In alpha order by author.
See also Introductory page.
This article discusses some of the difficulties of maintaining information technology equipment on a worldwide basis. Firms choose between maintaining the equipment themselves, depending on the original manufacturer or reseller, or contracting with a third-party maintenance organization. Self-maintenance can be expensive and distracting from the main business concerns. Depending on the original manufacturer makes sense in general, but the manufacturer may not have repair facilities in all locations where the firm operates. In selecting a third party, there are trade-offs between providers that offer worldwide service (their level of quality and price may vary from location to location) and selecting providers on a country by country basis. The article stresses the importance of carefully negotiating specific terms for service provision.
This essay combines historical content regarding the development of computing in what used to be the USSR with interpretations and insights regarding the pattern of development. For example, the author focuses on lack of copyright protection as a major source of delay in development of the Soviet software industry. Unfortunately, like many articles of this genre, changes occur so quickly that it presents an interesting slice of the past but is soon out of date.
This essay reviews theories of economic and social development and links them to types of information required for planning. "Rational" development theories emphasize the need for statistics and data; "incremental" development theories emphasize qualitative and judgmental information. The author goes on to discuss three elements (administrative, documentary, and statistical) comprising an information infrastructure to support development planning. Examples from India, Malaysia, and Bolivia of development oriented data bases are provided. The next issue is connecting this infrastructure through decision support systems to make information available to administrators. An example of such from Uruguay is described. Naturally, an underlying technical information processing structure is needed to support these higher layers. The author discusses some of the difficulties developing countries need to overcome to develop these systems, including lack of organizational integration; difficulties in evaluating the relevance of information prior to costly retrieval; difficulty in balancing top-down planning and local needs; and underestimation or neglect of training requirements. The paper calls for central coordination (rather than central planning) of information development associated with individual development projects.
This essay reviews current status of the software industry as it is evolving in Chile. It points out that although in terms of percentage of growth, Chile's software industry is growing rapidly, it still represents a very small percentage of worldwide software sales and even a small percentage of total software purchased within its own domestic market. Interestingly, it points out the difficulties any smaller, less-developed country has (will have) in entering mature software markets.
This essay begins with the facts of exponentially growing numbers, capacities, speeds, and (falling) costs of information technology. It then provides examples of how these changes in information technology have affected the political and social climate around the world. The essay is perhaps strongest because of its balance between optimistic assessment of the potential liberating effects of the growth of information technology and its warnings regarding potential abuses and difficulties. It stresses issues of war and peace, distribution of wealth, and distribution of power.
This paper presents: (1) a literature review of studies that document the effectiveness of crosscultural training on cross-cultural skills, adjustment, and performance; (2) development of a theory base extracted from social learning theory for studying cross-cultural training; and (3) a set of propositions based on social learning theory that make specific predictions for the relative effectiveness of cross-cultural training given differences in several variables. This paper strongly argues regarding the financial cost of having less successful expatriate employees and for the potential of cross-cultural training to increase their probability of success. Focusing on information systems, the paper predicts that cross-cultural training will be particularly important when the task involves technology transfer (and thus high contact with host country residents). It stops short of discussing the impact of tasks requiring both adjustment to host country cultures and additionally training host country residents in new techniques and approaches (as may be the case for those involved in technology transfer or MIS implementations). Based on social learning theory, we might predict that cross-cultural training would better prepare personnel to present new ideas in terms that will be more like those familiar to host-country residents thereby increasing the probability of their learning and using new technologies.
This brief piece describes the rationale for developing a new process of remediation for protecting intellectual property rights for the design of computer chips. In order to protect these rights, the Semiconductor Chip Protection Act of 1984 adds a "mask works" protection (to provide protection of the design as well as actual product) to that of copyright and patent. This legislation, interestingly, allows for some legitimate application of reverse engineering, however, the exact borders and definition of what is legitimate remain to be determined.
This case study describes the development of sophisticated information systems for a relatively small airline primarily serving the domestic market in Israel. This case study does not focus on unique aspects of the Israeli nation or culture leading to this successful development, rather it illustrates how smaller companies in environments that are highly competitive and populated with larger companies can use in-house development to achieve strategic advantage. Perhaps the only direct reference to global MIS per se is in the inclusion of exchange rate information in the information system database.
This essay argues that organizational sciences have relied on primarily U.S. based theory reflecting the historic period of its development during a time when the U.S. economy dominated world economic activity. This paper shows consistencies between prevalent organizational science theory and cultural tendencies in the U.S. (toward individualism, low-contextual communication, and an orientation toward free-will or seeing the individual as the source of change rather than focusing on the movement of larger institutions). This paper also argues for acknowledging the boundaries of theory developed and tested within a single country setting and for testing theory within multiple cultures and across cultures.
Outlines some of the history and controversy in Brazil's regulations for importing software. Controversy is centered on Brazil's limitation of its software market where local companies provide functionally equivalent software. However, the U.S. company Microsoft claims that the original software was pirated. Branford also focuses on the personality of Edson Fregni, co-founder and head of Scopus Technologia, a Brazilian computer company.
This paper presents a broad practitioner-oriented set of observations regarding the management of information systems that stretch across national borders. Managing these systems is difficult due to (1) divergence of equipment, software and procedures from one venue to another; (2) changing costs of personnel, hardware, and data communication within and between different countries; (3) increasing interdependence of firms' affiliates; (4) quickly changing regulatory environments; (5) unionizing of data processing department personnel; and (6) the increasing rate of change of information technologies. In the experience of the author, companies tend to get into trouble when they fail to define objectives clearly; fail to define responsibilities; and misunderstand the capabilities of data processing. The article presents an interesting discussion of what a firm with an international division in cases of more or less than $500 million in sales should do in terms of data processing. Interestingly, no similar analysis is performed for product, functional, or regional management scenarios. On the whole, this paper presents much potentially useful information to the practitioner.
This article stresses the value and difficulty of integrating data for multinational firms. The goals of focusing on systems that generate revenue, of extracting information from data and making it available to end-users, and developing partnerships with customers and vendors are stressed. Although this article focuses on multinational firms, it tends to focus on overall issues rather than those specific to doing business in multiple national settings.
This chapter presents an overview of issues associated with global MIS including availability of professional staff; telecommunications resources and standards; local factors pulling for deviation from international standardization within firms; differing levels of IT sophistication in countries; differing market sizes (and varying availability of equipment, vendors, and support); and data export control. It also presents many stimulating thoughts and potentially testable comments. Factors which make the management of IS more difficult in the international arena are: national differences (including infrastructure, social, political, and cultural factors) corporate manufacturing and distribution technologies, and scope and sophistication of IT applications. The authors point to a number of impacts that IT has had on firms. It has increased the capacity for changing the work site. "Clerical and knowledge-based work is movable; office buildings and factories are not [p. 549]." Senior managers can call on sources of knowledge from around the globe as they gather information for action or decision-making. IT can provide a basis for "highly customized and differentiated electronic-based service for ... customers around the world [p. 550]", for increased pressure for quick performance, and for cost reduction through eliminating production slack. Several factors are identified which could form a loose basis for global IS theory. The dependent variable may be the type of IS management engaged in by the multinational firm. Possible measures include policies regarding data and communications architectures, purchasing decisions, software standards, new application development policies, and management communications (meetings, staff rotations, newsletters, and education), with influencing variables including the nature of the firm's business (and resulting need for centralized data), the strategic impact of IT (whether IT is viewed as being in a strategic or support role), and corporate organization (e.g. amount of complexity, level of centralization), technical and control characteristics.
This essay contains much detailed information regarding the issue of transborder data flows (TDF). For example, it points out that MNCs are the heaviest users of TDF and that usage varies with number of subsidiaries and percentage of foreign sales. Potential areas of conflict between host governments and MNCs include: (1) the potential for having their own data processing industries overwhelmed from abroad, (2) pricing of data lines and interconnections used to transmit data flows, (3) taxability of data flows, (4) the ability of governments to protect privacy of their citizens, and (5) the political implications of individual countries being able or unable to control data regarding their own economies.
This article describes the anticipated impact of three regulations on marketing semi-conductors and products containing semi-conductors in Europe. For the most part these regulations should make it more difficult to import electronics from outside the EC and should act to encourage (or force) firms to produce or significantly add value in Europe. Interestingly, there will no longer be reduced tariffs on imports from GSP (General System of Preference Countries -- such as Mexico, Malaysia, and the Philippines) where the firm is owned by Japanese or U.S. firms. Perhaps this will reduce the desirability of locating firms in these GSP countries. U.S. firms account for a 41% share of the EC market; the EC market accounts for 20% of U.S. sales.
This essay argues that a strategy for building and developing country information technology independence would emphasize indigenous manufacturing of middle range computer technologies. A middle range would not emphasize expensive state of the art equipment but rather aim at a middle range between manual, inefficient information processing and high end equipment. Based on surveys of educational institutions and small businesses in Zimbabwe, data support the technology needs fitting this middle range and the amount purchasers can afford also fitting this middle ground.
