What is Socio-Technical Research

The introduction of a new information system into a small business, or upgrading an existing system, should be seen as an innovation and considered through the lens of innovation theory. The most widely accepted theories of how technological innovation takes place are provided by innovation diffusion (Rogers, 1995) and the technology acceptance model (Davis, 1986), but most of the research based on these models involves studies of large organizations or societal groups. This article argues that another approach, innovation translation, has more to offer in the case of innovations that take place in smaller organizations (Burgess, Tatnall, & Darbyshire, 1999; Tatnall, 2002; Tatnall & Burgess, 2004).