Different from previous cloud adoption studies that focus on the benefits and concerns of cloud computing from a technology point of view, this study takes a deeper look at two additional firm-specific forces that could better explain firms’ cloud adoption trajectory and dilemma: Path dependency and Institutional forces. Path dependency theory argues that if a firm has invested intensively in traditional IT, it may be more capable of adopting and utilizing new IT since it has accumulated knowledge. However, the firm could also be trapped in its previous path and reluctant to migrate to cloud to avoid sunk costs and switching costs. On the other hand, institutional theory provides an external view and posit that a firm facing more institutional forces from its trading community will have more incentives, as well as pressure, to adopt cloud. We developed a cloud adoption model that features benefits, concerns, path dependency, and institutional forces as prominent antecedents to understand their competing and complementary effects, and empirically tested the proposed model using 177 firms. The results show that, path dependence is indeed an important factor affecting firms’ cloud adoption behaviors; a firm with a better IT position and more satisfying IT outsourcing experiences will have greater cloud adoption intention. Institutional forces do not directly affect cloud adoption intention. Instead, institutional forces increase perceived benefits, through which, indirectly influence cloud adoption intention. The findings delineate the trajectory and dilemma that firms face when migrating to cloud and provide insights to cloud vendors in choosing their target market.

与以前的从技术角度关注云计算的优势和关注点的云采用研究不同，本研究更深入地研究了另外两种特定于公司的力量，它们可以更好地解释公司的云采用轨迹和困境：路径依赖和机构力量。路径依赖理论认为，如果公司对传统IT进行了大量投资，则由于它积累了知识，因此它可能更有能力采用和利用新IT。但是，该公司也可能会陷入其先前的道路，不愿迁移到云中以避免沉没成本和转换成本。另一方面，制度理论提供了一种外部观点，并假定面对来自贸易界的更多制度力量的公司将有更多的动机和压力来采用云。我们开发了一种以采用优势，关注点，路径依赖和机构力量为特征的云采用模型，以了解它们的竞争和互补效应，并使用177家公司进行了实证测试。结果表明，路径依赖确实是影响企业云采用行为的重要因素。具有更好的IT地位和更令人满意的IT外包经验的公司将具有更大的采用云的意图。制度力量并没有直接影响云采用的意图。取而代之的是，机构力量增加了感知收益，从而间接影响了云采用的意图。调查结果描绘了企业在迁移到云时面临的轨迹和困境，并为云供应商选择目标市场提供了见识。通过它间接影响云的采用意图。调查结果描绘了企业在迁移到云时面临的轨迹和困境，并为云供应商选择目标市场提供了见识。通过它间接影响云的采用意图。调查结果描绘了企业在迁移到云时面临的轨迹和困境，并为云供应商选择目标市场提供了见识。