This study used gathered data through surveying more than 500 Israeli, 1000 Singaporean, and 8000 US computer personnel. Results showed differences among these groups in terms of: (1) core job dimensions where Singaporeans showed lower skill variety, task significance, autonomy, and feedback from the job and where Israelis showed higher feedback from the job but lower task significance; (2) satisfaction factors where both Singaporeans and Israelis indicated significantly lower satisfaction with pay and benefits (though not significantly different, Israelis did rate satisfaction with co-workers and supervisors higher than did US or Singaporeans); and (3) goal related variables (Israelis rated both goal clarity and feedback on goal accomplishment higher than the others, but goal difficulty lower). The paper advocates a job enhancement approach for both programmer analysts and programmers -- involving, for example, more emphasis on new development and less on maintenance work, seminars on interactive skills, and training programs to sensitize supervisors to providing more feedback.
This article overviews the growing diversity of employees within American firms, suggests a conceptual framework for assessing diversity in a firm, and proposes specific tools for changing the firm's culture toward increasing gains from diversity and reducing excessive conflict. These tools are generally human resource oriented and include supplemental education and orientation programs, seminars on equal opportunity and bias reduction, and survey feedback comparisons and conflict-resolution training.
This article develops empirical data toward elaborating on a set of relationships among organizational parameters (size, diversity of product, level of foreign activity, personnel deployment patterns, dependence on foreign operations, R and D, marketing strategy, and capital intensity) and organizational control structures (worldwide functional, worldwide product; international division, geographic area, and matrix structure). The authors found: (1) Worldwide functional organizations were all raw material extractors -- "Their key strategic need...is coordination among functions...not new product introduction or marketing (p. 299)." (2) Worldwide product organizations included all conglomerates -- firms diversifying primarily through acquisitions; (3) International divisions consisted almost exclusively of firms with domestic activities organized along product lines and with high levels of dependence on foreign sales (the authors conjectured that this would be due to the need for the international divisions to have clout at headquarters and not rely on domestic divisions for needed resources). (4) Geographic area structures were used with high foreign sales and seemed to grow out of splitting up international divisions that grew too large. Assuming that the information needs among firms within these categories have some commonalities and that there are systematic differences between categories (a researchable question), then knowing the category of a firm will suggest some particular approaches toward structuring information systems. Moreover, knowing something of the tendency of organizations to systematically evolve from one management structure to another may indicate directions for planning and evolution of information systems within the multinational firm. Implications for IS ...
This book integrates and elaborates on dissertation work by Deans and by Kane (both at the University of South Carolina). In addition to reviewing key issues in international IS and discussing trans-national data flows, this book presents chapters on international IS planning, competitive advantage, and ethical issues. Although working domestically with information systems requires handling a high level of complexity, working in multiple countries adds new layers of complexity. Firms with differing international management structures (e.g. exporting only versus globally integrated) may find IS related advantages from different sources. For example those in industries with distinct sets of domestic markets can shift IS from one market to another and take advantage of relatively low cost transaction processing, accounting, or other function.
This study identifies key international MIS issues, categorizes these issues, and links them to a conceptual model that can be used to extend existing MIS literature toward application in a global environment. This study used both survey and interview methods to rank issues and develop an explanation to their importance. Additional variables were identified (for explaining differences in ranked importance among categories of firms) including the industry sector, organization of firm's international data processing operations (centralized, decentralized, distributed), international organization structure, size of firm, number of foreign subsidiaries, number of countries in which the firm has foreign subsidiaries, location of foreign subsidiaries, level of international involvement (percentage of sales abroad), and amount of experience with international operations overseas (not mentioned, but also of potential importance would be amount of technology driven experience overseas). The study focused on U.S. firms abroad. One might also wonder if European and Asian multi-nationals would rank issues in the same way. Issues were divided into the following categories: (1) managerial/strategic, (2) technological/application, (3) host country social/cultural, (4) host country economic, (5) host country technological, and (6) host country political/legal. The model provides value for the researcher in evaluating the relative position and importance of issues. Toward developing theory, it will need to be extended through specification of dependent variables (perhaps global IS effectiveness using some performance measures; the relative merit of IS flexibility or fit -- note Milliman, Von Glinow, and Nathan, 1991; or global IS contribution to firm productivity, market share, etc.) Note also that this model takes the viewpoint of the multinational firm; another viewpoint might be from the nation (setting policy). Overall, this is a very rich study and deserves to be used as a point of reference for future global IS work.
This study of key issues as viewed by local managers was undertaken shortly after Estonia achieved independence from the Soviet Union. Not too surprisingly, the top six issues were technical in nature, probably related to years of low investment in the IT infrastructure. Unfortunately, issues presented in this study differed markedly from other studies (e.g. Watson, 1989) which lessens one's ability to contrast between countries.
Relatively early in the history of global information technology, this essay highlights issues between developed and developing countries in information policy. Focusing on telecommunications, the article notes three forces: (1) good telecommunications technology is necessary to compete in the development of an information industry, (2) computer and telecommunication technologies are merging, and (3) multinational corporate operations require worldwide, round-the-clock communications and information exchange. In addition the article notes (1) an expectation of changes on the part of telecommunications firms (such as AT&T) to identify themselves as information firms. (2) permanent changes to the labor force in terms of required and useful skills, and (3) a globalization of media trade such as film, books, newspapers.
"Rationalization means shifting from a set of local-for-local plants, each serving its own national market with a broad product range, to an integrated network of large-scale production-specialized plants serving the world market (p. 82)." This paper discuss the array of factors including shifts in role and power of national managers and potential conflict with local government policies and goals which make rationalization difficult. From an IS perspective, this paper can be used to infer difficulties with rationalizing information processing among subsidiaries spanning national boundaries. Implications for IS...
This paper presents the results of several case studies to contrast firms with different levels of success in integrating activities among previously highly independent subsidiaries. It proposes three key ingredients in establishing more centralized operational control: (1) data management (information systems, measurement systems, resource allocation procedures, strategic planning, and budgeting processes), (2) managers' management (shifting perceptions of self-interest among managers from subsidiary autonomy to international business performance, and (3) conflict resolution mechanisms. Of specific interest to IS managers, of course, is the data management. In essence, the shifting of decision making power from local to centralized control requires providing the relevant information to the centralized location which may involve some level of integration of information across subsidiaries. It might be noted that IS departments can find the implications of new systems' development to accurately gauge shifting control within the organization. The authors conclude: "In sum, an intellectual understanding of strategy (shifts in cognitive and strategic orientations) does not lead to action. To result in action, this understanding must be translated into managerial mechanisms that change the power relationships within the firm. This may be achieved by the cumulative impact of minor reallocations of responsibility and authority that cumulatively change the pattern of dependence relationships within the firm. As a result, the distinction between strategy formulation and strategy implementation is not very useful for a manager in a complex organization. What can be accomplished organizationally sets limits on what is feasible as a strategy (p. 28)."
The eclectic paradigm is a rather complex framework for understanding and predicting where international trade and/or production will occur. At a high level this theory suggests that a firm to do business in other nations must have some configuration of three sets of advantages: (1) those derived from the nation of ownership of assets to compensate for the costs of setting up and operating in a foreign country or of transaction advantages "arising from common governance of a network of these assets located in different countries (p.2)", (2) it must be of greater benefit to transfer assets within their own organization rather than to sell or lease the use of those assets to foreign-based enterprises (p. 3), and (3) foreign production will occur when a transferable domestic intermediate product can be combined with an immobile factor endowment or other intermediate product in another country (p. 4). From a data processing perspective, it can be seen that the ownership and location of computing resources (hardware, software, and personnel), the ability and cost of performing transactions resulting from such assets, the potential for integration of border spanning activities through the use of computing and communications technologies, and the integration of centralized data processing with local production, distribution, and financial activities can all affect the environment facing a firm deciding whether or not to commence multinational operations. In fact, one would expect that the management configuration of a set of foreign subsidiaries would be highly correlated with the approach to gathering and distributing information and expertise throughout the organization. This paper provides an interesting discussion of centralization/decentralization of decision making within the multinational firm.
This study focuses on the use of contract programmers by U.S. firms and compares attributes of domestic versus foreign nationals as contract programmers. Findings include: (1) contract programming seems to be a widespread phenomenon; (2) about a third of the reporting firms have some experience with foreign nationals as contract programmers; (3) satisfaction with contract programmers seems to be high for both domestic and foreign national employees; and (4) flexibility and shortage of in-house talent, rather than cost savings, seemed to be the most prevalent reasons for using contract employees. Like many studies, this one leaves many new questions including: (1) what actions are necessary to insure success with contract programmers (including structuring or screening of specific projects); (2) what is the reaction of other stakeholders (such as full-time employees, host-government officials, etc.) to contract programming; (3) what are the trade-offs with bringing employees to the U.S. versus sending projects to overseas locations; (4) does contract work for foreign nationals in I.S. differ from contract work in other areas (R and D, engineering, etc.); and (5) is contract work commonly employed in other countries, such as Germany or Japan, and if so, do they also use foreign nationals (U.S., Indian, etc.) and how does their experience compare to that in the U.S.
This field experiment contrasts the effectiveness of varying methods for training middle managers for an overseas business assignment. Contrasted were: (1) no training, (2) documentary training (written materials both generally and specifically about the target culture), (3) experiential training (simulation games and field experience), and (4) both documentary and experiential training. These treatments were measured by (1) performance rating by supervisors, (2) an intensity of adjustment scale, (3) a scale measuring cosmopolitan perspective, and (4) performance self-rating. On all dependent measures, the condition with both trainings was rated most highly and the condition with no training was measured markedly lowest. The documentary training group rated just a bit higher than the experiential on cosmopolitan perspective; but modestly lower on the other three dependent measures. In all the study demonstrates the effectiveness of cross-cultural training in this particular case and raises new questions about the most effective combination of training techniques and the timing of delivery of those techniques. This article suggests follow-up questions. Do attributes of group members (e.g., level in the organization, proven effectiveness, personality or learning style, or technical versus managerial orientation) render different training methods more or less effective? Are there factors involved in information systems work overseas (e.g., its information intensity, the importance of precise communication, issues of end-user and developer involvement) that would affect the importance, timing, or nature of cross-cultural training for this specific purpose?
