THE PROBLEM OF TECHNOLOGICAL ACCEPTANCE, DIFFUSION AND DEVELOPMENT. EXPERIENCES FROM ARGENTINA
ASATO, Carlos Gabriel, GIS and Remote Sensing Unit, Geological and Mining Survey of Argentina. SEGEMAR, Av. Julio A Roca 651, p8 of 1, Buenos Aires, C1067ABB, Argentina, g_asato2000@yahoo.com
It is well known that new information technologies, despite of their promise of future benefits, are not always well received or understood. These issues become critical at the moment of project design because it is not easy to distinguish the cause of some problems - like resistance to change, or why a new technology should be accepted, refused or simply ignored. In the context of federal or international organizations the problem is more complicated because it is necessary to deal with different cultures and contexts. There are some different approaches which have tried to understand and resolve the problem of technological acceptance, diffusion and development. There is the difference in cultural aspects (organizational and national perspective), social capital, resistance to change, Technological Acceptance Model, etc. This work is focusing on the problem in context of an inter-organizational working group dynamics and the importance of the relationship with stakeholders and users.
When such a group is created tensions among participants arise. These are due to differences of experience, know-how and personal interests. But the group can gain cohesion by ensuring the definition of clear aims and strong top-bottom mandates (like NSDI, OneGeology, etc.). Because of such imbalances, it is really important to develop an inclusive strategy, create visible and practical results in a short time, while at the same time the group is prepared for long term objectives.
On the other hand relationships with stakeholders and users must not be ignored because the success of data or knowledge delivery is not independent of societal predisposition to accept it. Stakeholder engagement is something which must be done at different levels: both advanced and casual users, in order to understand the specific technological adoption process and check if developments are consistent with user needs.
It is a fact that whatever the IT system perfomance, the success of the project will also depend on strategies about the use and acceptance of technology by users and society.
