Reaping the benefits of innovative IT: the long and winding road

Abstract

The expectation that banks and other service industries will do better through investments in innovative IT applications requires a fundamental understanding that benefits do not stem from technology alone. Innovative IT applications have the potential to change the way banks conduct their business and, as such, must be viewed as a major organizational change. This study examines how different stakeholder perspectives of innovative IT influence the implementation process, attitudes toward usage, and perceived benefits in mandatory use situations. Using a case study methodology, the authors explore these issues in the context of a major IT initiative underway at a multibank holding company headquartered in the Midwest US. They found that innovative IT applications involve change that is inherently a long-term endeavor requiring transformations of individual skills and organizational processes and practices. Their research suggests that the time lag before realization of performance gains is affected by the implementation process. Their findings have a number of generalizable lessons for practice as well as implications for future research.