Information Systems Management

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Adoption, Adaptation, Use and Impact of

Information Systems during Pandemic Time and
Beyond: Research and Managerial Implications

Bidit L. Dey , Wafi Al-Karaghouli & Syed Sardar Muhammad

To cite this article: Bidit L. Dey , Wafi Al-Karaghouli & Syed Sardar Muhammad (2020):
Adoption, Adaptation, Use and Impact of Information Systems during Pandemic Time and
Beyond: Research and Managerial Implications, Information Systems Management, DOI:
10.1080/10580530.2020.1820632

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Published online: 12 Sep 2020.

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INFORMATION SYSTEMS MANAGEMENT
https://doi.org/10.1080/10580530.2020.1820632

Adoption, Adaptation, Use and Impact of Information Systems during Pandemic

Time and Beyond: Research and Managerial Implications
Bidit L. Deya, Wafi Al-Karaghoulia, and Syed Sardar Muhammadb
a
Brunel University London, London, UK; bBusiness School, University of Law

ABSTRACT KEYWORDS
The COVID-19 pandemic has increased use of technology in our daily and work lives, through digital COVID-19; pandemic;
transformation which has both challenges and opportunities. This brief commentary highlights technology adoption;
some of the issues, faced during the pandemic time, that require empirical research and hold strong adaptation; impact
managerial implications. As such, we identify research implications involving adoption, adaptation,
use, and impact of information systems and technology during the COVID-19 period and beyond.

Introduction outbreak. In so doing, we focus on technology use in

individuals’ daily lives during the COVID-19 period and
Coronavirus disease 2019 (hereafter COVID-19) has
relevant implications surrounding technology adoption,
caused widespread disruptions and chaos since the
adaptation, technostress, and digital consumer culture
early part of 2020. The world has never experienced
and their impact on individuals’ well-being. By reflecting
a virus attack of such magnitude, that significantly trans­
upon relevant theoretical and conceptual underpin­
formed our daily lives, as people across the world are
nings, we bring these issues to light to underscore the
gradually getting used to this ‘new normal’ way of living
importance of future research in these areas, that can not
(Ågerfalk et al., 2020; Donthu & Gustafsson, 2020).
only capture peculiarities of individuals’ technology use
Whilst, there is formidable concern regarding the ‘sec­
during the COVID-19 period, but also hold significant
ond wave’ or recurrence of the virus outbreak in many
potential to advance theories and practice beyond the
parts of the world, it is already widely accepted that the
pandemic time.
virus has changed some of our personal and work life
The structure of the commentary is developed by
patterns (Carnavale & Hatak, 2020; Sheth, 2020;
delving into the following key areas, that are related to
Venkatesh, 2020; Waizenegger & Cai & Bendz, 2020).
some of the fundamental questions surrounding how
By now, it is also quite evident that, our dependency on
and to what extent individuals adopt, adapt and cope
information systems and technology has substantially
with technology use, what kind of impact technology use
increased during the COVID-19 period, when govern­
has on their lives, how technology use is supporting their
ment-imposed lockdown and social distancing measures
work and personal lives and whether or not such pattern
were and/or are in place (Laato, Islam, Islam & Whelan,
tends to sustain beyond the COVID-19 period:
2020; Nabity-Grover et al., 2020). We continue to
observe adoption and rapid diffusion of different tech­
(1) Adoption and diffusion of new technology during
nological applications (e.g. video and voice call software,
the COVID-19 period
new social media-based applications, household appli­
(2) Adaptation and coping with technology use dur­
ances), huge surge in online purchases and uptake of
ing pandemic
entertainment related technology (e.g. streaming ser­
(3) Technology use and its impact on users’ well-
vices, games, and music). Individuals and organizations
being
have come across myriad of new opportunities and
challenges of technology use calling upon novel research
on consumer and organizational use of technology. Adoption and diffusion of new technology
This brief commentary sheds light on some novel during the COVID-19 period
research areas that warrant empirical evidence and con­
The adoption and diffusion of technology has domi­
ceptual nourishment in the wake of the COVID-19
nated information systems and management literature

