Enterprise Collaboration Systems: An Analysis and Classification of Adoption Challenges

In this paper we present the findings of the first part of a research project examining the adoption, appropriation and long-term use of enterprise collaboration systems (ECS). The aim of the study is to identify the challenges that organizations encounter during the introduction and use of an ECS. Through a meta-analysis and classification of the academic literature and corroborating company interviews five adoption challenge areas were identified: culture, business/ operation, technology in use, benefits, and attitude/ behavior. The challenges and the associated sub-challenges are described and their nature and implications for both theory and practice are discussed.