1. ¹School of Information Systems, Computing and Mathematics, Brunel University, West London, U.K.
2. ²Brunel Business School, Brunel University, West London, U.K.
3. ³Bocconi University and SDA Bocconi School of Management, Milan, Italy

Correspondence: Vasiliki Mantzana, School of Information Systems, Computing and Mathematics, Brunel University, West London UB8 3PH, U.K. E-mail: Vasiliki.Mantzana@brunel.ac.uk

Received 7 November 2004; Revised 19 March 2005; Re-revised 8 November 2005; Accepted 21 December 2006.

Abstract

The adoption of information systems in healthcare is no less significant than in any other commercial or caring organisation. The literature on IS adoption in healthcare, makes it clear that the actors involved in the adoption process are almost universally seen as crucial, which matches our research results too. However, how such actors should be identified remains a topic for investigatory work since these are early days in achieving this. We derive and propose a structured method to model how actors might be identified: structured because such a rationale is explicable and such a method is more readily usable when transferred to others. Our structured method, named IGOHcaps, uses a static and then a dynamic step to pull out the individual, group, organisational and human determinants of the critical actors. In this process, the individual actors' differing views emerge which could enable decision-making bodies to produce more robust proposals if they incorporated some of the appropriate views. We discuss the application of IGOHcaps through a hospital case study. While a single case study cannot be a proof, the engagement of the actors was encouraging.