, with relevant insight on current promotions.

The research contributes to the application of new technology cloud computing adoption in the high‐tech industry through the use of a wide range of variables. The findings also help firms consider their information technologies investments when implementing cloud computing.