This paper highlights two cases where lack of effective cross-cultural communication resulted in "major cost escalations and conflict." Cultural differences lead to misinterpretation of verbal and non-verbal messages. During information exchanges people of different cultures may rely on different behavioral rules and various reactions to power, social distance, uncertainty avoidance, and individual forcefulness. The author proposes the use of OTPS (operational test plan scenarios) to reduce cultural misunderstanding. These focus on how systems should act in the client's environment after the developer has finished the system. The effectiveness of such a technique remains to be rigorously tested.
This study links the strategy to the structure of multi-national corporations through the use of information processing as an intermediating variable. Premised on the notions that (1) different business strategies will require different amounts and types of information, and (2) that different structures influence information flows with the organization, this study gathered data from 50 large multinational firms (U.S. and European) and developed a profile for each type of structure. Worldwide functional division structure fit with low foreign product diversity, low modification of product between subsidiaries, few foreign subsidiaries, low level of outside ownership, and few foreign acquisitions. This structure should have the lowest cost for information flow. International division structure was characterized by small foreign operations and low to moderate number of subsidiaries. According the this study, it provides the lowest capacity for information processing between subsidiary and parent. The geographical region structures are characterized by sufficiently large foreign operations and a high percentage of foreign manufacturing. This is a highcost high-capacity strategy. Finally, the worldwide product structure also has large foreign operations but also higher levels of product diversity and product change. This is another highcost, high-capacity strategy. The authors call for extending this model to consider specific information exchange behaviors, the role of management tools such as planning and control systems, and the use of MIS as extensions to the model.
This brief paper presents alternative models of technology transfer: the "pipeline" model which is efficient at moving from ideas to development and the "partnership" model where various stakeholders in the process act as partners. Identified problems in technology transfer include: communication among stakeholders with different skills, knowledge, and goals; the persistence to continue a long project to completion; and timing to bring the product to production neither before it is ready nor after its maximum market impact has passed by. Suggestions for ameliorating these problems includes small multi-disciplinary work groups, exposing groups (presumably user groups) to the technology, transferring personnel between research and development units, and cultivating "champions" to move the process to completion. While this paper does not address global IS, it does provide a starting place for consideration of issues regarding the transfer of technology across national and cultural boundaries: from headquarters to subsidiary, from subsidiary to headquarters, and across subsidiaries.
The authors discuss the difficulties involved in implementing decision support systems for members of the Egyptian Cabinet. Difficulties included cultural understandings and limited infrastructure from which to build. As a result of their experiences, the authors propose shifting from a focus on decision making by individual decision makers to an issue-based approached to focus on tracking issues over time and setting agendas. While the issue-oriented approach was developed as a response to constraints of the particular setting for implementing the DSS, it also suggests the possibility of rethinking our general approach to decision making in organizations.
This brief commentary lists several views and issues that may be important as the field of MIS becomes increasingly global in scope. Issues include: (1) increased demand on MIS for efficiency as global competition increases, (2) coordinating international networks, (3) introducing global issues (such as monetary exchange rates) into decision making models, and (4) providing technical support across time zones and cultures.
This article describes examples of less-developed countries investing in cutting edge telecommunications technology as a way to quickly become internationally competitive. By taking this approach, they avoid the costs involved with legacy telecommunications systems. Particular examples include moving directly to fiber optic or cellular phones, rather than first laying copper wire connections.
An approach to financial planning for multi-national firms is proposed. This approach focuses on identifying and/or estimating key financial variables and using a DSS for obtaining evaluation of alternatives based on multiple goals, thus showing the trade off among various configurations of sources of capital utilization. Arguments for the utility of the system, but no empirical validation of the system as a whole, are presented in this paper.
This paper compares the histories of Korea and Brazil in their attempts toward creating an endogenously designed commercially successful large computer. Policies of the host-country governments as well as industry structure are contrasted. Problems and trade-offs in obtaining desired technology are also discussed.
This paper tests theory developed in the US and Mexico with subjects in Taiwan. The theory posits that key leadership behaviors will enhance (or retard) subordinate outcomes across cultures and without regard to potential intervening variables such as degree of organizational formalization, inflexibility of rules, cohesiveness of work groups, amount of staff and advisory support; organizational rewards not controlled by the leader, and the spatial distance between supervisors and their subordinates. Task characteristics and subordinate characteristics were also examined. The findings supported the theory that contingent reward behaviors enhance outcomes and noncontingent punishments decrement outcomes. While some mediating variables significantly interacted with these findings, none reversed the direction of influence. This study informs global IS by (1) providing an example of testing fairly general theory across cultures, (2) showing the importance of selection of variables -- that motivation-related leadership behaviors may be more central to outcomes than social-task related leadership behaviors, and (3) in providing some questions for group or collaboration support technologies as they may apply across cultures.
This practitioner oriented article surveys differences between European and U.S. information systems work in terms of management style, job organization, unions, ergonomics, data and privacy, technology trends, and language. The paper also suggests that centralization and decentralization of IS be contingent on global (centralized) and multidomestic (decentralized) business structure. The paper states that the subsidiary generally looks to headquarters for assistance with (1) selecting and installing hardware, (2) technical assistance in specific areas such as DBMS management or telecommunications, (3) recommendations for off-the-shelf software; and (4) volume discounts on purchase agreements. The paper also discusses positioning at least one manager to coordinate between subsidiary and headquarters and encouraging movement of MIS managers between countries.
This article uses transaction theory to propose explanations for the different forms of international business arrangements taken by firms. In this view, transaction costs encourage corporate specialization while high rates of technological change encourage diversification. Corporate strategy then is a tradeoff between the benefits of each. One conclusion in this paper is that to be attracted to multinational expansion, the firm must have "...a relatively high level of spending on firm specific information resources (especially R & D)...[and] product-specific information content that is transferable internationally (p. 12)." Another conclusion is that the rate of technological change plays a fundamental role in spurring international economies by their demand for R & D investment the cost of which must be spread, if possible, as well as their need for diversification to guard against sudden obsolescence due to newer technology.
This study extends findings of a relationship between diversification and organizational performance from domestic to multinational enterprises. The authors categorized 200 European and North American MNE's using Rumelt's (1974) nine categories of diversification strategies (ranging from single business to conglomerate). Due to their focus on clustering diversification around core strengths, strategies were predicted to yield differing levels of performance. Firms were clustered according to these strategies and the authors found statistically significant differences in mean levels of return on sales, accounting for about 7 percent of variance in performance data. Additionally, the authors found statistically significant differences based on the amount of internationalization of the firm, accounting for about 5 percent of the variance in performance data. Interestingly, performance rose with the amount of internationalization from 0 to 80% of sales, but declined between 80-99% of sales. While this study suggests some tendencies among MNEs, only 12 percent of total variance in performance data is accounted for with the two variables leaving room for study of additional factors such as fit between diversification strategy and organizational structure, the use of control and coordination technology, and solid management techniques.
This paper surveys about 200 firms in Saudi Arabia to ascertain the nature and level of their computer use. Three groupings of firms were noted: no computer, microcomputer only, and mainframe computer (possibly with microcomputers as well). Not too surprisingly, the mainframe computers were found more often among larger, older firms in government and oil industry. The microcomputers firms were found in smaller, younger firms that accented trading. This paper points to a need for research on firms that rely solely on microcomputing for their data processing needs. In general, they are less likely to have a professional data processing staff and may have some unique managerial issues. The authors also point out that there may at some time be a need to transition to mainframe computing and what problems can be expected in this regard are unknown. In terms of global IS, this paper can be categorized as a one-country survey of computing trends. The emphasis on small business is perhaps greater than if a similar study were taken in one of the G-7 countries.
This paper compares environmental scanning practice among South Korean firms with U.S. firms. Interestingly, variance among South Korean firms is very small and can be explained by the consulting activities of a particular individual who helped set up systems for the companies being investigated. One might ask whether such similarities could exist in U.S. firms by virtue of the size and distances in the U.S. (if not philosophical differences).
The authors report on a series of three studies aiming at finding organizational factors which distinguish higher from lower levels of innovations among subsidiaries of multinational corporations. They examined three types of innovation: (1) the creation of new products, processes or administrative practices for their own local market, (2) the adoption of innovations from other either headquarters or other subsidiaries, and (3) the diffusion of innovations to headquarters or other subsidiaries. Findings showed a positive relationship between highly innovative subsidiaries and (1) normative integration among units, and (2) dense volumes of communications between headquarters and the subsidiary. There were mixed findings regarding the positive impact of slack local resources and local decision making autonomy on the number of innovations. From an MIS perspective, this study could be extended by focusing specifically on innovations resulting from new or adaptations of old information technology. It could also differentiate information technology use by highly and less innovative subsidiaries. Finally, where a firm desires high levels of innovation from its subsidiaries, information technology can be used to support communication between units.
