Review: a review of culture in information systems research: toward a theory of information technology culture conflict
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paper_title: Toward a Theory of Organizational Culture and Effectiveness

paper_content:

This paper develops a model of organizational culture and effectiveness based on four traits of organizational cultures; involvement, consistency, adaptability, and mission. These traits are examined through two linked studies: In the first, qualitative case studies of five firms are used to identify the traits and the nature of their linkage to effectiveness; In the second, a quantitative study provides an exploratory analysis of CEO perceptions of these four traits and their relation to subjective and objective measures of effectiveness in a sample of 764 organizations. The results show support for the predictive value of the traits, and help to illustrate the complementarity of qualitative and quantitative methods for studying organizational cultures. Two of the traits, involvement and adaptability, are indicators of flexibility, openness, and responsiveness, and were strong predictors of growth. The other two traits, consistency and mission, are indicators of integration, direction, and vision, and were better predictors of profitability. Each of the four traits were also significant predictors of other effectiveness criteria such as quality, employee satisfaction, and overall performance. The results also showed that the four traits were strong predictors of subjectively-rated effectiveness criteria for the total sample of firms, but were strong predictors of objective criteria such as return-on-assets and sales growth only for larger firms. This paper suggests that culture can be studied as an integral part of the adaptation process of organizations and that specific culture traits may be useful predictors of performance and effectiveness. The paper also illustrates how qualitative case studies and inductive theory building can be combined with quantitative comparisons and theory-testing to make progress on specific aspects of organizational culture research.
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paper_title: To Err Is Human Building a Safer Health System

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Boken presenterer en helhetlig strategi for hvordan myndigheter, helsepersonell, industri og forbrukere kan redusere medisinske feil.
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paper_title: Interfunctional Conflict, Conflict Resolution Styles, and New Product Success: A Four-Culture Comparison

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This paper develops a model relating innovation success to the level of interfunctional conflict and conflict resolution methods. The model suggests a concave relationship between performance and the level of interfunctional conflict among marketing, R&D, and manufacturing. It also conjectures that both national culture and the level of interfunctional conflict influence the effectiveness of different conflict resolution methods. An empirical test of the proposed framework involves a survey of 968 marketing managers from Japan, Hong Kong, the United States, and Great Britain. The results provide general support for the model's predictions and reveal several significant cross-national differences.
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paper_title: Cross-cultural software production and use: a structurational analysis

paper_content:

This paper focuses on cross-cultural software production and use, which is increasingly common in today's more globalized world. A theoretical basis for analysis is developed, using concepts drawn from structuration theory. The theory is illustrated using two cross-cultural case studies. It is argued that structurational analysis provides a deeper examination of cross-cultural working and IS than is found in the current literature, which is dominated by Hofstede-type studies. In particular, the theoretical approach can be used to analyze cross-cultural conflict and contradiction, cultural heterogeneity, detailed work patterns, and the dynamic nature of culture. The paper contributes to the growing body of literature that emphasizes the essential role of cross-cultural understanding in contemporary society.
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paper_title: Culture, Control and Competition; Towards a Conceptual Framework for the Study of Information Technology in Organizations

paper_content:

This paper examines the significance of information communication technology (I.C.T.) for the theory and practice of organizations. There is voluminous literature in this field, but I.C.T. tends to be perceived as just another example of new technology. In fact, the information dimension of I.C.T. gives it a distinctive character in contrast to other technologies which remains under-theorized. The paper argues that information is intimately linked with power-knowledge rela tions and the forms of subjectivity that reside therein. In theorizing the exercise of power and the constitution of subjectivity, we suggest that three concepts — culture, control and competition — provide additional insights for the study of the development and application of I.C.T.s in organizations. The paper seeks to illustrate these arguments by reference to case study examples from financial service companies and the National Health Service.
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paper_title: 2003, "Information systems research and Hofstede's culture's consequences: an uneasy and incomplete partnership

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Information systems (IS) researchers have begun to investigate how national culture, as articulated by Hofstede, affects a wide variety of issues. A citation analysis of IS articles that cite Hofstede's research on national culture suggests that most research is focused on issues related to IS management and to IS, while issues related to IS development and operations and to IS usage remain relatively unexamined. Within the dominant categories, research is concentrated in the IS management and types of information systems subcategories. Furthermore, the dimensions of national culture outlined by Hofstede have not been frequently used to develop and to build theory. Research opportunities and approaches to develop a stronger cumulative tradition and theory for international IS issues are proposed.
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paper_title: Anatomy of a system accident: The crash of Avianca Flight 052

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On January 25, 1990, Avianca Flight 052 crashed after running out of fuel following a missed approach to New York's John F. Kennedy Airport. Weather was poor on the East Coast of the United States that day, and the flight had experienced several holding patterns enroute from Medellin, Colombia, to New York. The accident is analyzed in terms of Helmreich and Foushee's (1993) model of crew performance and Reason's (1990) model of latent pathogens in system operations.
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paper_title: Cultural analysis of the organizational consequences of information technology

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Abstract For over 30 years, the literature on organizations has carried accounts of the potential for information technology to transform organizational structures and processes. Despite this enduring interest in the relationship between information technology and organizations, the variety of actual consequences for organizations has not been satisfactorily explained. In this paper, we propose the use of cultural analysis to understand the organizational consequences of information technology. Analyses that use the construct of culture meet two important requisites for understanding and resolving the contradictory empirical findings. First, cultural analysis emphasizes the importance of socially constructed meanings and their relationship to information technology's material properties. From this perspective, technology's social consequences are largely indeterminate because of the variety of meanings that technology can assume. Cultural analysis thus removes the temptation to consider information technology as an autonomous determinant of organizational form and process. Second, cultural analysis can address information technology's role in both the persistence and the transformation of organizations. Information technology can help preserve institutionalized practices in an organization, and it can operate as a catalyst for change. Because cultural analysis encompasses these opposing organizational processes, it helps to explain the diversity of outcomes experienced after information technology is implemented.
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paper_title: Corporate Culture and Performance

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The power of culture -- Strong cultures -- Strategically appropriate cultures -- Adaptive cultures -- The case of Hewlett-Packard -- The nature of low-performance cultures -- People who create successful change -- Leaders in action -- The case of ICI -- The case of Nissan -- On the role of top management.
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paper_title: National and corporate cultural fit in mergers/acquisition: an exploratory study

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While cultural fit has been acknowledged to be a potentially important factor in mergers and acquisitions, the concept has been ill-defined, with no distinction drawn between the national and corporate levels of culture. By examining both international and domestic mergers, the present study assesses the relative role of national and corporate cultural fit in predicting effective integration between merger partners. The innovative, nonparametric co-plot method is introduced, and its main advantage-the simultaneous consideration of both variables and observations-is utilized to explore cultural fit in the two groups of mergers. The findings confirm that national and corporate culture are separate constructs with variable attitudinal and behavioral correlates.
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paper_title: Beyond models of national culture in information systems research

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Many IS scholars argue that global organizations need to understand cultural differences if they are to successfully deploy information technology. We agree that an understanding of cultural differences is important, but suggest that the concept of "national culture" that has tended to dominate the IS research literature is too simplistic. In this article, we challenge information systems researchers to go beyond models of national culture. We propose that IS researchers should adopt a more dynamic view of culture - one that sees culture as contested, temporal and emergent.
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paper_title: Information in Organizations as Signal and Symbol.

paper_content:

We are grateful for the comments of Kenneth Arrow, Kennette Benedict, Robert Biller, David Brereton, Louise Comfort, Jerry Feldman, Victor Fuchs, Anne Miner, J. Rounds, Alan Saltzstein, Guje Sevon, and J. Serge Taylor; for the assistance of Julia Ball; and for grants from the Spencer Foundation, Brookings Institution, Hoover Institution, and National Institute of Education. Formal theories of rational choice suggest that information about the possible consequences of alternative actions will be sought and used only if the precision, relevance, and reliability of the information are compatible with its cost. Empirical studies of information in organizations portray a pattern that is hard to rationalize in such terms. In particular, organizations systematically gather more information than they use, yet continue to ask for more. We suggest that this behavior is a consequence of some ways in which organizational settings for information use differ from those anticipated in a simple decision-theory vision. In particular, the use of information is embedded in social normsthat make it highly symbolic. Some of the implications of such a pattern of information use are discussed.
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paper_title: Predicting Corporate Performance From Organizational Culture

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This article investigates the relationships of culture strength and two substantive cultural values with corporate performance. Culture strength is measured by the consistency of responses to survey items across people and the two cultural values are measured by items on the survey that relate to either adaptability or stability. The data, from management surveys of 11 US insurance companies in 1981, were correlated with asset and premium growth rates from 1982 to 1987. Results indicate that both a strong culture regardless of content and a substantive value placed on adaptability are associated with better performance for two to three subsequent years on both criterion measures. The results support the findings of Denison (1990) that strength of culture is predictive of short-term performance. The present results, however, suggest a more complex contingency model than that proposed by Denison.
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paper_title: Culture, Control and Competition; Towards a Conceptual Framework for the Study of Information Technology in Organizations

paper_content:

This paper examines the significance of information communication technology (I.C.T.) for the theory and practice of organizations. There is voluminous literature in this field, but I.C.T. tends to be perceived as just another example of new technology. In fact, the information dimension of I.C.T. gives it a distinctive character in contrast to other technologies which remains under-theorized. The paper argues that information is intimately linked with power-knowledge rela tions and the forms of subjectivity that reside therein. In theorizing the exercise of power and the constitution of subjectivity, we suggest that three concepts — culture, control and competition — provide additional insights for the study of the development and application of I.C.T.s in organizations. The paper seeks to illustrate these arguments by reference to case study examples from financial service companies and the National Health Service.
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paper_title: Corporate Cultures: The Rites and Rituals of Corporate Life.

paper_content:

For junior and senior managers alike, Deal and Kennedy offer explicit guidelines for diagnosing the state of one's own corporate culture and for using the power of culture to wield significant influence on how business gets done.. Business experts everywhere have been finding that corporations run not only on numbers, but on culture. In this revised and updated 2000 edition of Corporate Cultures , organization consultants Terrence Deal and Allan Kennedy probe the conference rooms and corridors of corporate America to discover the key to business excellence. They find that the health of the bottom line is not ultimately guaranteed by attention to the rational aspects of managing-financial planning, personnel policies, cost controls, and the like. What's more important to long-term prosperity is the company's culture-the inner values, rites, rituals, and heroes-that strongly influence its success, from top management to the secretarial pool. For junior and senior managers alike, Deal and Kennedy offer explicit guidelines for diagnosing the state of one's own corporate culture and for using the power of culture to wield significant influence on how business gets done.
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paper_title: Cross-cultural management

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Articles are grouped around the following themes: methodology international context of management cultural differences managing across cultures adapting to other cultures developing international managers and organizations.
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paper_title: On Studying Organizational Cultures

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The article presents an overview of the longitudinal-processual theory of organizational formation. The ideological underpinnings of the method are described, highlighting its central focus on the factors and elements of an organization's creation and formation rather than its existent structures or practices. Speculative discussion is given regarding the processes involved in organizational culture, based off of an empirical school administration case study. Additional topics discussed include the influence of "dramatic" events which broadly change the social structure of the environment, the influence of social entrepreneurs, and the specific definition of organizational culture as an entity.
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paper_title: Identifying Organizational Subcultures: An Empirical Approach

paper_content:

Organizations have cultures, but parts of organizations may have distinct subcultures. The question of what is the proper level for a cultural analysis of an organization is generally handled intuitively. The organizational culture of a large Danish insurance company (3,400 employees) was measured, based on employees’ answers to 18 key questions about work practices. Subsequently, scores were determined separately for 131 work groups, and these were subjected to a hierarchical cluster analysis, which produced a dendrogram. The dendrogram showed that within the company there were three distinct subcultures: a professional subculture, an administrative subculture, and a customer interface subculture. These fit a theoretical prediction by Jones (1983); the cultural rifts between the subcultures could be readily recognized in the company’s practice, and had tangible consequences.
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paper_title: The roles of accounting in organizations and society

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Abstract The paper seeks to contrast the roles that have been claimed on behalf of accounting with the ways in which accounting functions in practice. It starts by examining the context in which rationales for practice are articulated and the adequacy of such claims. Thereafter consideration is given to how accounting is implicated in both organizational and social practice. The paper concludes with a discussion of the implications for accounting research.
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paper_title: Organizational Subcultures in a Soft Bureaucracy: Resistance Behind the Myth and Facade of an Official Culture

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The primary purpose of this study was to compare and contrast an organization's official culture and its subcultures. The proposition that soft bureaucracies project a rigid exterior appearance, symbolizing what key stakeholders expect, while masking a loosely-coupled set of interior practices, guided this analysis of a police organization. The official culture (crime-fighting command bureaucracy) was examined as an arbitrary set of symbols and meaning structures arranged according to top management preferences. Using qualitative and quantitative data, the organization's subcultures were profiled. It was demonstrated that top management was unable to impose organization-wide conformance with the official culture. There was close conformance to the official culture in only one of five distinct clusters of officers (“crime-fighting commandoes,” 21 percent of the sample). Officers in the other clusters (“crime-fighting street professionals,” “peace-keeping moral entrepreneurs,” “ass-covering legalists,” and “anti-military social workers”) substantially modified or rejected top management's dictates. They represented resistance subcultures, similar in their opposition to official culture, but unique in form. It was concluded that other organizations, not known for their monolithic image and solidarity, also encompass subcultures.
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paper_title: Information in Organizations as Signal and Symbol.

paper_content:

We are grateful for the comments of Kenneth Arrow, Kennette Benedict, Robert Biller, David Brereton, Louise Comfort, Jerry Feldman, Victor Fuchs, Anne Miner, J. Rounds, Alan Saltzstein, Guje Sevon, and J. Serge Taylor; for the assistance of Julia Ball; and for grants from the Spencer Foundation, Brookings Institution, Hoover Institution, and National Institute of Education. Formal theories of rational choice suggest that information about the possible consequences of alternative actions will be sought and used only if the precision, relevance, and reliability of the information are compatible with its cost. Empirical studies of information in organizations portray a pattern that is hard to rationalize in such terms. In particular, organizations systematically gather more information than they use, yet continue to ask for more. We suggest that this behavior is a consequence of some ways in which organizational settings for information use differ from those anticipated in a simple decision-theory vision. In particular, the use of information is embedded in social normsthat make it highly symbolic. Some of the implications of such a pattern of information use are discussed.
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paper_title: Diagnosing cultural barriers to knowledge management.

paper_content:

Executive Overview Organizational culture is increasingly recognized as a major barrier to leveraging intellectual assets. This article identifies four ways in which culture influences the behaviors central to knowledge creation, sharing, and use. First, culture—and particularly subcultures—shape assumptions about what knowledge is and which knowledge is worth managing. Second, culture defines the relationships between individual and organizational knowledge, determining who is expected to control specific knowledge, as well as who must share it and who can hoard it. Third, culture creates the context for social interaction that determines how knowledge will be used in particular situations. Fourth, culture shapes the processes by which new knowledge—with its accompanying uncertainties—is created, legitimated, and distributed in organizations. These four perspectives suggest specific actions managers can take to assess the different aspects of culture most likely to influence knowledge-related behaviors. ...
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paper_title: Resolving International Conflict: Culture and Business Strategy

