Post-Adoption Issues related to Cloud-based IT Solutions: A Multi-Method Investigation

Xiao Xiao

Due to their low cost of implementation and considerable elasticity, cloud-based IT solutions are being widely adopted or considered in organizations across various industries. However, such IT solutions bring forth several unique challenges - challenges that make it difficult for organizations to achieve successful utilization of cloud-based information systems. This dissertation aims to investigate various post-adoption issues related to cloud-based IT solutions by taking a multi-method approach. Based on an interpretive study in the context of non-profit organizations, Essay 1 strives to unfold the assimilation process of cloud-based information systems within organizations. Motivated by the theoretical concept of technological frames, we develop a process model that provides a holistic understanding of how organizations assimilate (or fail to assimilate) cloud-based information systems, specifically highlighting the critical factors that determine the course of the assimilation process at various points in time. In Essay 2, we focus on the organizational level IS replacement phenomenon with a specific emphasis on one type of cloud-based IT solutions - SaaS (Software as a Service), by drawing on the theoretical framework of commitment and switching behavior. We develop a research framework hypothesizing the constraining effects of organizations' calculative commitment and their affective commitment to both the SaaS application and the cloud computing technology in general, with respect to organizations' replacement intention for the specific SaaS application. The research model is then tested by conducting a cross-sectional survey among non-profit customers from a leading SaaS vendor. In Essay 3, we investigate the phenomenon of B2B branding by examining what factors drive and influence brand loyalty in the context of SaaS from the perspective of relationship marketing. Specifically, we explore the possible interaction effect between service quality and SaaS customers' commitment to the SaaS supplier, with respect to customers' brand loyalty. We also look at whether customers' normative commitment to the supplier as well as customers' perceived supplier commitment - two types of commitment largely neglected in the area of relationship marketing - drive customers' brand loyalty. To test the proposed relationships, we conduct a cross-sectional survey using SaaS customers from a leading SaaS vendor as our sample.

Post-Adoption Issues related to Cloud-based IT Solutions: A Multi-Method Investigation

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