| The switch from analog to digital technologies is reshaping the landscape of the TV news industry. Little research has yet been done on the social and organizational implications of TV news digitalization. This study examines the factors that influence organizational decision-making and implementation strategies and investigates the adoption process in four Taiwanese news stations that were earlier adopters of digital TV news technology (FTV, EBC, TVBS, DA-AI), using in-depth, qualitative field studies at each station. It develops a theoretically-informed process model that draws from Rogers's (2003) innovation process model, Orlikowski et al.'s (1995) technology-use mediation activities, and Leonard-Barton's (1988) implementation strategies, to explain the organizational adoption process and their variations among the organizations.; This multiple case study has several important findings. First, the adoption process of digital TV news systems encompasses the initiation stage (agenda-setting, matching) and the implementation stage (establishment, reinforcement, adjustment, episodic change). Reinforcement in parallel with establishment is critical for successful implementation, and episodic change, triggered by external or internal forces, injects dynamics to the organizational adoption process. The three stations that adopted total solution TV systems experienced a more linear adoption process, while the station that developed an integrated system (DA-AI) experienced a more complex, parallel developmental process. Second, among the four early adopters studied, managers' perceptions of relative advantage, compatibility, cost, and sustainability were the factors that affect the organizations' decision to adopt this technology most. Individual and organizational level factors were more influential on the adoption decision than environmental level factors. Third, the implementation characteristics of digital TV news systems (low transferability, high organizational complexity, high divisibility) set parameters for implementation strategies in the cases. Training and evaluations were essential for assimilating this core production technology successfully. Fourth, digital news technology appears to have a greater impact on the news production process, news workers' roles and tasks, and collaboration than on news representations per se. Finally, a refined model is developed to investigate the adoption and implementation of core production technology in digital broadcasting. This teleological model shows various decision events, reciprocal interaction, ever-changing, and vagueness in the adoption process. |
