MRN 30,8 570 Management Research News Vol. 30 No. 8, 2007 pp. 570-580 # Emerald Group Publishing Limited 0140-9174 DOI 10.1108/01409170710773706 Is RFID right for your organization or application? Pedro M. Reyes Department of Management and Entrepreneurship, Hankamer School of Business, Baylor University, Waco, Texas, USA, and Patrick Jaska Department of Business Administration and Systems, College of Business, University of Mary Hardin Baylor, Belton, Texas, USA Abstract Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to help managers determine whether RFID is appropriate for their particular organizational needs and to give them some guidelines for implementing an RFID solution. Design/methodology/approach – This paper is a general review of RFID and offers instructions to managers who are in a dilemma as to whether RFID is right for their organization or application. Findings – The results of this study provide managers with procedures to follow that will enable them to minimize RFID implementation problems. Practical implications – For practicing managers, these implementation procedures have important implications. As with any technological implementation, the needs of the organization, its personnel, and customers must be at the forefront of the process. Originality/value – This paper offers managers a valuable perspective on the RFID implementation process for their organization. Keywords Radio, Frequencies, Supply chain management, Technology led strategy Paper type Research paper Introduction Radio frequency identification (RFID) has, for the most part, been flying below the business-innovation and best practice radar. Much hype and press have been given to RFID since the mandates by Wal-Mart and the US Department of Defense (DoD) (Juban and Wyld, 2004; Smith, 2005; Wicks, et al., 2006; Hardgrave and Miller, 2006; Reyes and Jaska, 2006; Wyld, 2006; Reyes et al., 2007). Whether RFID represents a new direction in supply chain management theory and practice is a question of no small consequence. Furthermore, it is not reasonable to believe that all firms will adopt RFID (Reyes and Jaska, 2006), yet many managers are in a dilemma as to whether RFID is right for their organization or application (Reyes et al., 2007). In some ways, RFID is like any other past technological implementation, but in some ways it is not. The actual benefits and risks of RFID coupled with the managers’ evolving perceptions about these benefits and risks will determine the speed at which RFID moves from introduction/ developmental to maturity stage. Several RFID descriptive papers have been published during the past few years, such as Ka ¨rkka ¨inen and Holmstro ¨m (2002), Juban and Wyld (2004), Srivastava (2004), Angeles (2005), and Wyld (2006). The purpose of this paper is to aid managers in their quest to determine whether RFID is appropriate for their particular needs and give them some guidelines for implementing an RFID solution. Although RFID has been around for more than 50 years, recent mandates by Wal- Mart and the DoD have sparked massive interest in it potential for improving supply chain performance (Angeles, 2005; Hardgrave and Miller, 2006; Reyes and Frazier, 2007). Also contributing to this, RFID-interest is the rapid acceleration and availability The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at www.emeraldinsight.com/0140-9174.htm