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To minimise conflict between cultures, you must first analyse - measure even - the differences between them. That is the starting point for the third 1996 Stockton Lecture, reproduced here. The author identifies seven dimensions by which cultures can be distinguished from each otherwhich he defines as: Universalism versus Particularism; Collectivism versus Individualism; Affective versus Neutral relationships; Specificity versus Diffuseness; Achievement versus Ascription; Orientation towards Time; and Internal versus External Control. According to Dr Trompenaars, “Culture is the manner in which these dilemmas are reconciled, since every nation seeks a different and winding path to its own ideals of integrity.” Not only will conflict be reduced by this reconciliation, he argues, but businesses “will succeed to the extent that this reconciliation occurs.”
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paper_title: Understanding cultural differences

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Based on interviews with German, French and American executives and on extensive research into intercultural relations, this book provides insights and practical advice on day-to-day transactions in international business. It is designed to help Americans, Germans and the French better understand one another's psychology and behaviour. The authors emphasize the behaviour one can expect in the business culture of each and offer advice for avoiding the misunderstandings and miscommunications that can occur.
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paper_title: National culture and group support systems: filtering communication to dampen power differentials

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The body of group support systems (GSS) knowledge, which has been accumulated mainly in North America, may not be useful in other countries because theories grounded on one culture need not necessarily apply in other cultures. To understand better how GSS technology can be successfully applied in a variety of cultures, researchers need to compare GSS effects systematically across different cultures. This paper outlines seven dimensions of national culture and focuses on one dimension: power distance. Power distance effects can be detrimental in some decision situations. This paper examines how a GSS can reduce power distance effects by restricting communication modality in groups. It discusses the potential impact of GSS intervention in both high and low power distance countries, and suggests how this impact can be moderated by task type and group size. It arrives at several propositions for experimental investigation.
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paper_title: The rotter locus of control scale in 43 countries: A test of cultural relativity

paper_content:

A databank of 9140 responses to the Rotter (1966) locus of control scale was analyzed, using multidimensional scaling techniques. Respondents were employees in business organizations in 43 countries. Three interpretable dimensions were identified. The first was interpreted in terms of Schwartz's (1992) dimensions of mastery over the environment versus harmony with the environment. It also correlated significantly with country means for internality. The second distinguished responses from countries identified by Hofstede (1980) as individualist and collectivist. The third referred principally to the role of luck and chance. Parallels with the results of Levenson (1981) and the implications of convergence with the results of cross-cultural studies not based upon the concept of locus of control are discussed.
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paper_title: Efficient cultures: Exploring the relationship between culture and organizational performance.

paper_content:

We gratefully acknowledge the helpful comments of our colleagues, Kerry Patterson and Keith Warner, as well as the thoughtful comments of the editors of this special issue. This research was supported through grants from the Office of Naval Research, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, IBM, The General Electric Foundation, AMP, Inc., Westinghouse Corporation, and the Sperry Corporation. Contrary to currently popular notions of organizational culture, we claim that the existence of local organizational cultures that are distinct from more generally shared background cultures occurs relatively infrequently atthe level of the whole organization. We also argue that, with respect to organizational performance, particular properties of local organizational culture are more important than others and that local organizational culture will be more critical to performance in one range of organizations than in others. We conclude by applying our point of viewto the problem of changing organizational cultures and argue that they are more adaptive than is currently thought.
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paper_title: Identifying Organizational Subcultures: An Empirical Approach

paper_content:

Organizations have cultures, but parts of organizations may have distinct subcultures. The question of what is the proper level for a cultural analysis of an organization is generally handled intuitively. The organizational culture of a large Danish insurance company (3,400 employees) was measured, based on employees’ answers to 18 key questions about work practices. Subsequently, scores were determined separately for 131 work groups, and these were subjected to a hierarchical cluster analysis, which produced a dendrogram. The dendrogram showed that within the company there were three distinct subcultures: a professional subculture, an administrative subculture, and a customer interface subculture. These fit a theoretical prediction by Jones (1983); the cultural rifts between the subcultures could be readily recognized in the company’s practice, and had tangible consequences.
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paper_title: Cross-cultural software production and use: a structurational analysis

paper_content:

This paper focuses on cross-cultural software production and use, which is increasingly common in today's more globalized world. A theoretical basis for analysis is developed, using concepts drawn from structuration theory. The theory is illustrated using two cross-cultural case studies. It is argued that structurational analysis provides a deeper examination of cross-cultural working and IS than is found in the current literature, which is dominated by Hofstede-type studies. In particular, the theoretical approach can be used to analyze cross-cultural conflict and contradiction, cultural heterogeneity, detailed work patterns, and the dynamic nature of culture. The paper contributes to the growing body of literature that emphasizes the essential role of cross-cultural understanding in contemporary society.
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paper_title: A cross-cultural study on escalation of commitment behavior in software projects

paper_content:

One of the most challenging decisions that a manager must confront is whether to continue or abandon a troubled project. Published studies suggest that failing software projects are often allowed to continue for too long before appropriate management action is taken to discontinue or redirect the efforts. The level of sunk cost associated with such projects has been offered as one explanation for this escalation of commitment behavior. What prior studies fail to consider is how concepts from risk-taking theory (such as risk propensity and risk perception) affect decision makers' willingness to continue a project under conditions of sunk cost. To better understand factors that may cause decision makers to continue such projects, this study examines the level of sunk cost together with the risk propensity and risk perception of decision makers. These factors are assessed for cross-cultural robustness using matching laboratory experiments carried out in three cultures (Finland, the Netherlands, and Singapore). With a wider set of explanatory factors than prior studies, we could account for a higher amount of variance in decision makers' willingness to continue a project. The level of sunk cost and the risk perception of decision makers contributed significantly to their willingness to continue a project. Moreover, the risk propensity of decision makers was inversely related to risk perception. This inverse relationship was significantly stronger in Singapore (a low uncertainty avoidance culture) than in Finland and the Netherlands (high uncertainty avoidance cultures). These results reveal that some factors behind decision makers' willingness to continue a project are consistent across cultures while others may be culture-sensitive. Implications of these results for further research and practice are discussed.
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paper_title: Reporting bad news about software projects: impact of organizational climate and information asymmetry in an individualistic and a collectivistic culture

paper_content:

The reluctance of people to report bad news can be a major contributor to the phenomenon of runaway software projects. If senior managers receive bad news sooner, they may be able to prevent runaway software projects through corrective action. Two factors that are known to impact predisposition to report bad news are organizational climate (whether reporting bad news is likely to result in reward or punishment) and information asymmetry (whether hiding bad news is likely to be possible over time). Using matching experiments in an individualistic (United States) and a collectivistic culture (Singapore), this study investigates how the individualism-collectivism dimension of national culture may moderate the impact of organizational climate and information asymmetry on human predisposition to report bad news. The results revealed that individualism appeared to amplify the impact of organizational climate on predisposition to report bad news (compared to collectivism) whereas collectivism appeared to amplify the impact of information asymmetry on predisposition to report bad news (compared to individualism). When deciding on whether to report bad news about software projects, people from an individualistic culture seemed to be more sensitive to organizational climate whereas people from a collectivistic culture seemed to pay greater attention to information asymmetry. These results have useful implications for practice and research involving cross-cultural software project teams. Beyond these implications, these results add a cultural dimension to our existing knowledge on software project management.
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paper_title: Teams in packaged software development: The Software Corp. experience

paper_content:

Packaged software companies evolve in an environment characterized by ever‐shorter product life cycles and ever‐increasing competition. Reaching the marketplace first is often the way to gain a competitive advantage. This situation leads many packaged software organizations to change both their (often sequential) software development processes and rely on (often cross‐functional) teams. Reports on the software development practices of Software Corp., an organization developing software products for the travel industry, which experimented with several different approaches and finally implemented cross‐functional development teams. Data presented show that changes in the software development process deeply affect many aspects of the organization. The conclusions emphasize the importance of considering the work culture and organizational history when implementing a new software development method and highlight the importance of clearly defining the roles and responsibilities of all groups involved and the necessity to modify the company’s performance‐appraisal system to promote and support the new organizational objectives embodied in the changes in software development methods.
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paper_title: Personal Value Systems of American Managers

