A knowledge-focused perspective on the diffusion and adoption of complex information technologies: the BPR example S. Newell, J. A. Swan* & R. D. Galliers** Nottingham Business School, Nottingham Trent University, Burton Street, Nottingham NG1 4BU, UK, email: sue.newell@ntu.ac.uk; *Warwick Business School, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL, UK, email: irobjs@wbs.warwick.ac.uk, and **Information Systems Department, London School of Economics, Houghton Street, London WC2A 2AE, UK, email: r.d.galliers@lse.ac.uk Abstract. This paper presents a knowledge-focused perspective for the devel- opment of a model to explain the diffusion and adoption of complex integrating technologies. Business process re-engineering (BPR) is used as the example to illustrate the model. However, while BPR is used to illustrate our argument, the model that is developed is relevant to understanding the innovation processes sur- rounding any complex IT-based innovation. It is argued that the strength of this diffusion model is that it focuses not on the spread of particular technological arti- facts (whether it is BPR or any other IT-based innovation), but on the spread of the ideas and knowledge underpinning the technology. In particular, the model draws attention to the ways in which technology suppliers commodify knowledge and present ‘packaged’ solutions. This creates problems for potential users who need to unpack this knowledge and integrate it with existing organizational knowl- edge. The diffusion and adoption of innovations is thus seen as a process of inte- grating knowledge across disparate communities. Such knowledge integration, however, is difficult. This can help to explain the apparent contradiction between the limited success rate of BPR and its widespread diffusion among western firms. Keywords: Business process re-engineering, fashion setting, information technol- ogy, innovation diffusion, knowledge integration. INTRODUCTION It is possible to track a number of new ideas about organizational redesign that have each been declared as the new ‘best practice’. For example, Taylor’s idea of scientific management was heralded as the most efficient way to organize production at the beginning of the century (Taylor, 1947), while a current popular prescription for ‘best practice’ is business process Info Systems J (2000) 10, 239–259 239 © 2000 Blackwell Science Ltd