Skip to main content

Advertisement

Log in

Why university members use and resist technology? A structure enactment perspective

  • Published:
Journal of Computing in Higher Education Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

This case study investigated university members’ use of and resistance to a communication information technology system in a higher education organization. This case study utilized the technology enactment framework to examine structure enactment in university members’ technology use and resistance. We found that the following structures were enacted in organizational members’ interactions with the system: maximum use, enhancing teaching, augmenting service, limited use, and resistance. Besides providing empirical evidence to the enactments of inertia, application, and change, this case study added a new enactment type, i.e., resistance, to the existing enactment typology. The findings provided empirical support to the structuration principle—the enabling and constraining nature of structure. Important implications were addressed with respect to adoption and implementation of technology in higher education institutions.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Subscribe and save

Springer+ Basic
$34.99 /Month
  • Get 10 units per month
  • Download Article/Chapter or eBook
  • 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
  • Cancel anytime
Subscribe now

Buy Now

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Similar content being viewed by others

Explore related subjects

Discover the latest articles, news and stories from top researchers in related subjects.

References

  • Applegate, L. M., McFarlan, F. W., & Mckenney, J. L. (1996). Corporate information systems management: Text and cases. Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bedeian, A. (2007). Even if the tower is “ivory”, it isn’t “white:” Understanding the consequences of faculty cynicism. Academy of Management Learning & Education, 6, 9–32.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bennett, L. (2001). Technology standards for the preparation of teachers. International Journal of Social Education, 15, 1–11.

    Google Scholar 

  • Blackboard.com retrieved on October 23, 2009.

  • Carnevale, D. (2006). Online. Chronicle of Higher Education, 52(24), A37.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chan, S. C. H., & Ngai, E. W. T. (2007). A qualitative study of information technology adoption: How ten organizations adopted web-based training. Information Systems Journal, 17, 289–315.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chapman, B. F., & Heath-Camp, B. (2005). Factors influencing the computer technology adoption rate of business teacher educators. Business Education Digest, 14, 15–30.

    Google Scholar 

  • Duhaney, D. C. (2001). Teacher education: Preparing teachers to integrate technology. International Journal of Instructional Media, 28, 23–30.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eisenberg, E. M., Murphy, A., & Andrews, L. (1998). Openness and decision making in the search for a university provost. Communication Monographs, 65, 1–23.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Emerson, R. M., Fretz, R. I., & Shaw, L. L. (1995). Writing ethnographic fieldnotes. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eynon, R. (2008). The use of the world wide web in learning and teaching in higher education: Reality and rhetoric. Innovations in Education and Teaching International, 45, 15–23.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fountain, J. E. (2001). Building the virtual state: Information technology and institutional change. Washington, DC: Brookings Institute.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fulk, J., Schmitz, J., & Steinfield, C. (1990). A social influence model of technology use. In J. Fulk & C. Steinfield (Eds.), Organizations and communication technology (pp. 117–140). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gerdes, C., & Kuhr, P. (2004). The Blackboard course makeover of ethics and the media. TechTrends, 48(5), 71–74.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Giddens, A. (1979). Central problems in social theory: Action, structure, and contradiction in social analysis. Berkley: University of California Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Giddens, A. (1984). The constitution of society: Outline of the theory of structuration. Cambridge, MA: Polity.

    Google Scholar 

  • Groves, M. M., & Zemel, P. C. (2000). Instructional technology adoption in higher education: An action research case study. International Journal of Instructional Media, 27, 57–65.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jablin, F. M. (2001). Organizational entry, assimilation, and disengagement/exit. In F. M. Jablin & L. L. Putnam (Eds.), The new handbook of organizational communication: Advances in theory, research, and methods (pp. 732–818). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jefferies, P., Grodzinsky, F., & Griffin, J. (2003). Advantages and problems in using information communication technologies to support the teaching of a multi-institutional computer ethics course. Journal of Educational Media, 28, 191–202.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kirkpatrick, G. (2005). Online ‘chat’ facilities as pedagogic tools. Active Learning in Higher Education, 6, 145–159.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lapointe, L., & Rivard, S. (2005). A multilevel model of resistance to information technology implementation. MIS Quarterly, 29, 461–491.

    Google Scholar 

  • Larkin, T. L., & Belson, S. I. (2005). Blackboard technologies: A vehicle to promote student motivation and learning in physics. Journal of STEM Education, 6, 14–27.

    Google Scholar 

  • Myers, M. D., & Newman, M. (2007). The qualitative interview in IS research: Examining the craft. Information and Organization, 17, 2–26.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Orlikowski, W. (2000). Using technology and constituting structures: A practice lens for studying technology in organizations. Organization Science, 11, 404–428.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Roberts-DeGennaro, M., Brown, C., Min, J. W., & Siegel, M. (2005). Using an online support site to extend the learning to a graduate field practicum in the United States. Social Work Education, 24, 327–342.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sitkin, S. B., Sutcliffe, K. M., & Barrios-Choplin, J. R. (1992). A dual-capacity model of communication media choice in organizations. Human Communication Research, 18, 563–598.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vannatta, R. A. (2000). Evaluation to planning: Technology integration in a school of education. Journal of Technology and Teacher Education, 8, 231–246.

    Google Scholar 

  • Weick, K. (1976). Educational organizations as loosely coupled systems. Administrative Science Quarterly, 21, 1–19.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yao, J. E., Xu, X., Liu, C., & Lu, J. (2003). Organizational size: A significant predictor of IT innovation adoption. Journal of Computer Information Systems, 43, 76–82.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Canchu Lin.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Lin, C., Singer, R. & Ha, L. Why university members use and resist technology? A structure enactment perspective. J Comput High Educ 22, 38–59 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12528-010-9028-1

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12528-010-9028-1

Keywords

Navigation