An Examination Of The Cultural Change Of Systems Implementation In Retailing

Abstract

This paper reports on the findings from a case study of three retail organizations.  Of particular interest to the researchers was the implementation of a quick response (QR) system in each of the organizations.  QR requires a heavy investment in information technology (IT).  As reported in the interviews, the success of the implementation was dependent on how the organizations adapted to the changes imposed by the IT implementation.  This paper discusses the reactions of retail personnel to IT change in five specific areas:  power relationships, communications, functional integration, changes in work methods, and other cultural issues of IT-enabled change.  From the over 50 hours of interviews, six recommendations are provided to help retail organizations cope with the changes imposed by IT implementation.