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The personal value systems of 1072 American managers are studied for their contribution to the understanding of managers and their behavior. A theoretical model for analyzing the impact of values o...
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paper_title: Dangerous liaisons? Component-based development and organizational subcultures

paper_content:

This paper presents an exploratory case study of the investment banking arm of a multinational banking corporation (Invebank) and its attempt to introduce component-based development (CBD). Based on a logic of opposition and utilizing literature on organizational culture and metaphors as an analytical device, issues confronting Invebank in CBD adoption are identified. In particular, problems in CBD implementation were encountered because, while CBD requires extensive knowledge sharing and collaboration, subcultural differences in Invebank meant that this proved difficult to enact. Thus, the paper considers the complexities of subcultural differences in firms and provides a salutary reminder that the implementation of corporate-wide integrative "solutions" such as CBD, may be problematic. Further, there is more to the issue of organizational subcultural differences than the oft-cited business-information technology (IT) divide. Nevertheless, the case demonstrates that subcultural differences should not simply be viewed as a threat. Rather, the recognition and discussion of these differences can provide a stimulus for identifying limitations of the policies surrounding technology implementation and use that if changed could help to maximize the benefits of the technology. Simplistic entreaties to knowledge sharing and the nurture of collaboration and consensus are, thus, brought into question. Implications for further research into the implementation of integrative software solutions like CBD in multifunctional and multifarious organizations are also considered.
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paper_title: Dimensions of National Culture and Corporate Adoption of IT Infrastructure

paper_content:

Corporate adoption of information technology (IT) infrastructure is a critical management issue that may be affected by national culture. Prior research has shown that dimensions of national culture affect development of national IT infrastructure as well as adoption and impact of IT applications. This study explores the impact of two dimensions of national culture (uncertainty avoidance and power distance) on the adoption of a type of IT infrastructure (frame relay). A multinational survey was carried out, and it yielded useable responses from 153 businesses from 24 countries. The results demonstrated that businesses from higher uncertainty avoidance countries were less likely to adopt frame relay. A one-point increase in Hofstede's uncertainty avoidance index for the country of incorporation was associated with a 3% lower likelihood of adopting frame relay. Power distance was not significantly correlated with adoption of frame relay. These results highlight the relevance of dimensions of national culture as factors affecting corporate adoption of IT infrastructure. Implications for practice and further research are presented.
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paper_title: Corporate Culture, Environmental Adaptation, and Innovation Adoption: A Qualitative/Quantitative Approach

paper_content:

Deshpande and Webster have identified the linkage between corporate culture and innovation adoption as an important industrial marketing topic. In the present study, this relationship is examined by both qualitative and quantitative research methods. The linear regression model, which depicts the corporate culture of adaptive companies attempting to survive in a competitive international environment, demonstrates that corporate culture is predictive of technology adoption. Qualitative data collected through in-depth interviews supplement quantitative results. The divergent cultures and survival modes for innovative and noninnovative companies are presented. Theoretical and methodological implications for marketing research are discussed, and management implications for industrial marketers are presented. Benefits of juxtaposing qualitative/quantitative methods are illustrated.
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paper_title: Beyond Rational Management Mastering The Paradoxes And Competing Demands Of High Performance

paper_content:

Thank you very much for downloading beyond rational management mastering the paradoxes and competing demands of high performance. As you may know, people have look hundreds times for their favorite novels like this beyond rational management mastering the paradoxes and competing demands of high performance, but end up in malicious downloads. Rather than enjoying a good book with a cup of tea in the afternoon, instead they are facing with some harmful virus inside their laptop.
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paper_title: The impact of culture on the adoption of IT: an interpretive study

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Of all the factors that must be considered in the adoption of information technology, culture is probably the most difficult to isolate, define and measure. Consequently, the influence of local culture on the adoption of computer-based information systems in organisations has not featured prominently in the research literature. As cultural factors may be important to the success of IT projects, we have conducted a study of the relationship between culture and the adoption of IT in two different developing regions: West Africa and the Middle East. The results are compared along eight cultural dimensions and are contrasted with a third developed region, Australia, the country of residence of the researchers. In this paper, we use the results of the study to identify three issues of concern to the relationship of culture and IT, and discuss their implications for the IT industry
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paper_title: Cultural analysis of the organizational consequences of information technology

paper_content:

Abstract For over 30 years, the literature on organizations has carried accounts of the potential for information technology to transform organizational structures and processes. Despite this enduring interest in the relationship between information technology and organizations, the variety of actual consequences for organizations has not been satisfactorily explained. In this paper, we propose the use of cultural analysis to understand the organizational consequences of information technology. Analyses that use the construct of culture meet two important requisites for understanding and resolving the contradictory empirical findings. First, cultural analysis emphasizes the importance of socially constructed meanings and their relationship to information technology's material properties. From this perspective, technology's social consequences are largely indeterminate because of the variety of meanings that technology can assume. Cultural analysis thus removes the temptation to consider information technology as an autonomous determinant of organizational form and process. Second, cultural analysis can address information technology's role in both the persistence and the transformation of organizations. Information technology can help preserve institutionalized practices in an organization, and it can operate as a catalyst for change. Because cultural analysis encompasses these opposing organizational processes, it helps to explain the diversity of outcomes experienced after information technology is implemented.
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paper_title: Information systems and culture: applying “stages of growth” concepts to development administration

paper_content:

This paper examines how cultural factors influence the rate at which individuals adopt technology to assist them in their duties. In order to achieve this, we review usage of the stages of growth model of information systems development in organisations which has been applied in the context of western and non-western organisations in various parts of the world. We then apply the model to the context of development administration where information technology interventions are becoming pervasive but where the inherent traditional cultural characteristics are fundamentally at variance with those of information technology practitioners. The case study we present is that of the implementation of information systems in the Karachi Development Authority (KDA). The findings highlight the utility and limitations of the stages of growth model in terms of its ability to accommodate the inherent cultural characteristics of KDA. While such knowledge will have value for information technology practitioners within their own societies, we contend that it will become even more valuable for practitioners from western cultures in applying technology solutions to development administration.
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paper_title: Testing the technology acceptance model across cultures: A three country study

paper_content:

Abstract In recent years, the technology acceptance model (TAM) has been widely used by IS researchers in order to gain a better understanding of the adoption and use of information systems. While TAM has been widely applied and tested in North America, there have been no attempts to extend this work to other regions of the world. Given the globalization of business and systems, there is a pressing need to understand whether TAM applies in other cultures. This study compares the TAM model across three different countries: Japan; Switzerland; and the United States. The study was conducted by administering the same instrument to employees of three different airlines, all of whom had access to the same information technology innovation, in this case, E-mail. The results indicate that TAM holds for both the U.S. and Switzerland, but not for Japan, suggesting that the model may not predict technology use across all cultures. The implications of these findings are discussed.
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paper_title: The key role of organizational culture in a multi-system view of technology-driven change

paper_content:

Organizations undergoing technology-driven change must understand that technology is only one of several inter-related components which drive organizational performance. A multi-system perspective of organizations highlights the interdependencies between an organization's technology, structure and culture and how these affect organizational processes and behaviors. Successful technological innovations require that either the technology be designed to fit the organization's current structure and culture or that the organizational structure and culture be reshaped to fit the demands of the new technology. Thus, the desired effects of new technology are most often realized in organizations able to implement the additional changes that are required to maintain overall fit. To illustrate these issues, this paper presents a case study based on a technology-driven change in a Turkish financial organization. Special attention is given to the role of organizational culture, which is often cited as the most critical factor in successful technology assimilation.
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paper_title: Assimilating New Technologies: The Role of Organizational Culture

paper_content:

Abstract A technology may have met all the necessary user requirements, had buy-in from senior management, and yet be a resounding failure because the crucial role of organizational culture was overlooked. Like most social issues, organizational culture is amorphous, difficult to measure and quantify. This article helps IS managers analyze their own organization's culture to discover the role it will play in adopting a new technology.
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paper_title: Diffusing the Internet in the Arab world: the role of social norms and technological culturation

paper_content:

Drawing on the theoretical work of Hill et al. and Straub et al., this study examines culture-specific inducements and impediments to using the Internet in the Arab world. Research questions were: (1) to what extent does the process of technology culturation affect the acceptance of the Internet? and (2) to what extent do social norms (SNs) affect the acceptance of the Internet? Of the two research methods employed, the first was a quantitative field study of knowledge workers. The instrument measured the extent to which respondents and their organizations are influenced by advanced technology cultures. Using partial least squares (PLS), the first of two models tested links between SNs; technological culturation and Internet usage for each respondent. The second model investigated links between technological culturation and Internet utilization for the respondent's organization. Findings show strong support for both models, explaining, respectively, 47% and 37% of the variance. The second method was a qualitative analysis of respondents' free-format comments. These findings reinforce the quantitative findings, on the one hand, and reveal additional cultural barriers that still need to be studied, on the other. Findings identify how culture can both inhibit and encourage technological innovation and how Arab cultures can move their economies more quickly into the digital age.
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paper_title: Sharing knowledge through intranets: a study of organizational culture and intranet implementation

paper_content:

Explores factors affecting the implementation of intranets, which are the technology upon which many knowledge management (KM) systems are built. Because intranets facilitate the sharing of employee knowledge, many believe that organizational culture influences intranet implementation. The results of this study found that intranet implementation is facilitated by a culture that emphasizes an atmosphere of trust and concern for other people (ethical culture), flexibility and innovation (developmental culture), and policies, procedures and information management (hierarchical culture). Management should ensure that the proper values are in place to optimize intranet implementation and to facilitate knowledge sharing.
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paper_title: The Openness of Knowledge Sharing within Organizations: A Comparative Study of the United States and the People's Republic of China

paper_content:

This study examines empirically the interaction effects of national culture and contextual factors (nature of the knowledge and the relationship between the knowledge sharer and recipient) on employees' tendency to share knowledge with co‐workers. Quantitative and open‐ended responses to two scenarios were collected from 142 managers (104 from the U.S. and 38 from the People's Republic of China). These two nations were selected due to their divergence on salient aspects of national culture, as well as their global political and economic importance. The focus on interaction effects was aimed at providing a more powerful test of culture's effects than simple comparisons of means typical of prior related research. Consistent with culture‐based expectation, the quantitative results indicated that Chinese vs. U.S. nationals' openness of knowledge sharing was related to their different degrees of collectivism—the relative emphasis on self vs. collective interests—as well as whether knowledge sharing involved a ...
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paper_title: Information Technology Choices in Dissimilar Cultures: Enhancing Empowerment

paper_content:

Empowerment is an important and desirable state for employees within business enterprises around the world. Yet, the pursuit of empowerment across national boundaries may vary due to innate diferences within cultures. This may be particularly true with respect to choice of technologies for achieving empowerment. Using an interpretive field study of Fellows within the Japanese MITI and U.S. Department of Commerce Manufacturing Technology Fellowship (MTF) Program, this study suggests that the achievement of empowerment through choice of information technology is matched to cultural context. Specifically, employees of Japanese companies prefer, need, and use media-rich information technologies in their efforts to achieve empowerment. In contrast, employees of American companies prefer, need, and use collaborative information technologies in the pursuit for empowerment. These findings suggest that information technology is used synergistically with cultural attributes in the enhancement of employee empowerment.
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paper_title: Mexican and Swedish Managers' Perceptions of the Impact of EIS on Organizational Intelligence, Decision Making, and Structure*

paper_content:

Although information technologies in business organizations around the world may be very similar, the meanings conveyed through the technologies may be dependent on managerial values and national culture. Cultural differences need to be understood before information technology developed for organizations in one country can be effectively implemented in organizations in another country. Drawing on survey responses from managers using Executive Information Systems (EIS) across many organizations in Mexico, Sweden, and the United States, the current study examined whether cultural differences influence perceptions of the relationship between Executive Information Systems' use and various outcomes related to decision-making behaviors and processes. The study found significant differences, predicted by cultural factors, in the impact of EIS use on senior management decision making. The findings confirm the notion that IT is used by executives to reinforce the decision-making behaviors valued in their culture.
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paper_title: The organizational and cultural context of systems implementation: Case experience from Latin America

paper_content:

Abstract Multinational corporations (MNCs) face a number of potential obstacles in their efforts to implement computer-based information systems in subsidiary companies. Culture may impede implementation efforts because of differences in the way information systems are interpreted and given meaning. Specifically, the meaning of an information system to the MNC's headquarters and systems development group may differ from the meaning it has for the managers and users in the subsidiary. This paper describes one MNC's efforts to implement an automated accounting system in two of its Latin American subsidiaries. Problems experienced in one country led the company to adjust its implementation strategy by involving members of the company's international division in a redesign effort. Subsequent efforts to implement the same system in the second country succeeded easily due to the compatibility between the implementation team's actions and those of the local managers and workers.
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paper_title: Effects of organizational culture on a large scale IT introduction effort: a case study of the Norwegian army's EDBLF project

paper_content:

This paper documents a process of introducing new information technology (IT) within the Norwegian army. The research suggests that in the intersection between an organization and IT what emerges as most interesting is the organizational culture. Some of the characteristics of the Norwegian army culture, such as using a particular transfer and application scheme and the use of refreshers training, contributed to a high job rotation, causing instability within the organization and jeopardising the day-to-day work routines within the army units. This part of the Norwegian army's culture combined with an IT system designed in a way that spliced jobs and deskilled workers, while at the same time creating dependencies between different jobs within the organization, contributed to upholding a particular functioning of the organization. Underlying this is the assumption made by the army that as long as the technology is uniform one person can easily be substituted for another. This paper argues that the organizational culture of the Norwegian army was in many ways a hindrance to a successful adoption of IT. Recognising the influence of organizational culture is important, but more empirical studies of organizational culture influence are needed to support the diverse findings presented here and would be a viable and important task in the years to come for anyone interested in a successful adoption of IT systems.
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paper_title: Culture and consumer responses to web download time: a four-continent study of mono and polychronism

paper_content:

Most e-commerce sites would like to include as much relevant and sales-inducing content on their pages as possible. Unfortunately, resulting download delays may lead to consumer frustration and a negative attitude toward the product or service displayed. But is frustration with download delay a universal problem or is it culture-specific? How should firms view this problem? These are the primary research questions investigated in the current study. An experiment conducted on four continents was selected as an appropriate research method to answer those questions. Country sites were selected for differing cultural senses of time and how this might affect individual responses to download delay. Our sample included the US and Finnish cultures representing monochronic cultures and Egyptian and Peruvian cultures representing polychronic cultures. Consistent with the proposed hypotheses, subjects from polychronic cultures were significantly less concerned with download delays than subjects in monochronic cultures. Similarly, perceived wait times varied significantly between the mono- and polychronic groups. Practical insights derived from this study enable specific suggestions on customization of web page content richness as well as infrastructure requirements based on the cultural identity of the intended e-Consumer. Moreover, results suggest theoretical implications for future research.
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paper_title: Impact of national culture on information technology usage behaviour: An exploratory study of decision making in Korea and the USA

paper_content:

