Towards a Framework for Understanding Innovation Implementation in the Air Force

Innovation is a major way organizations deal with changes in their competitive environment. The Department of Defense (DoD) too is facing incredible changes and challenges within its competitive environments. This situation is requiring the adopting and implementing of many new innovations in an effort to transform the forces to meet the challenges. A key component of the DoD's efforts to transform is in Air Force acquisition and sustainment processes. Digital technical orders are an example of such a sustainment process. The Air Force has mandated it will transform from a paper based technical data environment to a digital one. The success of the implementing such transformational innovations such as digital technical orders is critical to the Air Force's ability to support the overall DoD force transformation efforts. Despite the critical need for successful innovation implementation few studies are found exploring factors that facilitate innovation within DoD, or the Air Force. A framework to examine such factors could assist the Air Force and DoD in their innovation implementation efforts. This thesis explores the usefulness of Innovation Diffusion Theory as such a framework. More specifically, this researcher's goal is to assess the implementation of a transformational innovation of digital technical orders within the context of Innovation Diffusion Theory. This thesis explores current and recent digital technical order implementation efforts.