Technology–Organization–Environment Framework

Jul 14, 2026

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Technology–Organization–Environment (TOE) framework explaining how firm context shapes innovation adoption. Defines technological, organizational, and environmental contexts and reviews prior studies using TOE, with attention to innovation types and context-specific adaptations. Outlines future research directions while noting the framework’s stability and potential for further evolution.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages15

Reading Time38 min

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Chapter 12 The Technology–Organization–Environment Framework Jeff Baker Abstract This chapter describes the Technology–Organization–Environment (TOE) framework. It begins by presenting a description of the TOE framework and its constructs. Next, a brief review of studies that have used the TOE framework is provided. In this review, an emphasis is placed on noting the type of innovation that is being adopted in each study. Also, the different ways in which the framework has been adapted for various adoption contexts are highlighted. Finally, directions for future research with the TOE framework are described. In spite of this framework’s stability since its initial development, many avenues for evolution and development appear promising. Keywords Adoption of innovations, 􀂇 Diffusion of innovations 􀂇 TechnologyOrganization-Environment framework 􀂇 Technology adoption Abbreviations CRT DOI Theory EDI ERP IOSIS RBV RFID SCM Cathode ray tube Diffusion of innovations theory Electronic data interchange Enterprise resource planning Interorganizational systems Information systems Resource-based view Radio-frequency identiﬁcation Supply chain management J. Baker (*) Department of Management Information Systems, School of Business and Management, American University of Sharjah, P.O. Box 26666 Sharjah, United Arab Emirates e-mail: [jbaker@aus.edu](jbaker@aus.edu) Y.K. Dwivedi et al. (eds.), Information Systems Theory: Explaining and Predicting 231 Our Digital Society, Vol. 1, Integrated Series in Information Systems 28, DOI 10.1007/978-1-4419-6108-2_ 12, © Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2012 232 J. Baker TAM Technology acceptance model TAM2 Technology acceptance model version 2 TOE Technology–organization–environment framework TPB Theory of planned behavior UTAUT Uniﬁed theory of acceptance and use of technology 12.1 Introduction The technology–organization–environment (TOE) framework is described in Tornatzky and Fleischer’s The Processes of Technological Innovation (1990) . The book describes the entire process of innovation – stretching from the development of innovations by engineers and entrepreneurs to the adoption and implementation of those innovations by users within the context of a ﬁrm. The TOE framework represents one segment of this process–how the ﬁrm context inﬂuences the adoption and implementation of innovations. The TOE framework is an organization-level theory that explains that three different elements of a ﬁrm’s context inﬂuence adoption decisions. These three elements are the technological context, the organizational context, and the environmental context. All three are posited to inﬂuence technological innovation. 12.1.1 The Technological Context The technological context includes all of the technologies that are relevant to the ﬁrm – both technologies that are already in use at the ﬁrm as well as those that are available in the marketplace but not currently in use. A ﬁrm’s exist

Jul 14, 2026

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