Implementation of an Information and Communication Technology in a Developing Country: A Multimethod Longitudinal Study in a Bank in India

Developing countries, such as India and China, are the fastest growing economies in the world. The successful implementation of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in these countries is likely to hinge on a set of institutional factors that are shaped by the environmental tension between two competing forces, emergent catalysts, such as new economic policies and reform programs, and traditional challenges, such as infrastructure and traditional value systems. To unearth the temporal dynamics underlying the success and failure of ICT implementations in organizations in developing countries, we conducted a two-year multimethod study of an ICT implementation at a large bank in India. Based on data collected from over 1,000 employees and over 1,000 customers, we found, relative to preimplementation levels for up to two years postimplementation, that we characterized as the shakedown phase (1) operational efficiency did not improve, (2) job satisfaction declined, and (3) customer satisfaction declined. In-depth interviews of approximately 40 members of top management, 160 line employees, and 200 customers indicated that these outcomes could be attributed to the strong influence of a set of institutional factors, such as ICT-induced change, labor economics, Western isomorphism, parallel-manual system, and technology adaptation. The interplay between these institutional factors and the environmental tension posed a formidable challenge for the bank during our study that led to the poor and unintended outcomes.