The importance of rhetoric in conceptualising IS adoption

The aim of this paper is to outline the importance of organisational rhetoric as a valuable theoretical lens to examine and conceptualise IS adoption.

The paper is based on a critical, yet selective, review of some relevant literature on rhetoric and IS adoption.

The paper outlines four distinctive yet interrelated elements of rhetoric, namely, different types of rhetoric and their implications; the role of stakeholders; the notion of rhetorical congruence; and rhetorical situations and strategies. These provide a means of operationalising the rhetorical dimension in researching IS adoption.

The paper's main contribution is to enrich the existing repertoire of IS adoption theories and perspectives by adding the dimension of rhetoric.