CONTACT Bidit L. Dey bidit.dey@brunel.ac.uk Brunel University London, London, UK

© 2020 Taylor & Francis
2 B. L. DEY ET AL.
for more than three decades now (Muhammad et al.,
2017). The COVID-19 period may create new opportu­
nities for further empirical research and novel theoreti­
cal contributions to this area. The motivation for using
technological applications such as Zoom, social media
apps (TikTok, Houseparty) has added new dimensions
to technology adoption due to lockdown and social
distancing measures. Diffusion of technology during
this time, has often transcended social and national
boundaries and spread across the world. Sudden rise of
the use and popularity of Zoom and TikTok indicates
that how fast a technological application can spread
globally.
Due to lockdown led stay-at-home, individuals’
intent to remain connected for work and personal rea­
sons is somewhat different compared to normal time.
For organizational use of technology, individuals might
have faced different challenges in relation to ease of use,
as technical supports may not be same as what they
normally are. Many organizations have taken a range
of initiatives including the provision of hardware and
software support and virtual training, to address their
employees’ difficulties in dealing with work from home
related technological challenges. Empirical works can
investigate whether or not these measures are adequate
and appropriate. There are scopes for positivist, inter­
pretivist, and mixed methods research to investigate and
analyze adoption of new technology during the COVID-
19 period with a particular focus on spatial influence and
differences between work and home settings.
Adaptation and coping with technology use
Remote work and work from home have drawn signifi­
cant research attention in the last two decades
(Delanoeije et al., 2019; Kreiner et al., 2009; Sarker &
Sahay, 2004). However, prior to the outbreak of
COVID-19, work from home and remote work options
were organization-specific and volitional. The lockdown
and social distancing measures led to a significant
change in the policy and practice of work from home.
Almost all employed and self-employed individuals
(unless they are in certain sectors, e.g., security, retail,
and healthcare) were forced to work from home, with or
without any prior experience in or preparation for such
arrangements (Waizenegger & Cai & Bendz, 2020). As
such, people encountered new and increased challenge
to maintain work-life balance (Carnavale & Hatak,
2020). Working parents found themselves in difficulties
to look after children while working from home, as
schools were closed. Limited outdoor activities and
entertainment (e.g., movie, theater, and sports) reduced
their options for recreation (Venkatesh, 2020).
Consequently, people were in continuous struggle to
adapt themselves to the new work patterns and cope
with the increasing demand of technology use. This
intrusive and ubiquitous nature of technology led to
the changes in the nature, pattern and duration of
work, increased uncertainties, and challenged people’s
capabilities and competencies (Carnevale & Hatak, 2020;
Tuzovic & Kabadayi, 2020). This new work pattern
warrants a new dimension to research on work from
home where individuals have different stress levels.
Coping with stress and technology adaptation
(Guadioso et al., 2017) literature can be advanced
through further research on how individuals cope with
this new work pattern, what kind of measures they
undertake, how they respond to the multiple demands
(work and personal lives), and how organizations can
support them in these difficult times.
We suggest, scholars revisit some of the concepts of
technostress which is referred to the stress caused by an
excessive use of technology (Afifi et al., 2018; Mair et al.,
2015). Techno-stress due to work (Mair et al., 2019;
Tarafdar et al., 2017) and personal (Hawk et al., 2019;
Lee et al., 2016; Wang et al., 2015; Zhang et al., 2016) use
of technology has been analyzed and assessed exten­
sively in information systems and management litera­
ture. However, the COVID-19 period created a new life
when people used work-related technology at home set­
tings. Often, they used the same technology for both
work and personal purposes (Zoom, WhatsApp, etc.).
The COVID-19 induced lockdown and work from home
blurred the boundary between work and personal lives
calling upon new stream of research on technostress in
such conditions. There can also be research on compara­
tive analysis between personal and work-related tech­
nostress, which is an important area that transcends
pandemic time and can potentially add significant con­
tribution to theories and practice.
Technology use and its impact on well-being
The COVID-19 period reenkindled some of the funda­
mental questions and debates surrounding technology’s
roles in our daily lives: Does technology have
a deterministic role? Is it a panacea to our problems or
does it create new problems in our lives? It is argued that
human beings are not malleable to a technological appli­
cation (Williams & Edge, 1996; Mackay and Gillespie,
1992). They can choose, alter, adjust and even reject
and/or redefine technologies during their use (Dey
et al., 2018). As such, technology design, use, interpreta­
tion, and impact are argued to be socially constructed
(Avgerou, 2013; Walsham, 2010). The COVID-19 period
offers a unique opportunity to seek answers to these