This empirical study contrasts communications between subsidiary and headquarters and within subsidiaries using data drawn from two MNCs (Matsushita and Philips). In essence, the study contrasts the predictive power of formal reporting structure with that of informal lateral communications between managers. Findings indicate strong positive influence from informal lateral communications without showing an influence from formal reporting structure. The authors propose an explanation of the results in terms of a centralized view of information flow considering information more as if it were a physical unit to be "acquired, reconfigured and distributed (p. 108)", whereas the network view may emphasize its interpretation and understanding and the role of lateral communication in reinforcing this. The implications for global MIS professionals includes better understanding of the role of centralized processing for more formal information (e.g. sales transactions, inventory) in contrast to distributed, informal information processing for local managers. An interesting note to this study is the similarity in findings for both the Japanese Matsushita firm and the Dutch Philips firm and the possible implications for a "universal" set of management theories.
This paper argues for the importance of scanning the environment for linking organizational strategy to real world events and trends. It contrasts US and Asian firms in this area stating that Japanese and Korean firms tend to involve all employees in environmental scanning and to put significant resources into this endeavor relative to those invested by US firms.
This article addresses the general topic of product piracy and maintains that while there is a cost to piracy, there is also some cost to retaliation against piracy through trade protectionism. The article discusses private sector responses to piracy through examples from the software industry (site licenses, volume discounts, and high levels of support downstream from the purchase).
This essay surveys the diffusion of computer aided manufacturing (CAM) technology. Three levels of CAM technology are defined: (1) using IT to more effectively develop reports on manufacturing status; (2) using IT to redesign manufacturing flows and activities at a plant-wide level; and (3) using IT to reorganizing manufacturing throughout the firm from earliest development through all phases of planning, operations, and evaluation. This article details the many small issues that keep introduction of computerization from having a quick and unambiguous payoff. It shows where computerization of manufacturing tends to be more effective when coupled with the installation of new plants than retrofitting existing ones -- due to both technical and personnel related issues. In conclusion, the paper discusses difficulties in transfer of CAM technology with a special emphasis on international transfer.
This first column regarding international IS issues outlines four areas of interest: (1) different paths to "informatization" contrasting varying approaches to national policy and/or implementation of information development, (2) major regional issues such as the role of IS in unification of Germany, (3) true globalization extending the concept of the global village beyond clusters of local spots, and (4) global macroproblems, using IS toward solving large scale problems such as environmental problems. This first column represents one broad-brush treatment of an agenda for studies of global IS.
This essay outlines South Africa's strengths and challenges in expanding its computer capabilities. On the one hand, it has the strongest economy and information technology presently in its region. On the other hand, the distribution of information technology resources and education within the country is relatively narrow. The major challenge will be to continue building high quality computerization capabilities and to expand opportunities to the previously disenfranchised ethnic majority population. Goodman, S.E. and Green, J.D. "Computing in the Middle East," Communications of the ACM, 35, 8, August 1992, 21-25. The authors present a fascinating portrait of the interaction between technology and political cultures. The middle east is comprised of nations with a diverse set of political policies and economic constraints, and this is reflected in the cautious adoption of computer technology. This article underscores the broad diversity around the world of approaches to computer technology and to the development of national information infrastructures.
The exponential growth of Internet connections and use is well documented. This essay focuses on the barriers to network diffusion. These impediments include: (1) government policies, laws, and practices including government controls and regulations (e.g. the People's Republic of China's requirement that a customs report be filed for sending e-mail), (2) disparities in pricing policies across national borders, (3) poor physical telecommunications networks, (4) lack of technical expertise and training programs, (5) unfriendly user interfaces, and (6) local cultural factors, particularly in Muslim nations. In essence, the article concludes that in spite of overall total growth in Internet access and utilization, the gap between information "haves" and "have-nots" is widening.
This extremely rich paper focuses on the relationships among subsidiary units within multinational corporations. Following the network perspective, units within the multinational can be seen as engaging in a series of financial, product, and information transactions. This article proposes four types of subsidiaries based on the intensity of information flows into and from the subsidiary. It further proposes factors which will suggest how each of these subsidiary types ought to managed in terms of control mechanisms. The article does not specify whether these are the ways subsidiaries ought to be controlled (normative approach) or if they will naturally be the way they are controlled (descriptive approach). This paper provides a seminal theory regarding information or knowledge flow within multi-national firms.
This paper presents six methods that can be used by institutions to accelerate the diffusion of information technology. These are: (1) knowledge building (such as sponsorship of research), (2) knowledge deployment (through education), (3) subsidy (both defraying innovator costs and influencing costs of substitutes and complements), (4) mobilization or influencing social traditions, (5) standard setting which can set a base for expansion of a technology (such as standard IBM PCs generating new software), but can also inhibit new designs, and (6) innovation directive or ordering the development or use of new products. These mechanisms are discussed in terms of both creating supply-push and demand-pull, and the ability of institutions to influence and to regulate.
This case study traces the development of the information technology industry in Singapore. It quantifies the growth of IT in Singapore since its independence in the 1960s to the late 1980s. It illustrates with many detailed examples the influence of government policies in cultivating this industry through educational programs, tax incentives, and an interesting mix of centralized coordination and decentralized decision making in the public sector. In looking at the factors leading to Singapore's successful development, there are an interesting mix of factors, such as tax policies, that could be replicated elsewhere, and more unique features of Singapore's social, cultural, and political climate. This balanced report also shows some of the challenges continuing to face Singapore in its continuing efforts toward growth in the global IT industry including: (1) shortages of labor; (2) lack of interest among Singaporeans in adventuring beyond their borders; (3) traditional benefits to MNCs at some cost to local entrepreneurs; (4) some constraining effects of government involvement; and (5) Westernization of the populace which may lead to emigration or less support of the government interventions which were previously so successful.
This case study chronicles the development of a centralized system for gathering, storing, and generating reports from information pertaining to development projects throughout Malaysia. Aside from background information on the need for such a system, the process of acquiring software, implementing the system, and some of the structure of the system are also detailed. While the project is still on going, and should be evaluated in 1995 after the next 5-year planning cycle, some criteria for evaluation are mentioned: (1) creating better working relations among government agencies, (2) creating efficiencies in project reporting, (3) providing training and on-going innovation in the use of computing resources for project management, (4) long-term impact on economic development, and (5) imitation by other developing countries.
This conceptual paper reviews Vernon's product cycle theory in light of more recent business trends. Where the product cycle suggests that diffusion of new products moves through three stages: (1) innovation closest to the location of demand (e.g. low levels of energy resources in Japan create a market for energy efficient products leading to innovation of energy efficient appliances), (2) increased demand in overseas markets leading to economies for setting up production facilities near those markets, and (3) location of production facilities in locations with relatively low labor costs for worldwide distribution. The author suggests that this model does not take into account the impact of governmental industrial policy; decreasing time from innovation to market diffusion; and changing corporate structures and strategies. In effect, she argues that the rate of change is so fast that innovations must be "developed in multiple locations, refined in other sites where value can be added, and adapted to local markets where opportunities seem most attractive (p. 54)". It is interesting to view this paper in terms of the software industry. Since demand for software is a function of hardware availability, high concentrations of hardware would generate large demand for software. With the spread of hardware in U.S. firms, the demand for software and innovations in new software were probably in Vernon's first stage for many years from 1960 to perhaps the mid-1980s. Production of software in non-US locations has grown rapidly through the 1980s. And now, moving in the 1990s there is increasing outsourcing of software production to India and other countries. Information technology can be viewed both in terms of supporting the ability of the firm to diffuse new products rapidly and also as a source of new products with high IT content to be diffused in turn.
This book contains a wealth of interesting information regarding a variety of aspects of managing cultural differences in conducting international business. Of particular interest are chapters 10 (presenting frameworks for understanding cultural difference and tips on the transfer of technology) and 11 (human resource management and training). Also presented are discussions of cultural tendencies for specific nations and regions.
This paper compares judgements regarding key MIS issues between SIM members in the Pacific Northwest and MIS practitioners in the Republic of China (Taiwan). Conclusions should bear in mind a 10% response rate for the American respondents as well as questions regarding the generalizability of Pacific Northwest results to those of the US as a whole. Generally, issues rated high in the US were also rated high in the R.O.C. and vice versa. Where there were divergences, the article attributes these to the marginal value of substituting capitol for labor and the vast difference in average labor cost in the US and R.O.C. Thus, career path issues and cutting edge technologies were viewed fairly differently in the two countries.
This article chronicles an overview of the current state of EDI particularly across borders in Europe. Key points include: (1) comparison of current suppliers and what services they offer, (2) discussion of alternate strategies of using a cross-border supplier versus intra-national suppliers on both ends (a pitfall of which is lack of full tracking from sending to receiving), (3) notes the increasing presence of gateways and their impact on compatibility, (4) updating the penetration of EDIFACT as a growing standard, (5) discussion of use of X.400, an existing protocol, and planned updating to include security and authentication; and (6) the increased inclusion of banking in major EDI projects. This article is very informative and practitioner-oriented.
This news story compares technologies available in Europe and their relative costs for linking LANs through public or leased value added networks.
