Exploring decisive factors affecting an organization's SaaS adoption: A case study

Software as a Service (SaaS) is regarded as a favorable solution to enhance a modern organization's IT performance and competitiveness; however, many organizations may still be reluctant to introduce SaaS solutions mainly because of the trust concern—they may perceive more risks than benefits. This paper presumes that an organization will augment the trust of adopting SaaS solutions when perceived risks decrease and/or perceived benefits increase. To gain insights into this issue, a solution framework using a modified Decision Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) approach is proposed. The core logic is to treat perceived benefits and perceived risks as two distinct themes so that a visible cause–effect diagram can be developed to facilitate the decision makers. A case study is conducted on a Taiwanese company—one of the world's leading manufacturers in the niche and specialized resistor markets. The findings suggest that the case company concern more about strategic-oriented benefits than economic-oriented benefits and more about subjective risks than technical risks. Some implications are addressed accordingly.

► We dealt with the SaaS adoption with consideration of trust issue.
► Organizations trust SaaS if perceived risks decrease and perceived benefits increase.
► The proposed framework with modified DEMATEL can handle two themes.
► A cause–effect diagram can help decision-makings and marketing strategies.