Technological, organisational and environmental factors influencing managers’ decision to adopt cloud computing in the UK

Abstract

Purpose: – The purpose of this paper is to determine the factors influencing managers’ decision to adopt cloud computing in the UK using the “Technology-Organisation-Environment” (TOE) framework. Design/methodology/approach: – Data were collected through a self-created questionnaire based survey that was completed by 257 mid-to-senior level decision-making business and information technology (IT) professionals from a range of UK end-user organisations. The derived hypotheses were tested using various data analysis techniques including principal component analysis and logistic regression. Findings: – The results show that four out of the eight factors examined have a significant influence on the adoption decision of cloud computing services in the UK. Those key factors include competitive pressure, complexity, technology readiness and trading partner pressure. The latter predictor; trading partner pressure, was the most significant factor for the adoption decision of cloud services reflecting organisations’ concerns on legal regulations, co-creation and customisation, service linkage and vendor locking which adds complexity to the process of selecting an appropriate vendor. Research limitations/implications: – This research found trading partners (cloud service providers) significantly influence managers’ decisions to adopt cloud services, however, further research is required to fully understand all the aspects involved especially with the growing number of vendors available. Although over 250 usable responses to the questionnaire were received and analysed, there was not a sufficient quantity of responses from each industry sector or organisation size to conduct further analysis. Practical implications: – The findings reveal the important role of cloud computing service providers to enable end-users to better evaluate the use of cloud computing. It also reveals that top management support is no longer a driver as organisations are starting to adopt cloud computing services on the basis of cheaper and more agile IT resources in order to support business growth. Originality/value: – This research provides original insight for cloud computing adoption within the UK from a managerial perspective.