This essay stresses the relationship between access to information and information technology and processes of development in poorer countries. Five factors are viewed as influential: (1) microelectronics technology, (2) multiple development theories, (3) the power of MNCs, (4) international information agencies, and (5) local nation variables. The essay defines the problem as the growing disparity in information access and technology development between developed and developing countries. It uses discussion of information technology and services in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka as a study in similarities and differences among developing countries. The paper calls for (1) indigenization of microelectronics technology; (2) formation of new local information institutions; (3) introduction of new information tools, such as local databases; and (4) training of new personnel in information fields. Interestingly, the paper also cites a key element as the shift from rote learning to problem solving in educational institutions.
This study replicates in Singapore findings from an experiment testing the impact of group meeting support on decision makers in the United States. Major findings included: (1) anonymity in the Singapore setting led to expression of negative opinions about other group members contributions thus leading to dissatisfaction and lower post-meeting consensus among group members; (2) structuring the discussion facilitated surfacing and resolution of conflict in American groups, but forced members to be direct and open, an undesirable outcome in Singaporean culture; and (3) use of the GDSS allowed more equal participation in both culture groups, but with a result of more evenly spread influence in the U.S. versus more dominance by a single individual in Singapore. Overall, this study shows the potential for designing software based on one's own culture without considering alternative impacts. It also shows how different cultural norms and standards can affect judgments about the proper way to conduct meetings.
This study looks at the sources of influence in strategic decision making among middle managers in firms from several countries (clustered into Anglo, Germanic, and Nordic). Findings generally show that sources of influence include both political characteristics primarily derived from the authority vested in the manager and from rational procedures primarily from activity forecasting. While the pattern of findings were not significantly different between country clusters, the sum of variables were likely to vary in how strongly they can predict levels of influence in the different clusters. To the extent that there is a relationship between influence and information (access to and effective use of), and the basis for influence differs between countries, we might expect that information utilization differs as well between countries. This has significant implications for global IS planning and implementation.
This paper lays out in moderate detail four dimensions of work related values and how they came to be developed. It also argues for development of a pluralist or multi-national management theory by illustrating how appropriate strategies for leadership, organization, and motivation can vary by country and how forcing inappropriate strategies developed in one country onto those of another country can bring unanticipated and non-optimal results.
Organizations display value systems including a component based on the organization's dominant nationality. Four dimensions of work-related values were identified based on country mean score (not on individual respondents): (1) power distance, level of acceptance of unequal distribution of power; (2) uncertainty avoidance, level of comfort with uncertainty and ambiguity; (3) individualism/collectivism, degree of preference for loosely (tightly) knit social framework; (4) masculinity/femininity, preference for achievement and assertiveness versus relationships and caring for the weak. Additionally, firms reflect the values of their founder and of the country of origin; the result is hybrid cultures among subsidiaries and instances of joining of firms by individuals from other cultures. By dividing the two dimensions of power distance and uncertainty avoidance into high and low categories, a set of four general cultural outlooks are defined. These being (1) the "pyramid of people" or hierarchical bureaucracy; (2) the "well-oiled machine" or impersonal bureaucracy; (3) the "village market" or ad-hocracy; and (4) the family or highly personalized structure. Organizational culture is also affected by its purpose so that a police department will differ from a research department. Social class will also affect organizational culture. Using the other two dimensions: individualism/collectivism and masculinity/femininity are viewed as leading to different self-concept and a basis for predicting the way a person entering a new cultural situation is likely to react. See Robey and Rodriguez-Diaz (1989) for some counterevidence to these theoretical constructs.
This paper argues for an information (rather than information technology) management approach. It describes such a call from the floor of a meeting in the Republic of South Africa and notes high levels of interest in Scandinavia. The author found a high level of "infopreneurs", informationbased entrepreneurs, throughout the world. Other observations included: little concern regarding who manufactured specific equipment such as PCs as these were expected to continue declining in price; a sense that each nation-state would need to develop its own software packages due to the difficulty in using standard packages across cultures; an expectation that information will increasingly be central to competitiveness; and that new career paths are opening up for information professionals.
This survey of IS professionals in South Africa focused on factors leading to intention to stay in the current job. In South Africa turnover rates were very high for IS professionals (nearly 20% in 1987). Findings of this study indicate direct impact of organizational commitment and job satisfaction on intention to stay; job characteristics impact on intention to stay were mediated through organizational commitment and job satisfaction. The authors recommendations regarding turnover include: (1) development of multiple career paths, (2) task-related challenges and autonomy, (3) work with competent colleagues and on professionally important jobs, and (4) freedom to be creative and pursue their own ideas. Interestingly, salary had no effect on commitment and intention to stay. This could be due to higher concern with intangible rewards.
This exploratory study both lays out a framework for examining global IS issues from the perspective of the multinational firm's global IS manager and populates that framework with issues derived from interviews with 25 global IS managers. The framework highlights four aspects of global IS: (1) matching global IS strategy to global business strategy, (2) issues involving the technical platform for global IS applications, (3) issues involved in international sharing of data, and (4) issues of IS projects spanning cultures. Highly provocative anecdotes illustrate issues in each of these categories. This article presents an excellent introduction to global IS.
This paper uses a single case to illustrate how a decision support system can be created for aiding in decisions regarding direct foreign investment. An interesting element of this paper is its listing of the types of information (country information, product information, market information, and financial information and assumptions) brought to bear on the direct foreign investment problem. This paper also presents a broad view of the interconnecting issues that comprised this decision.
This paper describes the evolution of development of a CD-ROM based service (as an alternative to on-line database searching) for allowing access of users to a broad array of information resources. Both technical evolution of the system and evolution of policies are discussed. Both benefits (faster more complete searches) and some difficulties (multiple interfaces, crowding of the physical space, increased librarian workload, and slow receipt of updates) experienced with CDROM are presented.
This article tests the proposition that data flow across borders represents a major problem for multinational organizations. The bulk of respondents (62.5%) indicated that there is no current problem, but there is the potential for a future problem. Among those who felt there was no major problem with data flow across borders, reasons included: "it is in the government's best interest to avoid seriously harming international business;" "technical monitoring and enforcement complexities make regulation less threatening;" and, "data sent usually just isn't of interest to governments."
This conceptual paper urge the linking of multi-national firm organizational design strategies with tactics for providing with information technology support. The authors strongly argue the need for the coordination and planning information systems linking headquarters to subsidiaries and linking firms involved in joint ventures. The recommendations presented in the paper focus on developing a corporate information systems architecture to provide: guidelines and standards for systems development, facilitate integration and data sharing among applications, and "supports development of integrated, corporate systems that are based on a data resource with corporate-wide accessibility (p. 20)". The next step following from this paper would be specification of network, data, and development strategies that would be appropriate for firms utilizing each of the possible organizational designs.
This paper discusses the critical role of information systems in global custody of funds. Firms charge fees for handling clients money in varying currencies and transferring it from one to another venue around the world. Along with the actual investment and tracking, these competitive firms are providing increasing amounts of service through information about these investments in ever shorter time periods. Firms in this market face differences in technology in the various countries where they operate. One method of dealing with these differences is subcontracting work to local dealers. There is a trade-off between providing consistent service worldwide through one's own firm and the cost of developing a universal presence. Development of a data processing installation to handle such work is estimated to cost between $10 and 40 million with another $10 million annually for maintenance and upgrades.
This paper proposes that effectiveness of technology transfer depends on cultural as well as economic factors. More specifically it proposes that effectiveness differences can be explained through four overall constructs: (1) the nature of the technology (product, process or people based), (2) the societal cultural match between provider and receiver, (dimensions based on work of Hofstede (1980, 1983) and of Glenn and Glenn (1981)); (3) antecedent differences in organizational culture between transacting organizations and (4) the absorptive capacity of the recipient organization (local v. cosmopolitan, level of prior technical sophistication, and strategic management process). Additionally, this article suggests some definitional questions. Is transfer of technology the same if the recipient purchases or is given the technology? Is transfer of technology the same if the technology is a single-purpose tool (such as a plow) or if it is a technology creating tool (such as a process of developing new breeds of cattle)? Does it matter if control of the new technology devolves to host-country nationals or is retained by providers -- one assumes that purchased technology would become controlled by the purchasers? This paper is related to Robey and Rodriguez-Diaz (1989).
This study attempts to differentiate influences on managerial attitudes resulting from cultural background and local circumstances. It contrasts attitudes of (1) people from Japan, Hong Kong, and Mexico, (2) Japanese-Americans, Chinese-Americans, and Mexican-Americans, and (3) Caucasian-Americans testing whether Japanese-American attitude more closely resemble Japanese people or Caucasian-Americans. Tests were taken on 12 variables and results significantly matched those predicted. This study highlights the difficulty of using "culture" as a variable, since it implies a cross generational learning that is not necessarily the same as "nationality" which implies a local circumstance. This paper concludes "that the question is not whether management attitudes are a function of culture, but rather which attitudes correspond with which culture (p. 29)." In practical terms, we may perceive that people in different countries and from different backgrounds perceive things and behave differently from one another, but the concept may be very slippery as one tries to apply it in predicting problems or opportunities. From the global MIS perspective, we may anticipate that default approaches toward gathering data, using data for decision-making, and ways of conducting business differ across countries and cultures, but how do we match the differences in culture with practical approaches to maximizing the utility of information systems used across boundaries?
This paper provides an overview of trends and issues in the diffusion of software industry technology and jobs from "advanced countries" to "newly industrialized countries." It also offers an analytic framework for assessing the resources available for influencing software activities in a country or region. The categories of framework elements are technological resources, human resources, traits of the relevant culture, and traits of the culture of the specific corporation.
