Managerial problem-solving in the adoption of Radio Frequency Identification Technologies

This study explores the ways in which managers evaluate Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) and participate in its adoption. Using in-depth qualitative focus group and published trade journal interviews, our study contributes to research on managing RFID projects in organizations by identifying salient problems and relating them to sensemaking and influencing activities across problem types and manager experience with RFID. We also identify potential dangers in applying past knowledge, cognitive patterns, and experience about information and communication technologies (ICT) to problems that arise in RFID projects. Our study provides analytic generalizability for future RFID and ICT research.