The globalization of world markets has led to the introduction of information technology, most often developed in western cultures, to other societies. Cultural values were embedded in the design and use of these technologies. Often, the receiving society did not embrace the technology because of culture. Examples of such behaviour include executive information systems and group decision support systems, which are cited later. This study examines the use of non-specific applications of information technology for organizational decision making. A survey instrument was developed to measure decision makers' perceptions of the impact of information technology on the decision process. Decision makers in Korea and the USA indicated their perceptions of the extent information technology use impacted their decision making activities. The results indicated some behaviours appeared to change to take advantage of the technology, while others, particularly those associated with the cultural preference for communicati...
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paper_title: Exploring Perceptions of Organizational Ownership of Information and Expertise

paper_content:

Beliefs of organizational ownership relate to whether information and knowledge created by an individual knowledge worker are believed to be owned by the organization. Beliefs about property rights affect information and knowledge sharing. This study explored factors that help determine an individual's beliefs about the organizational ownership of information and expertise that he or she has created. Four different situations of organizational ownership (information vs. expertise/internal vs. external sharing) were considered. The study found that a belief in self-ownership was positively associated with organizational ownership - suggesting a collaborative type of ownership situation for both information and expertise and for both internal (intraorganizational) and external (interorganizational) sharing situations. Organizational culture and the type of employee also influenced the beliefs of organizational ownership in all four scenarios. We conclude the paper with implications for practice and future research.
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paper_title: Technology Subcultures and Indicators Associated with High Technology Performance in Schools.

paper_content:

AbstractAn association between the relative integration of instructional technology departments and information services departments with indicators of high technology performance in school districts was identified in this statewide study. The areas of findings that determined the association are (1) factors used to determine cultural integration between the two subcultures, information services and instructional technology; (2) types of conflicts and resolutions between information services and instructional technology; and (3) indicators of high technology performance in schools. The results would indicate that the implication for practice is to gain a greater cultural understanding of the information services and/or instructional technology departments in school districts. The findings also show how a school district might wish to raise the indicators associated with technology performance in schools. Individual districts could replicate any or all of the study.
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paper_title: Cultural influences on IT use amongst factory managers: a UK–Japanese comparison

paper_content:

This paper seeks to analyse the influence of national cultural factors on the use of information technology (IT) by managers. An analysis of the existing literature on the interplay between technology, culture and organizational context indicates that the influence of national culture needs to be carefully specified if it is to be differentiated from institutional and organizational factors. Moreover, insofar as such influence operates at all, it is subsumed within, and not exterior to, a dynamic and emergent process of interaction between technology design and organizational practices. In this light, the study presented here seeks to avoid a simplistic approach in which national culture is viewed as an exogenous force directly conditioning action, but rather posits such influence as a critical element of the wider context which enframes action. These considerations were reflected in the research design of the empirical study presented here. This involved a survey of managers in over 1400 firms across five industrial sectors in the UK and Japan. These countries were chosen because previous studies had indicated that they exhibit distinctive cultural differences in their management practices. By conducting a large-scale survey across a range of sectors, the study aimed to abstract the diffuse effect of these cultural differences from the specific impact of sectorial and organizational contingencies. In particular, questions within the survey sought to explore the extent to which managerial preferences and practices in IT use could be interpreted in terms of two key dimensions of national cultural difference. The latter were operationalized in this study as a control orientation to IT use, and an individualistic orientation to IT use, respectively. The overall analysis of the survey data suggests that the effect of national culture is significant and seems to operate across industry boundaries. Managers in Japanese factories do in fact exhibit the hypothesized stronger orientation towards a control orientation in the use of IT, while managers in British factories show a relatively stronger orientation towards individualistic use of IT at the management level.
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paper_title: Organizational Culture and Successful Information Technology Implementation

paper_content:

AbstractInformation technology has been the catalyst for the new source of economic wealth during the current economic period called the Information Age. Some industries and specific organizations have successfully implemented numerous information technologies and, as a result, enjoy great competitive advantages. Others have not. This article explores whether the internal environment enjoyed by an organization contributes to this success or failure. It also investigates whether the organization's cultural climate and its balance of concern for production issues vs. people issues play a role in implementation success. Data from this 3-year study of 18 companies involved in government and commercial ventures suggest a correlation between specific cultural attributes and the successful implementation of information technology systems. We found that people-oriented rather than production-oriented aspects exerted the most significant influence.
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paper_title: Cultural differences in the online behavior of consumers

paper_content:

Understanding how different cultures use the Net---as well as perceive the same Web sites---can translate to truly global e-commerce.
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paper_title: Organizational culture and advanced manufacturing technology implementation

paper_content:

Abstract Using data collected from a sample of 97 manufacturing plants, we examine how organizational culture is related to outcomes associated with advanced manufacturing technology (AMT) implementation. Multiple item scales are developed and adapted from a wide range of sources in the literature to measure managers' perceptions of organizational culture, AMT benefits, and implementation outcomes such as operational benefits, organizational benefits, satisfaction, and competitive success. Regression analysis is used to analyze the relationships between these variables. The results suggest that cultural characteristics, as defined by the competing values model, are significantly related to AMT implementation outcomes. We conclude by discussing the managerial implications of these results.
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paper_title: Reducing status effects with computer-mediated communication: evidence from two distinct national cultures

paper_content:

Matching laboratory experiments were conducted in two distinct national cultures to investigate whether computer-mediated communication (CMC) can reduce status effects during group communication in both national cultures. Three independent variables were studied: national culture (Singapore versus U.S.), task type (intellective versus preference), and communication medium (unsupported versus CMC). Three different facets of status effects were measured as dependent variables: status influence, sustained influence, and perceived influence. Singapore groups reported higher sustained influence than U.S. groups. Preference task groups experienced higher status influence and sustained influence than intellective task groups. Unsupported groups also had higher status influence and sustained influence compared to CMC groups. In addition, Singapore groups that completed the preference task in the unsupported setting reported higher perceived influence than groups under other treatments. These results demonstrate that CMC appears to be able to reduce status effects during group communication, both in Singapore and in the United States. This is especially true when groups are working on a preference task. Moreover, status influence appears to be more sustainable in Singapore groups, where group members appear to be more conscious of its presence, than in U.S. groups.
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paper_title: Diagnosing cultural barriers to knowledge management.

paper_content:

Executive Overview Organizational culture is increasingly recognized as a major barrier to leveraging intellectual assets. This article identifies four ways in which culture influences the behaviors central to knowledge creation, sharing, and use. First, culture—and particularly subcultures—shape assumptions about what knowledge is and which knowledge is worth managing. Second, culture defines the relationships between individual and organizational knowledge, determining who is expected to control specific knowledge, as well as who must share it and who can hoard it. Third, culture creates the context for social interaction that determines how knowledge will be used in particular situations. Fourth, culture shapes the processes by which new knowledge—with its accompanying uncertainties—is created, legitimated, and distributed in organizations. These four perspectives suggest specific actions managers can take to assess the different aspects of culture most likely to influence knowledge-related behaviors. ...
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paper_title: Global Measures of Information Service Quality: A Cross-National Study

paper_content:

