Asia Pacific Management Review 13(3) (2008) 567-581 567 How Organization Goals Affect Interorganization System Implementation Projects: Evidence and Implications Stephen P. Smith a* , Md Mahbubur Rahim a , Graeme Shanks b , Robert B. Johnston c a Department of Accounting and Finance, Monash University, Australia b Department of Information Systems, The University of Melbourne, Australia c Centre for Innovation, Technology and Organisation, School of Business, University College Dublin, Ireland Accepted 10 March 2008 Abstract The factors leading to the initial adoption of an interorganizational system (IOS) are reasonably well understood, but this is not true of the determinants of the activities performed following that decision. This paper proposes that the motivation to implement a system is the starting point for understanding the implementation process and develops a theory about the relationship between the motivation to implement an IOS system and the types of activities likely to be performed in the project. We then compare predictions against activities actually performed in three electronic data interchange (EDI) projects, and find that the patterns predicted are observed. On this basis, we assert that motivation influenced business decisions regarding which activities to conduct in each project. We finally assess the likely long-run consequences of each organization’s activity pattern, noting that each motivation-based pattern brings with it a number of potential risks and opportunities that need to be managed carefully. Keywords: Interorganizational system, motivation 1. Introduction 1 In the past 20 years, many companies have implemented interorganizational systems (IOS) in partnership with their suppliers and customers. The specific capabilities of these systems vary from one organization to another, but, in essence, these systems are designed to help companies share information and to integrate key business processes across companies including procurement, sales, and billing. However, implementing and maintaining these systems is typically expensive and difficult because of the need to interface with internal systems as well as systems in other organizations. No definitive data is available regarding the failure rate for such systems, but it is reasonable to expect that failure rates are similar to the 30 per cent figure commonly cited for other types of system (Yeo, 2002). Developing an understanding of how such systems are implemented and how to manage that process is therefore important both theoretically and for IT managers in organizations. This research develops theory using the premise that that the primary motivation underlying the decision to adopt an IOS influences subsequent system investigation, development, and implementation activities, how the system will be used, and long-term * Corresponding author. E-mail: Stephen.smith@buseco.monash.edu.au www.apmr.management.ncku.edu.tw