Dual Technology Adoption

Abstract

This study develops the Dual Adoption Model (DAM) to explain technology diffusion in contexts characterized by strategic interdependence between actors. Departing from conventional technology acceptance frameworks that assume autonomous decision-makers, we conceptualize adoption as a two-stage process in which one actor first evaluates a technology based on private utility considerations and subsequently determines whether to mediate its adoption by another actor whose behavior directly affects their own payoff.

We test the application of the DAM in a field study on the adoption of an e-commerce platform by frontline salespeople and customers. The findings demonstrate that technology uptake reflects this interdependent logic, such that adoption outcomes depend jointly on both actors’ evaluations and the social context in which they are embedded. Rather than diffusing through simple imitation or unilateral choice, usage evolves through localized structures of influence in which mediation effort and perceived complementarities determine whether digital tools gain traction.

By reframing adoption as an endogenous outcome of interdependent utility optimization, the DAM offers a parsimonious yet powerful theoretical structure for explaining persistent technology rollout failures. It provides a foundation for understanding how digital transformation is shaped by contractual logic, incentive alignment, and relational governance.

(Under review at a 4 [ABS] journal.)