Maintaining consistently high quality information services (IS) is a powerful means of increasing the overall efficiency and effectiveness of a global enterprise. This study introduces a global Information Services Function (ISF) Quality Framework that outlines the importance of both behavioral and procedural dimensions in planning, implementing and evaluating global IS quality. Based on this framework, the study investigates the cross-national psychometric properties of a behavioral measure of service quality in the IS context. Using a cross-national survey of IS customers from Korea, Hong Kong, the United States and the Netherlands, perceived ISF service quality was measured using a service quality measure (SERVQUAL) to determine cultural affects. Based on confirmatory factor analysis, support was found for four of the original five SERVQUAL quality dimensions in the U.S.A. and the Netherlands. However, the same four-dimensional measurement model did not fit the Hong Kong and Korean samples. Further factor analysis showed that the Hong Kong and Korean samples shared a somewhat similar factor structure that differs from the shared U.S.A. and Netherlands structure. These findings support previous research that has found an “Asian factor'’with differing definitions of IS Service quality. These findings suggest that the feasibility of standardized global ISF measurement depends heavily on the relative magnitude of cultural effects. Rather than merely applying the U.S.A. ISF/SERVQUAL measure, a localized version of the instrument may need to be developed that captures the unique nature of ISF service perceptions in internationally based subsidiaries or companies.
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paper_title: Softlifting and piracy: behavior across cultures

paper_content:

As the use of information technology spreads throughout the world, as software becomes more complex and its cost increases, and as the ease with which software can be copied increases, ethical and financial risks also increase. Software ethics have received considerable attention in the literature, but most studies focus on a few variables or are ethnocentric. Some studies focus on several countries, but little of this research uses primary data, nor does it compare softlifting and piracy, and it makes no attempt to uncover why these activities take place. This study focuses on the attitudes of students in four countries: the United States, New Zealand, Hong Kong, and Pakistan. Respondents were asked to evaluate nine ethical scenarios of increasing consequence. An analysis of the data produced three significant findings: software ethics are country-dependent; softlifting and piracy are distinct ethical problems; and Hofstede's cultural dimensions suggest a relationship between one of the four dimensions and softlifting, and between three of the four dimensions and piracy.
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paper_title: Information systems employment structures in the USA and Singapore: a cross-cultural comparison

paper_content:

The traditional view of the employment relationship between the information systems (IS) professional and the employing firm is one where the employee is governed by internal, hierarchical control. However, more recently, there are indications that firms may be adopting external forms of structuring their IS workforce which move away from the traditional internal structure (for example, by outsourcing activities). Proposes different views to explain preferences for external employment relationships: a market perspective which emphasizes economic factors, and a cultural perspective which views organizations as an expression of patterned values. Examines the efficacy of each approach by providing an empirical investigation of the extent to which IS workers are externalized in the USA and Singapore. Results suggest that the USA utilizes more externalized IS employment structures than Singapore. These results are interpreted from both market and cultural perspectives.
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paper_title: Developing a management culture in which information technology will flourish: how the UK can benefit

paper_content:

This paper first reviews the potential strategic impact of information technology. Particularly important is the use of IT for competitive positions and the enabling role of an appropriate corporate culture for the delivery of effective IT. The need to move towards responsive holistic management approaches is discussed, together with the networked apportunities opened by IT. The paper highlights the strategic factors demanding positive attitudes to IT and shows how the UK is, so far, falling behind in the international IT competitive race. The paper concludes with an agenda for management action. Its arguments are based on the findings of several research surveys conducted by the author.
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paper_title: The Impact of National Culture on Software Piracy

paper_content:

This paper examines the impact of the level of economic development, income inequality, and five cultural variables on the rate of software piracy at the country level. The study finds that software piracy is significantly correlated to GNP per capita, income inequality, and individualism. Implications for anti-piracy programs and suggestions for future research are developed.
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paper_title: Relating IT strategy and organizational culture: an empirical study of public sector units in India

paper_content:

Abstract This paper analyzes the relationships between selected aspects of organizational culture and IT-Strategy in public sector units (PSUs). Organization culture, which is treated as a shared set of norms and values, is analyzed with respect to IT-Strategies. Organizational culture is assessed in terms of innovative, supportive and bureaucratic cultures. IT strategy is viewed as comprising six generic strategies, namely, centrally planned, leading edge, scarce resource, necessary evil, monopoly and free market. The data on which conclusions were drawn arises from a nation-wide survey covering 72 public sector organizations in India. In addition to the survey research, we conducted an in-depth case study of State Bank of India. This yearlong study commenced in 1996. Statistically significant findings show that it is the innovative element of a PSUs organizational culture that is associated with a delineable IT strategy. Leading edge, free market, and monopoly IT-strategies are found to be related to innovative components of organizational culture. Monopoly and scarce resource strategies are associated with supportive and bureaucratic cultures, respectively. Our case study validates some of these findings in a large bank. Implications for practice as well as research are provided.
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paper_title: Cross-cultural software production and use: a structurational analysis

paper_content:

This paper focuses on cross-cultural software production and use, which is increasingly common in today's more globalized world. A theoretical basis for analysis is developed, using concepts drawn from structuration theory. The theory is illustrated using two cross-cultural case studies. It is argued that structurational analysis provides a deeper examination of cross-cultural working and IS than is found in the current literature, which is dominated by Hofstede-type studies. In particular, the theoretical approach can be used to analyze cross-cultural conflict and contradiction, cultural heterogeneity, detailed work patterns, and the dynamic nature of culture. The paper contributes to the growing body of literature that emphasizes the essential role of cross-cultural understanding in contemporary society.
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paper_title: The Cultural Impact of Workflow Management Systems in the Financial Services Sector

paper_content:

The implementation of information systems is increasingly resulting in significant changes to the host organisation's culture. In particular, the workflow management system (WFMS) is one new technology that, because of its tendency to have a direct impact on the organisation and execution of work, has the potential to significantly modify an organisation's culture. This qualitative research investigates the nature of the relationship between WFMS and organisational culture, in the UK financial services sector. The research concludes that WFMS have the potential to modify culture in a positive way by improving the organisations' customer orientation, flexibility and quality focus.
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paper_title: An analysis of the anticipated cultural impacts of the implemementation of data warehouses

paper_content:

The implementation of information systems is increasingly resulting in significant impacts upon the host organization's culture. This study seeks to explore how major changes to the flow and quality of information, engendered through the implementation of data warehouses, are likely to impact upon organizational culture, among a sample of large UK-based enterprises. An analysis of these cases suggest that improvements to the flow of information may have the potential to modify organizational culture, particularly in the areas of customer service, flexibility, integration, and empowerment. Moreover, a modified version of the "competing values" framework is then used as a mechanism for exploring and discussing the implications of such IT-induced cultural changes. The paper concludes with a word of warning that information technology rarely delivers a quick fix and that the realization of benefits and the management of cultural change are a long-term and potentially difficult undertaking.
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paper_title: Computer-based information systems for development planning: the significance of cultural factors

paper_content:

Abstract New technological advances in microelectronics have recently prompted a number of developing countries to introduce computer-based information systems as a strategic tool for promoting socio-economic development. Despite efforts, these initiatives have not resulted in more effective planning and monitoring systems. Apart from problems related to inadequate resources and infrastructure, experience suggests that the introduction of information technology for development planning implies cultural values which are fundamentally at variance with those of traditional societies. There is, however, a paucity of literature which exposes the interplay between these cultural factors and the process of technology adoption. In this article, we review the literature on organizational culture and information technology. We then present a case study which attempts to link the current theory to practical experiences. Finally, we discuss ways in which the analysis of cultural aspects can lead to more effective management of information technology.
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paper_title: Culture, Control and Competition; Towards a Conceptual Framework for the Study of Information Technology in Organizations

paper_content:

This paper examines the significance of information communication technology (I.C.T.) for the theory and practice of organizations. There is voluminous literature in this field, but I.C.T. tends to be perceived as just another example of new technology. In fact, the information dimension of I.C.T. gives it a distinctive character in contrast to other technologies which remains under-theorized. The paper argues that information is intimately linked with power-knowledge rela tions and the forms of subjectivity that reside therein. In theorizing the exercise of power and the constitution of subjectivity, we suggest that three concepts — culture, control and competition — provide additional insights for the study of the development and application of I.C.T.s in organizations. The paper seeks to illustrate these arguments by reference to case study examples from financial service companies and the National Health Service.
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paper_title: More on myth, magic and metaphor: Cultural insights into the management of information technology in organizations

paper_content:

