Prime your way to IT project success: How to increase user congruency in Technological Frames of Reference

Abstract: Technological Frames of Reference (TFR) is a concept within Information System and Technology research considering how humans interact and perceive an IT system. Users TFRs have a significant impact on the outcome of IT system implementation projects and the usability of the system. The objective of understanding TFR is to recognize the implications of individuals' perception on IT change projects. Previous research has put a great deal of effort into mapping TFRs existence and its effects on the success of IT implementations. Although this research has been extensive, this thesis argues that the business value rests in how one can intently modify TFR to influence the outcome of IT implementation projects. The thesis aims to study how user TFR can be shifted and if TFR can be shifted so that a user group becomes more congruent in IT change projects. As a TFR shifting tool, we apply the concept of priming from psychological research, intervening on a group of 36 individuals experiencing IT change in a publicly traded multinational company. Through a survey based quasi-experiment, the thesis finds that users' TFR can be shifted with priming. Furthermore, the thesis finds that a user group subjected to priming increases their TFR congruency in three TFR domains, namely those who can be associated with System Unique characteristics. Therefore, a division of System Unique TFRs whom can be converged with priming, and Underlying Values TFRs which can be shifted but not converged can be inferred. The findings contribute to the current research body on TFR by combining two hitherto separate areas of research and proving that TFR can be moved deliberately to increase user congruency in a group.