The diffusion of human‐resource information‐technology innovations in US and non‐US firms

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the diffusion patterns of eight information technologies that are transforming HR service‐delivery in North America and Europe: HR functional applications, integrated HR suites, IVR systems, HR intranets, employee and manager self‐service applications, HR extranets, and HR portals. Little is known about the diffusion process for these innovations within or across countries despite mounting professional and academic interest in their proliferation. Design/methodology/approach – The paper shows that external‐, internal‐, and mixed‐influence models were applied to the HRIT‐adoption decisions of a cross‐sectional sample of US, Canadian, UK and Irish firms. Parameter estimation was guided by nonlinear regression procedures with starting values for p and q set at levels similar to those reported in prior IT‐diffusion studies. Senior HR executives provided the underlying data by means of a dynamically branching, web‐based survey. Findings – The paper finds that overall diffusion was best characterized as an outgrowth of internal influences, fueled primarily by contacts among members in the social system of potential adopters. Similar results were obtained when controls were introduced for national setting, targeted end‐user, and technology type. Research limitations/implications – The paper shows that future investigations would benefit from higher response rates outside of North America and the utilization of smaller time intervals to identify when each application was acquired. Practical implications – In the paper the modest correlation between the number of acquired ITs and HR‐transaction automation supports the general call for more formalized HR‐technology strategies at the firm‐level to coordinate purchasing and implementation decisions. Originality/value – In addition to reviewing the extant literature on HR information systems, this paper presents the first empirical study of the diffusion process for HR software applications within and across countries.