Relationships in Technological Processes: Finding the Common Ground between Diffusion of Innovations and Relationship Marketing Theories - A Case Study

The process model and theory of Diffusion of Innovations (DOI) and the new idea of how technology spreads in an organization are discussed. A comparison between DOI and the Relationship Marketing (RM) theory is examined. Managers who desire innovation or utilize RM theory for third-party change agents are explored. Request for Information (RFI), and Request for Proposal (RFP) utilized by managers that desire technological innovation in the procurement process is discussed. A case study of the commercialization, innovation, feedback-assessment procurement processes of the DOI is conducted in a large public-sector university that procured and implemented an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system. The study revealed that the innovation process was inadequate to explain the outcome. The conclusion reveals that an opportunity or a threat is co-dependent on how each party perceives on or the other’s premise; either premise is irrelevant if one side or the other refuses to foster the relationship.