Date of Award

8-22-2025

Date Published

September 2025

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Information Science & Technology

Advisor(s)

Jason Dedrick

Keywords

Digital Infrastructure;Green IT;Information Systems;Smart Grid;Technology Integration;Theory

Abstract

Over the past decade, the energy culture as a whole and electric industry specifically has been going through wide-scale disruptive and consequential transformation. The pressure for these changes comes from different fronts: Decarbonization (switching to renewable sources and implementing carbon reduction policies); Digitalization (adoption and investment on smart digital technologies, infrastructure, and networks), Decentralization (distributed nature of behind-the-meter resources), and Demand (growing demand from customers for high quality, affordable electricity). In response to these pressures, electric distribution utilities were continuously adopting smart grid technologies (most notably Advanced Meter Infrastructure (AMI) and enterprise-wide applications) to create new organizational capabilities. Now, utilities’ focus has shifted toward developing new services and organizational capabilities by integrating these technologies on both sides of the meter. The real value (economic, organizational, Environmental and social) of these technologies directly depends on successful integration of these technologies. Considering the complex, multi-dimensional nature of technology integration, that makes integration highly critical, while extremely challenging. The conceptual foundation of this dissertation research is drawn from the computer-based information systems (IS) research community. The research investigated, in the context of organization (utilities), by proposing these questions; (a) nature and dynamics of technology integration, (b) factors influencing the technology integration, (c) process of technology integration, and (d) technology integration success metrics. As phenomenology-oriented qualitative research, by adopting case-study, data collected by interviews, organizational documents, and archival data. The data was categorized, coded and analyzed. Finally, the findings are used for theory development, Theory of Technology Integration (ToTI), unpacking technology integration constructs, and their relationships. Research findings have both theoretical and practical implications. In theory, advancing the knowledge of technology integration in organizations, and in practice, providing a framework for managers and technologists to effectively integrate new digital technologies.

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Open Access

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