This exploratory study examined the impact of varying competitive environments and generic strategies on firm performance within the electronics industry in Korea during the 1974-83 time period. Conclusions from the study included observation of: (1) generally similar strategies in the Korean setting as those derived from observation of the U.S. and Canadian firms, (2) empirical evidence of multiple perceived environments within a single industry, and (3) differentiation between effective and less effective strategies for given environments. The authors also note the value of testing in developing countries theory derived in developed countries both to create external validity for the theories (when they apply) and to add robustness to the theories where they must account for subtle variations due to the specific situations in the new country. Results of this type of study can be applied by extending the construct of generic strategy to include use of and approach to information technology as an additional variable that can be tested for providing additional explanatory and predictive power for the performance variable.
This case study provides an overview of development of information systems at subsidiaries on three continents (Taiwan, United Kingdom, and Venezuela). The paper presents some background on each subsidiary and a discussion of information systems at each. Although the information presented is quite rich, the article overall is very brief and leaves the reader (at least this reader) hungering for much more detail. Conclusions regarding development of multinational integrated information systems include: (1) that business strategy should be developed first and should guide implementation of IS in subsidiaries, (2) although integration of local systems to overall corporate objectives is critical, so is customizing the IS to local needs, and (3) training and exchange of personnel is crucial; issues such as language, customs, and work habits were viewed as "prerequisite to successful implementation of systems [p. 58]."
This survey based study examined differences in values between IS designers in Canada and Denmark. Interestingly, in both countries, technical and economic values dominated socio-political values. However, the spread among these was much broader in Canada than in Denmark. Thus, Canadian designers found technical issues such as reliability of the system, maintainability of procedures, and level of hardware and software sophistication to be significantly more relevant than their Danish counterparts. On the other hand, the Danish designers found user autonomy, jobinduced mental stress, task variety, user job security, interpersonal relations among users, and decentralization of power to be more relevant than their Canadian counterparts. On economic issues, responses were fairly similar. These findings suggest two sets of implications: (1) uncritical transfer of technology between cultural groups may result in conflict and/or loss of potential and (2) to the extent that the more balanced value set exemplified by the Danish respondents is superior to the more differentiated value set exemplified by the Canadian respondents, the underlying value sets can be influenced by education and training, reward structures, and codes of ethics.
This article reviews the level of development of the information technology industries of Singapore and Australia at a particular point in time. Some interesting discussion of the limitations on middlerange countries (neither highly nor less developed) particularly as regards their reduced decision making due to reliance on foreign investment and multi-national firms. Looking back from seven years later, this piece has some historic interest but begs for follow up to see whether the strategies conceived at that time have been manifested and with what results.
This case study of the role of MIS across national operations in a multinational banking firm provides interesting insights into the role of IS in globalization of the firm. This paper points dramatically to the capability of initiating new IS projects to expose organizational as well as technical problems. In this case a system developed in one branch (in Germany) was exported for use in local systems throughout the world. Because of differences in features needed for local processing and resulting delays and local problems, this particular system produced disappointing results and was eventually replaced with a set of core programs that were easily modified for local conditions. This study is presented in terms of organizational learning and is very useful for beginning to look at the role of information between headquarters and local areas within a global firm.
This paper discusses difficulties in performing MIS research across national boundaries and suggests four techniques to address these difficulties: (1) the Web model, based on Kling (1987) and Kling and Scacchi (1982) looking more broadly at IT, rather than focusing solely on narrow issues; (2) forecasting from gaps, particularly from experience in more developed countries to possible scenarios in less developed countries; (3) small to large -- building triangulated pictures from smaller bits of data; and (4) critical leverage points, using general knowledge of an environment (such as telecommunications in a nation) and knowledge of key requirements of specific technologies to evaluate the probable level of development of specific technologies within specific environments. This paper also outlines the approach to organizing information in the University of Arizona Mosaic Group.
This very rich paper presents the results of surveying over 900 IS professionals (mostly IS and financial auditors) from 9 countries regarding information privacy concerns (collection, secondary uses, errors, and improper access). Findings supported propositions that respondents from different countries would vary in their overall level of privacy concern; that the amount of government involvement in information privacy regulation is affected by cultural values, and that concerns with individual privacy will be higher in countries with higher levels of regulation. On the other hand, propositions regarding differences in the ranking of privacy concerns and the influence of culture (based on three of Hofstede's dimensions) on information privacy concerns were not supported. The implications of this study include: (1) finding high levels of concern with privacy in all countries studied; (2) the potential for government regulation if private firms do not proactively manage privacy issues; and (3) the potential for international firms to have differentiated privacy programs by country of operation (although the authors don't recommend this).
This paper argues for viewing human resource management in a multinational firm as a series of "fits" between the organizational life cycle, the external environment, and the internal human resource department. The paper also points out the need for a fit between human resource departments among foreign subsidiaries not only with their environment but also with their corporate office. This paper also points out the tendency to look at fit as existing on the opposite end of a continuum from flexibility. From a dynamic perspective, a firm may benefit from the flexibility to change by fitting policies to the environment at a series of points of time. This article also provides an interesting review of different approaches to the dynamics of organizational change and proposes that firms designed for international commerce will proceed differently in adapting to fitting their environment from organizations that move from a domestic to international focus. This approach to human resource management might be applied to the information service function in subsidiaries as well as to the use of expatriates in information systems away from headquarters.
This paper examines the perceptions of Irish chief executives and senior managers regarding key MIS issues. The study found a remarkable similarity in view between CEO and IS managers regarding important issues, except that IS managers also named a set of issues directly relating to specific technologies. The study also found a high degree of consistency between key issues in the U.S. and in Ireland.
This forward looking essay presents an interesting picture of computerization in the 1970s and presents a variety of issues that have continued to grow in importance. The paper anticipates: (1) the growing need for information to manage global enterprises, (2) the use of computerization for filtering and abstracting data to diminish the effects of information overload, (3) the increased use of information technology for integrating internal and external data, (4) the use of information technology for on-line conferencing, (5) aggravation of conflict between MNCs and host governments, (6) issues of transfer of data across borders, (7) issues of data privacy, (8) increased dependence on computers and, therefore, the need for high levels of reliability, and (9) the simultaneous generation of more vulnerability of MNC decision makers to quality information and efficiencies and competitive advantage from use of international information systems. Interestingly, the author also anticipated information systems needing to be simpler to use and more graceful in error handling as they become available more broadly and also the effects of computers on task variety and control over the work environment.
This essay stands on the foundation that as companies expand the number of countries in which they operate, they face greater uncertainty and complexity and that to maintain performance they must increase their information processing capability. This paper presents a framework based on the 2x2 where MNC structure (multidomestic/global) and MNC strategy (cost leadership/differentiation) form the axes. Examples and proscriptions for IT within each cell are presented. This framework can be used to specify a normative approach toward firms operating in each cell; it can also suggest (based on domestic IT capabilities) alternative structure/strategy combinations that might be available to the firm.
This essay reviews the history and current status of the computer industry in India. It details the existing companies, products, and organizations for promoting information technology. Issues facing computing in India include: (1) high import duties on PCs and software packages, (2) widespread software piracy, (3) lack of requirements determination and project management personnel, and (4) a government monopoly on communication links.
This essay argues that nearly 500 million people have been left out of the "global information society (p. 25)." Problems facing African countries include: (1) underutilization of equipment due to lack of secondary materials such as spare parts, (2) strategies derived from imitation of Western countries rather than supporting indigenous needs, (3) lack of foreign currency and simultaneous higher costs for equipment, (4) lack of infrastructure such as reliable electric power; (5) lack of trained personnel and "misguided help" from outside consultants, (6) emphasis of computer resources on data processing rather than decision-making, (7) vendor pressure to purchase equipment not tailored to local needs, and (8) more African data existing in Western than in local databases.
This article proposes that developers of new joint ventures are increasingly motivated by technological considerations rather than purely financial interests. The authors tracked new publicly announced joint ventures from 1984-86. Interestingly, they found that US/Japanese joint ventures included instances where the Japanese firm was interested in obtaining US technology and also instances where the US firm sought to acquire Japanese technology. They also found that about half of the joint ventures were in high technology areas (computers, software, electronics) and that other ventures seemed oriented toward revitalizing lower technology areas.
This essay discusses national informatics policies from a variety of perspectives. It presents a skeletal set of criteria for evaluating an information policy in terms of: (1) that it serve the national objectives for social and economic sectors; (2) scan future social, political, economic, scientific, and technological developments; (3) anticipate future variables in such development; (4) unite participants in generating possible courses of action; and (5) be flexible to remain compatible with new scientific and technological developments. This paper presents Latin American examples of such policies in Mexico, Brazil, and Chile. These policies are similar in addressing (1) industrial and service productivity; (2) efficient use of national resources; (3) communication related technologies; and (4) reducing balance of payments deficits. They differ in the degree of central guidelines versus allowing international market control and regulation.
The head office in an MNC is faced with the dilemma of wanting local offices to take advantage of local opportunities but also to operate in coordination and harmony with overall organizational goals. The authors argue that head offices must recognize conditions which lead to loss of control and assert influence over: (1) what information managers collect and use in decision making, (2) the basis upon which managers compete, (3) which people have the power to commit strategic resources; and (4) the basis for administrative procedures such as career progression. The authors argue that there are three mechanisms to assert such influence: (1) data management systems through managerial accounting systems and the underlying MIS technology; (2) manager management mechanisms, the power to assign managers to key tasks, their development programs and performance evaluations; and (3) conflict resolution mechanisms such as matrix structures and task forces. This article positions IS in a key support role that influences the relationship between central authority and local autonomy within the MNC.
