The Returns of Early Adoption of Information Technologies: Order of Adoption or Level of Adoption Advantages?

We study whether the early adoption of information technologies provides competitive advantages and examine the source of such advantages. Existing research in this area has failed to differentiate between the advantages arising from the timing of adoption (e.g., asset preemption) and those that are related to higher levels of adoption (e.g., organizational learning). In this paper, we break down these advantages into two components: order of adoption (early vs. late adopters) and level of adoption (high vs. low internal diffusion levels). The empirical analysis examines the adoption and subsequent intrafirm diffusion of the automated teller machine in a sample of Spanish savings banks using a long data panel extending from 1988 to 2004. The results show that the advantages associated with the order of adoption outweigh those associated with the level of adoption and have the potential to be long lasting. Our findings are consistent across various estimation methods, and we assess different performance dimensions (ROA, income, and efficiency). Our modeling and findings have implications for managers and can be applied to the study of the early adoption of modern technologies.