CEOs' search for alignment: the impact of strategic orientations on an extended adoption of Software-as-a-Service in SMEs

As a recent technological innovation of great relevance to SMEs, this study focuses on the adoption of Software-as-a-Service (SaaS). We develop an extended SaaS adoption model that includes strategic orientations as antecedents of the key adoption drivers. Drawing on arguments from strategic IT alignment, we propose that CEOs' extended SaaS adoption intention is determined by how much the perceived beliefs about SaaS fit the implemented strategic orientation. Our rationale is that CEOs play the dominant role in establishing alignment in SMEs as they make decisions about strategy and IT. We provide first evidence on the influence of CEOs' strategic orientations on extended SaaS adoption.

Automated summary

This study focuses on the adoption of Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) in SMEs, showing that CEOs' strategic orientations have an impact on extended SaaS adoption.