Enabling process innovation through sensor technology: A multiple case study of RFID deployment
Dick Stenmark, Taline Jadaan · Journal of the Association for Information Systems · 2010
The advances in information technologies (IT) that we have witnessed in recent years has enabledorganisations to digitise much of the work that previously was carried out manually or supported byanalogue tools only. As this development continues, it is likely that IS in the future will have an evenmore profound impact on organisations and their capacity to innovate. In this paper, we make acontribution to the study of IT’s effect on business process innovation by reporting from a multiplecase study of five Swedish organisations using sensor technology. Understanding sensor technology asa boundary spanning technology, we have studied in particular the purpose of introducing RadioFrequency Identification (RFID), the intended effects on process innovation and what businessprocesses were affected. We illustrate how business values are achieved as automational,informational, and transformational effects, and whilst the automational effects are easiest to detectand value, it is the transformational effects that are likely to have the strongest and most profoundimpact on the organization. In addition we identify three major inhibitors: insufficient integration withexisting systems; lack of organisation adjustment; and uneven distribution of cost/benefits. Our workthereby offers contributions to both academia and practice.