This short article reports the state of the software development industry in Chile, Eastern Europe, India, Ireland, and the Far East. A major contention is that some conditions suggest the possibility of a growing internationalization of software development, particularly in light of widespread diffusion of p.c. technology. This is in the form of (1) reduced export of U.S. software and more local development, (2) sub-contracting of off-shore software developers for U.S. applications, and (3) penetration of U.S. market by innovative software developed overseas. Yourdon is referenced as predicting widespread layoffs and rendering obsolete of U.S. software developers. This is a timely and provocative article on a topic that deserves concern (at least among U.S. programmers) and on-going monitoring.
This paper presents a creative approach toward applying expert systems for addressing a problem with international business aspects. In this paper, the design process and some initial evaluation are presented for an expert system to aid negotiators of international marketing contracts. The paper shows that much value of expert systems comes from efforts to identify and regularize knowledge within a particular domain. In this case cultural aspects of negotiation are included among the rule-base of the system.
This paper surveys 146 organizations in 9 economic sectors in Singapore to examine their use of computing technology for management support and decision making. The survey showed (1) widespread use of DSS particularly in the banking and finance industries, (2) that most applications fit into the categories of data-oriented data-analysis or the model-oriented accounting model types (using Alter's categorization), (3) the major issues in using DSS included identifying user needs and selling ideas to senior management, and (4) the major identified benefits included better quality information, improved managerial productivity, achieving competitive advantage, and business excellence.
This study compares attitudes of U.S. and Japanese managers regarding the trade-off between quality and cost. Authors selected the highly competitive and relatively new electronics industry and used a survey method to gather data. Perhaps most telling is the paragraph describing the pattern of responses where about 3/4 of Japanese managers responded meticulously to the questions and where about 1/3 of American managers responded including several that had to be thrown away. (Perhaps quality does not translate into filling out questionnaires.) This raises the issue of whether there was significant selection bias (perhaps only American managers committed to the ideology of quality management bothered to fill out the questionnaire). We get a fairly reliable picture of the Japanese managers, but must be less confident that the responses of American managers are truly representative. Nevertheless, the data present a very interesting picture and suggest that Japanese and American managers do see things differently. But since this study tested attitude and not behavioral differences, it is not clear if American managers have "seen the light" regarding quality or if they can show familiarity with the concepts but not take the tough actions that quality programs imply (would not stop lines or refuse to send less than topquality products to customers). It will be interesting to examine other computer-related industries such as computer manufacturers and software developers to see if attitudes and behavior differ across borders.
This paper discusses the problems in using data drawn from international sources for strategic forecasting. The quality of results from forecasting can be no better than that allowed by the accuracy and timeliness of the underlying data. Problems with international marketing data include: "a discrepancy between...export and ...import values; different recording definitions are used by different countries; simple error in recording; smuggling; and the major channel for illegal transfer of wealth between countries is the under-invoicing of experts and the over-invoicing of imports (p.61)." This paper also summarizes and evaluates major sources of international data available in 1984.
This paper surveys recent literature on international business focusing on eight areas: human resource management, organizational behavior, production management, information and technology transfer, structure and control, strategy, business-government relations, and forms of involvement. This article not only provides recent sources of research in each topic, it also highlights key issues within each area. The literature on global IS is thin with only a few articles discussing problems of providing information globally and linking subsidiaries to headquarters and a few more on problems of transferring data across borders. To the extent that the "complex organization perspective (p. 235-6)" and the "network perspective (p. 236-7)" are reliant on the creation and movement of information as central to the organization, these literatures are also quite relevant to global IS.
This very rich paper presents: (1) "a conceptual model for understanding cultural constraints on technology transfers (p. 230)" that highlights differences in organizational cultures between transacting organizations and uses societal culture as a moderating influence and (2) a case study illustrating implementation of an accounting information system in two Latin American subsidiaries of a major airline. In this case study, contrasts between a conflict-filled and a smooth implementation are presented and arguments are made for the primary explanation of these differences between the organizational environments (rather than the technological attributes of the systems or the overall societal culture of the organization receiving the new technology).
This paper uses a set of three case studies to examine the question: what is the best approach to building an infrastructure to support global business? The Rockwell case emphasized very high capacity mainframe processing and redundant networks for networking engineering and scientific data processing. The A.D. Little case highlights the need for different IS applications and platforms in each country "given the varied labor laws, MRP procedures and payroll requirements (p. 5)." It also stresses the need for a "circuit rider" or individual who regularly visits each of the IS sites to circulate ideas and an international forum to bring people together annually to exchange ideas. They also stress that the firm concentrates primarily on infrastructure while subsidiaries focus mostly on their own applications. Developing international technical standards, particularly for data communications, and standard development methodologies are also viewed as critical. In providing cash management services to customers worldwide, Chase Manhattan developed a global information system. The key was developing standard data formats, relatively standard customer interfaces, and normalized diverse technologies which consolidates balance information worldwide allowing customers at various locations to tie into it. 3M developed a European order entry system using the Nolan Norton formula consisting of 5 steps: (1) linking IT to the firm's global strategy; (2) initiating a global IT architecture process creating a dynamic system model; (3) recognizing opportunities offered by global portfolios; (4) understanding the difference between global and local infrastructure needs; and (5) developing a global IT resource allocation and deployment strategy. In essence, the system results in a common core of programs throughout Europe which can be customized to each location.
This paper presents practitioners with some tips on broadening their research and development efforts beyond their domestic range. For starting out, it suggests scanning or monitoring the environment, making connections through academia or research organizations, increasing the visibility of the firm, designing cooperative research projects, acquiring or merging with innovative foreign firms, and acquiring technology through licensing. Failure to successfully utilize technology from multinational sources come from lack of planning. The authors suggest integrating new technology into the corporate strategic plan, allowing some slack to the new research lab to build a track-record of success, and allow some local discretion to management.
This paper argues that firms in operating in multiple countries face the dual pressures of trying to conform to the local environment while remaining consistent with their multinational goals. This paper identifies variables affecting the structure and process of the subsidiaries: (1) legal and regulatory constraints; (2) whether it is a multidomestic or a global firm (the amount of influence on each country from the fact that the firm operates in other countries); (3) shared technology; (4) parent country culture; (5) cultural distance; (6) composition of the work force (number of expatriates of the headquarters' nationality in the subsidiary); (7) origin of the subsidiary as developed by the firm or acquired; and (8) the level of dependence of the host country on the firm. The authors point out as well that the subsidiary can act as a conduit for bringing change to the host country and also by introducing features of the host country operation to the entire organization.
This empirical study provides background for the study of global IS in terms of helping to develop understanding about the relationships among factors through to influence global strategy and the impact of organizational strategies on performance outcomes. This paper presents some evidence to support Prahalad and Doz' (1987) framework for three generic strategic orientations (1) global integration; (2) multifocal; and (3) locally responsive based on levels of response for pressures to integrate and pressures to be locally responsive. They found that performance measures were not significantly different between businesses in the three clusters. Regardless of strategy, firms generally listed quality customer service as the most important competitive attribute. This can be projected into global IS issues in terms of looking at different data and technical platforms for supporting each of these different strategies, ways that IS can support quality customer service regardless of global business strategy, and ways that central IS departments can provide quality service to internal customers across borders.
This essay argues for developing countries to connect to and take advantage of Internet for efficiently taking advantage of a broader range of information. The author notes that information content motivates connecting to Internet, but that physical communication, human resource, and information infrastructures are required to take advantage of the available information. The Internet potentially provides access to expert individuals and organizations with technical knowledge (e.g. UN development programs, US AID, and NGOs such as CARE). It can also provide access to libraries of information on education, health, statistics, agriculture and natural resources, development and planning, telecommunications, and foreign affairs. Unlike among more developed countries, where the issue is more often information overload, the use of Internet resources in a developing country need to be balanced with other needs. Careful use of the resource is required to insure that it is used to address relevant issues.
This study uses retail banking in Australia to examine the potential impact of competitive information systems (CIS) in a competitive industry. No formal discussion of methodology is presented in the paper. Findings show that CIS are rarely initiated for the purpose of competitive advantage; however, CIS tend to preserve existing advantages. In terms of global IS, this paper attempts to test hypotheses (loosely drawn) in a single but not American country.
This paper outlines the issues faced by multi-national corporations in moving data across national borders. The degree to which this is a problem will vary with the size of the firm and its degree of centralized decision-making. It will also vary with the specific countries in which it operates and the relevant laws within that country. Monitoring transnational data flows involve some costs for the firms, however, there are some serious concerns that individual countries may have with data leaving their borders.