issues – how individuals manage to appropriate technol­
ogy in changing environments and how technology
designers respond to user led technology appropriation
by designers. The increasing evidence of digital consu­
mer culture indicates that user empowerment and user-
end alteration and appropriation are integral parts of
consumers’ use of information systems and digital tech­
nology (Dey et al., 2020). During the pandemic, users are
constrained by situations that were not envisaged by the
designers. Hence, this is an ideal time to assess how users
interact with technology and adapt and/or appropriate
to overcome technological and contextual shortcomings.
Information systems and digital technology in parti­
cular have been widely used in healthcare management.
Tracing app to track contacts of COVID-19 infected
individuals has been touted as an effective means to
stop community transmission of the virus. However,
some of the apps have received criticism in various
countries, raising questions on their accuracy and citi­
zens’ privacy. Information systems research during the
COVID-19 period and beyond can look into such issues
where technology use may have complex social and
ethnical ramifications.
The impact of technology use on social and commu­
nity lives is inextricably intertwined with its use. It is
imperative to assess how consumers use technology,
their usage pattern, and how they integrate them into
their daily lives. Pandemic period offers an opportunity
to explore how users interact with macro and meso level
factors to use technology.
The long-term business, economic, social and health
effects of COVID-19 are still unknown. However, it is
clear that the global response to the virus has changed
many organizations’ strategic approaches. The indiscri­
minate spread of this pandemic and its impacts cur­
rently, affected and is still affecting public, private and
third sector organizations worldwide with significant
economic implications. Policies intended to prevent
the spread of this infections include travel restrictions
and quarantines that have disrupted international busi­
ness activities leading to diminished profit and job loss.
However, retaining employees and ensuring their
well-being would still be a key concern for many orga­
nizations. We suggest that technology has to become
viable for surviving and sustaining in long run as
COVID-19 has longstanding effects on the global econo­
mies. As firms are focusing on transformation for
enhancing survival and sustainability of business, and
are more effective in this difficult time as these strategies
not only helpful in increasing operational efficiency for
the short-term but also can be proven effective in devel­
oping their transformation for enhancing survival and
sustainability of business to deal with post-COVID-19
INFORMATION SYSTEMS MANAGEMENT 3
situation. To sustain and survive in the long-term, firms
need to adopt changes according to the volatile social
and economic environments. at the beginning stage of
COVID-19, lockdown and uncertainties led to challenge
in fulfilling the demands of essentials, e.g., toilet roles,
hand gel-sanitizers, soaps, gloves, mask, disinfect equip­
ment, immune boosting medicines, etc. Thus, viable
operations enable to deal with such disruptions during
and post-COVID-19 situations. Many firms shift their
focus on the digitalization to survive and sustain in post-
pandemic situation as the ‘new normal’ scenario will be
more toward changed preferences of the customers.
Furthermore, the spread of pandemic across the globe
is radically changing living conditions, consumer pre­
ference and behavioral patterns, shifting to online shop­
ping, click and collect, contactless delivery options, and
hikes in certain product category consumption is creat­
ing a new working environment. As soon as the
restricted living ends, and move into near normal living
phase, demand forecasting and inventory management
for order fulfillment at local levels need to be considered
for tackling stock-out situation. There is an urgent need
for firms to deal with restricted living phase while pre­
paring for the ‘new normal.’ Today, firms are extending
employee awareness on hygiene and sanitation via sev­
eral communication platforms to deal with this crisis.
The COVID-19 is acting as a catalyst to develop sustain­
able adaptive supply chains to deal with any crisis and
appropriate information systems measures need to be in
place to support relevant strategies. The need for the
situation is the firms approach for resiliency, collabora­
tion, data analytics and order fulfillment to sustain in
COVID-19 pandemics.
Conclusion
The impact and implications of COVID-19 on informa­
tion systems management are myriad. This commentary
endeavors to highlight some of those issues which war­
rant empirical investigation. As we are going through an
evolving phase with sharp and abrupt changes in macro-
environments, it is also a challenge for information
systems researchers to capture and comprehend the
demands and challenges faced by individuals and orga­
nizations. It is also hard to predict which aspects are
ephemeral and which ones to sustain beyond the pan­
demic time. Empirical works at this point in time is also
impeded by social distancing measures and lack of insti­
tutional funding. It is also important to have
a international/global perspective toward these issues.
Cross-country and inter-disciplinary collaboration can
extract deeper insights into the problems and encourage
agile response.
4 B. L. DEY ET AL.
Notes on contributors
Bidit Dey is a Senior Lecturer in Marketing and the Director of
the Brunel MBA Programme. His research interest revolves
around digital consumer culture, consumer acculturation, and
co-creation of value. His research led papers and commen­
taries have been published in leading marketing, information
systems, and management journals including International
Marketing Review, Industrial Marketing Management,
Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Journal of
Marketing Management, Information Technology and
People and Information Systems Management. He has guest
edited special issues and co-edited a monograph. Bidit has
been actively involved in executive training and management
consultancy.
Wafi Al-Karaghouli - MPhil Statistics and Operations
Research (London), PhD IS Failures (Brunel), MBCS, MElite.
Wafi has 12 year-long industrial experience and more than 30
years of experience in Higher Education. His interest and
research revolve around IT systems failures, knowledge man­
agement, operations managements, and civil aviation. Wafi
has published extensively on the subject of IS failure.
Recently, he coauthored a textbook entitled “Understanding
Islamic Financial Services: Theory & Practice,” Koganpage. He
contributed to the development of a Knowledge Management
System at Merrill Lynch HSBC, BAA’s fast-track check-in
desks and the Iris Recognition Immigration System (iris) at
Heathrow Airport.
Syed Sardar Muhammad is an experienced educator. He has
worked in higher education for 19 years. He has designed and
led programmes and international collaborations. Syed did his
PhD from Brunel University London. His doctoral research
investigated privacy salient consumers’ perceptions of and
engagement with big data digital footprint. Syed has published
in leading information systms and management journals
including Information Systems Frontier and Information
Systems Management. Syed is a member of British Academy
of Management and Academy of Marketing. An experienced
academic leader and Principal Lecturer, Syed thrives in posi­
tions of leadership, management, and teaching.
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