This paper reviews the technologies allowing increased transnational data flow (TDF) and discusses their implications for developing countries. Points raised in this article include: (1) TDFs are used by transnational corporations as a commercial good and management tool particularly in "finance and accounting, production planning and coordination, engineering, purchasing, and consumer and employee relations. [p. 361]"; (2) in some industries, TDFs have evolved into an "essential requirement [p. 362]" for competition; (3) the availability of public databases is growing rapidly including information regarding: "financial time-series data on individual corporations, industry data, security sales, foreign-exchange developments, commodity-price trends, technology available for licensing, patents, and the like. [p. 363]; (4) developing countries participate as suppliers of raw data, consumers of finished reports, and acquirers of technology, capital goods, and equipment for their own telematics sectors; (5) TDFs may impact the development process itself through possible concentration of information availability and resulting economic power in developed countries and through disadvantages for domestic companies without access to TDFs; (6) on the other hand TDFs may provide an opportunity for developing countries to develop internal informational infrastructure and horizontal networks without other developing nations.
This essay is prepared by staff members of the World Bank and discusses the role of NonGovernmental Organizations (NGOs) in the development of information technology capabilities in developing countries. The paper makes the interesting distinction between use of IT in support of specific development projects in contrast to supporting a broader country-wide capability. It identifies a variety of issues facing developing countries including wide varieties of non-compatible hardware, lack of overall strategies and policies, and concern for increasing dominance in this domain by more developed countries.
As a result of the simultaneous growth of information technologies and international business, this paper describes a sophisticated planning approach to international information systems at a time when many (perhaps most) domestic information systems planning processes were rudimentary or ad hoc. Perhaps it is the vast scale of international business supported by information systems that demands formal planning. This paper presents a fairly detailed blueprint for conducting a planning process for international information systems. It also advocates: (1) involving more levels of management in the planning process, (2) focusing not only on new applications but also on new ways for the user to function in the business environment -- taking a longer term approach, (3) aligning the plan with the overall business plan (following reactive or proactive strategies) and utilizing the IS plan as part of the overall business thrust, (4) integrating information systems with business activities, (5) being consistent with the business style or culture -- which may be complex in a multi-national, multi-cultural environment, and (6) striving to provide a unified format for new project development.
This paper describes the IS planning process for two multinational corporations, one of which has a decentralized the other a centralized business structure. In the decentralized environment, the planning process is generally low key and relies on personal interaction and persuasion. Key issues included compatibility of hardware systems and data element definition; dependence on specific vendors, scarcity of qualified personnel; and weakness of the corporate role and the measurement of the true costs of the "information commodity." In the centralized environment, a two-stage planning process consisted of a top-down assessment of objectives and a bottom-up detailed set of operational plans. Key issues included leveraging and availability of MIS professionals on a world-wide basis, common versus individual systems development activities, distributed processing architecture, and worldwide hardware/software compatibility. Interestingly, there appears to be overlap in personnel and compatibility issues for both centralized and decentralized environments; data element definition and cost measures appear key in the decentralized environment while system development coordination and distributed processing architectures appear more salient for the centralized organization.
This short article explains a growing leadership for India in software development among nonWestern countries. Reasons include: a large number of highly trained IT personnel and low salaries (1/6 of average U.S. salaries). On the other hand, obstacles include poor telephone communications and a lack of mainframe computers and state of the art tools. Some approaches for U.S. firms have included establishing local project offices, satellite links, and provisions for continuation of Indian software personnel even after the project is finished.
This brief paper focuses on factors constraining innovation and the diffusion of technology in developing countries. It distinguishes between adaptive technological innovation (illustrating with the adaptation of computer technology in India in the 1970s) and transformative technological innovation (where the means of production in the traditional economy are transformed by introduction of new methods and tools). Where producers of information technologies, such as hardware, software, and communications equipment are looking toward the developing world for markets (or where development specialists seek to create economic progress through the use of information technologies) much can be learned from the general study of technology transfer. At the same time, the diffusion of information technology, to the extent that it has different attributes from other technologies, can be used to test more general theories of diffusion of innovations.
This case study describes the use of data processing to support quick and effective response to the destructive consequences of an earthquake in Greece. Obstacles included a community particularly unfamiliar with new technology (particularly among entrenched senior civil servants) and problems with software packages that could accommodate the Greek language. Success of the project was demonstrated by: (1) agreement to expand the project, (2) purchase of additional equipment, (3) permanent assignment of team members to the project, and (4) reduction in workload for non-team departments. Questions for further research focus on how to leverage the learning which occurred in this case for relief work in management of future natural disasters.
The introduction of any innovation into an environment holds the potential for changing the culture of those inhabiting that environment. This paper suggests a framework from anthropology (consisting of a taxonomy of 10 cultural areas) for assessing the kinds of impact (and cascading secondary, tertiary, impacts) that may derive from that innovation. Although the concept is primarily illustrated with non I.S. examples, the point is made that this technique can be used in assessing possible impacts from introducing new IS technology. It does not guarantee that all cultural impacts from introducing the new technology will be predicted, but rather asserts that a broader knowledge of the cultural impact will be obtained by using this method. No rigorous testing of this method is presented, but it has some reasonable face validity.
This empirical study contrasted the use of E-Mail and FAX by Japanese workers in an airline and financial industry setting with US knowledge workers. Data presented showed E-mail technology far more prevalent among US than Japanese workers, but showed the reverse for FAX technology, more prevalent among Japanese than US workers. These differences were accounted for by two cultural elements: (1) differences in comfort with ambiguity as an influence on media choice and (2) differences in the alphabet systems (with the Japanese system showing a much greater complexity than that of English) resulting in different approaches to "keyboarding".
This paper integrates variables from the environment and internal workings of the MNE (multinational enterprise) in order to propose a comprehensive theory-based model that distinguishes the MNE from the domestic firm; it also seeks to understand the forms of involvement across borders and the internal organizational characteristics of such involvement. The identified external factors are 1). multiple sources of external authority exemplified by the number of geographic locations in which the firm operates, variance in country environments; and lack of a superstructure to mediate threats or opportunities; and 2). multiple denominations of value which includes the problems of translation and transaction exposure based on shifting relative values of different currencies and economic exposure or changes in underlying value between countries. Proposed internal variables are: (1) modes of entry into the non-domestic environment (e.g. contrasting export to direct foreign investment), (2) configuration of activities or the concentration of value chain activities within a particular setting, (3) control and coordination mechanisms -- marked by degree of centralization or formalization, and (4) competitive strategy contrasting value based and costbased strategies. The authors propose an extensive set of propositions linking the methods of internal organization with the different combinations of external factors. From the perspective of information systems, to the extent that this representation of the MNE is valid, several questions follow: Can IS be used to decrease risks from multiple sources of external authority or denominations of value (or allow the firm to be more quickly responsive to uncontrollable changes)? Can IS be used to influence the relationship between domestic producers and foreign stakeholders (customers, contractual agents, suppliers, government) that shifts the relative value of the forms entry into the non-domestic environment? Can IS shift the relative benefits of concentrating value-chain activities; of providing control and coordination; and even of allowing more focused or more successfully differentiated marketing strategies?
This essay discusses six issues regarding information resource management systems in developing countries. These are: (1) sensitizing top-level public servants to the opportunities and challenges of IT; (2) institutionalization of modern information management practices including coordination and sharing of information and orientation of personnel; (3) coordination across departments including increased reclassification of "secret" documents and monitoring programs across organizations; (4) dealing with issues of appropriate technology -- shifting, perhaps, from a focus on labor saving to more effective use of resources; (5) budgeting and funding for both acquisition and maintenance of system; (6) staff training and recruitment.
This survey based empirical study examined the relationship between the number of sources of information used in fulfilling a task where the complexity of the task, the duration or amount of time the task takes, and the discretion of the worker varied. The population examined was government administrators in Nigeria. Findings included: (1) more information sources were used for complex than less complex activities; (2) there was no support for more information sources being used for long-duration than short-duration tasks; (3) elements within the concept of complexity (difficulty of determining effectiveness, clarity about sources to use; prescription of sources by regulation; and frequency of difficulty problems) showed a mixture of results in terms of preferences for internal and external data sources. Short term activities relied more on internal documents than longer duration activities. In general, more sources of information were used for more complex work where the decision maker had more discretion; internal sources were used more often for low complexity work where there was less discretion. Although the author tentatively concludes that to increase the number of sources of information used, one would increase worker discretion (given consideration for the complexity of the task), the study, being correlational, did not address direction of causality. Interestingly, findings were congruent with earlier findings in the U.S. regarding the relationship between task structure, environmental complexity and task performance.
This very rich conceptual article argues forcefully for including consideration of environmental factors (public attitudes and demand for products, government and regional regulation) as well as individual firm reactions in a comprehensive theory of international business. The author argues for viewing the exchange as the unit of analysis (rather than the firm) and for basing theory on the political economy paradigm. Key dimensions include the polity-economy (acknowledging both the influence of power and control and the internal organization of resources pertaining to international exchange); an external-internal dimension which varies with the level of analysis (firm, nation, region); and superstructure-substructure including an equilibrium between behavior and patterns of dominance. This theory would seem particularly suited as a basis for considering global IS in that: (1) as transactions occur information supports the underlying transaction process and is naturally created from the transaction; (2) the development and implementation of systems combines social and technical elements mirroring the polity-economy dimension; and (3) the theory emphasizes "reciprocal causality (p. 14)" which reflects the ability of technology to create opportunities and opportunities to be filled by new technology.
This essay argues that the mechanism by which individuals transform a stream of data into information will vary by cultural background such that given the same data, Chinese and American business people will develop different understandings. This paper bases such a premise on historic and cultural differences of people from different backgrounds. No empirical evidence is presented to support the assertions. Assuming, however, that the argument has merit, a beginning of discussion of the implications is presented. However, there i