Much research on information technology (IT) emphasizes the rational aspects of IT use. However, cultural analyses have considered IT as a symbolic artifact open to social interpretation. This article presents findings from ethnographic studies of two large insurance organizations to illustrate how cultural assumptions about IT are implicated in IT management. We employ the metaphor of magic as an interpretive lens to generate five archetypes of IT culture: the revered, controlled, demystified, integrated, and fearful IT cultures. Each of these archetypal cultural patterns reflects different assumptions about the “magic” of IT and the “wizards” who control its powers. These patterns are similar to social responses to the unknown that have been found in human cultures for hundreds of years. The metaphor itself was drawn from the language of the two organizations. All five archetypes were manifest in both of the companies studied, suggesting that organizations do not necessarily develop unified symbolic meanings of IT. Although separately each archetype invites novel insights into the management of IT in organizations, together they reveal even deeper interpretations consistent with contemporary theories of cultural differentiation and fragmentation.
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paper_title: Abstract The Role of Cultural Fitness in User Resistance to Information Technology Tools

paper_content:

Abstract Human interactions with IT tools reproduce organizational cultural patterns in evolutionary terms which are similar to those seen in the evolution of human tools and language. This paper proposes that user adoption or rejection of new IT tools is derived from the cultural fitness of the tools in the organizational context rather than being close to the user's operational adaptation. The hypothesis proposed here requires an understanding of the correlation between language and tool use and an analysis of recent multi-disciplinary research in tool-mediated activity, language and cognition. Concepts of tool-mediated activity in a cultural context and their theoretical implications for HCI are examined by using the fields of anthropology, cognitive sciences and information technology. A comparative analysis of empirical data using cultural parameters is performed showing the effects of cultural fitness on the discretionary use of a new collaborative IT tool in an organizational context.
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paper_title: Cultural analysis of the organizational consequences of information technology

paper_content:

Abstract For over 30 years, the literature on organizations has carried accounts of the potential for information technology to transform organizational structures and processes. Despite this enduring interest in the relationship between information technology and organizations, the variety of actual consequences for organizations has not been satisfactorily explained. In this paper, we propose the use of cultural analysis to understand the organizational consequences of information technology. Analyses that use the construct of culture meet two important requisites for understanding and resolving the contradictory empirical findings. First, cultural analysis emphasizes the importance of socially constructed meanings and their relationship to information technology's material properties. From this perspective, technology's social consequences are largely indeterminate because of the variety of meanings that technology can assume. Cultural analysis thus removes the temptation to consider information technology as an autonomous determinant of organizational form and process. Second, cultural analysis can address information technology's role in both the persistence and the transformation of organizations. Information technology can help preserve institutionalized practices in an organization, and it can operate as a catalyst for change. Because cultural analysis encompasses these opposing organizational processes, it helps to explain the diversity of outcomes experienced after information technology is implemented.
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paper_title: Information in Organizations as Signal and Symbol.

paper_content:

We are grateful for the comments of Kenneth Arrow, Kennette Benedict, Robert Biller, David Brereton, Louise Comfort, Jerry Feldman, Victor Fuchs, Anne Miner, J. Rounds, Alan Saltzstein, Guje Sevon, and J. Serge Taylor; for the assistance of Julia Ball; and for grants from the Spencer Foundation, Brookings Institution, Hoover Institution, and National Institute of Education. Formal theories of rational choice suggest that information about the possible consequences of alternative actions will be sought and used only if the precision, relevance, and reliability of the information are compatible with its cost. Empirical studies of information in organizations portray a pattern that is hard to rationalize in such terms. In particular, organizations systematically gather more information than they use, yet continue to ask for more. We suggest that this behavior is a consequence of some ways in which organizational settings for information use differ from those anticipated in a simple decision-theory vision. In particular, the use of information is embedded in social normsthat make it highly symbolic. Some of the implications of such a pattern of information use are discussed.
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paper_title: More on myth, magic and metaphor: Cultural insights into the management of information technology in organizations

paper_content:

Much research on information technology (IT) emphasizes the rational aspects of IT use. However, cultural analyses have considered IT as a symbolic artifact open to social interpretation. This article presents findings from ethnographic studies of two large insurance organizations to illustrate how cultural assumptions about IT are implicated in IT management. We employ the metaphor of magic as an interpretive lens to generate five archetypes of IT culture: the revered, controlled, demystified, integrated, and fearful IT cultures. Each of these archetypal cultural patterns reflects different assumptions about the “magic” of IT and the “wizards” who control its powers. These patterns are similar to social responses to the unknown that have been found in human cultures for hundreds of years. The metaphor itself was drawn from the language of the two organizations. All five archetypes were manifest in both of the companies studied, suggesting that organizations do not necessarily develop unified symbolic meanings of IT. Although separately each archetype invites novel insights into the management of IT in organizations, together they reveal even deeper interpretations consistent with contemporary theories of cultural differentiation and fragmentation.
---
paper_title: Culture, Control and Competition; Towards a Conceptual Framework for the Study of Information Technology in Organizations

paper_content:

This paper examines the significance of information communication technology (I.C.T.) for the theory and practice of organizations. There is voluminous literature in this field, but I.C.T. tends to be perceived as just another example of new technology. In fact, the information dimension of I.C.T. gives it a distinctive character in contrast to other technologies which remains under-theorized. The paper argues that information is intimately linked with power-knowledge rela tions and the forms of subjectivity that reside therein. In theorizing the exercise of power and the constitution of subjectivity, we suggest that three concepts — culture, control and competition — provide additional insights for the study of the development and application of I.C.T.s in organizations. The paper seeks to illustrate these arguments by reference to case study examples from financial service companies and the National Health Service.
---
paper_title: Abstract The Role of Cultural Fitness in User Resistance to Information Technology Tools

paper_content:

Abstract Human interactions with IT tools reproduce organizational cultural patterns in evolutionary terms which are similar to those seen in the evolution of human tools and language. This paper proposes that user adoption or rejection of new IT tools is derived from the cultural fitness of the tools in the organizational context rather than being close to the user's operational adaptation. The hypothesis proposed here requires an understanding of the correlation between language and tool use and an analysis of recent multi-disciplinary research in tool-mediated activity, language and cognition. Concepts of tool-mediated activity in a cultural context and their theoretical implications for HCI are examined by using the fields of anthropology, cognitive sciences and information technology. A comparative analysis of empirical data using cultural parameters is performed showing the effects of cultural fitness on the discretionary use of a new collaborative IT tool in an organizational context.
---
paper_title: Cultural analysis of the organizational consequences of information technology

paper_content:

Abstract For over 30 years, the literature on organizations has carried accounts of the potential for information technology to transform organizational structures and processes. Despite this enduring interest in the relationship between information technology and organizations, the variety of actual consequences for organizations has not been satisfactorily explained. In this paper, we propose the use of cultural analysis to understand the organizational consequences of information technology. Analyses that use the construct of culture meet two important requisites for understanding and resolving the contradictory empirical findings. First, cultural analysis emphasizes the importance of socially constructed meanings and their relationship to information technology's material properties. From this perspective, technology's social consequences are largely indeterminate because of the variety of meanings that technology can assume. Cultural analysis thus removes the temptation to consider information technology as an autonomous determinant of organizational form and process. Second, cultural analysis can address information technology's role in both the persistence and the transformation of organizations. Information technology can help preserve institutionalized practices in an organization, and it can operate as a catalyst for change. Because cultural analysis encompasses these opposing organizational processes, it helps to explain the diversity of outcomes experienced after information technology is implemented.
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paper_title: Resolving International Conflict: Culture and Business Strategy

paper_content:

To minimise conflict between cultures, you must first analyse - measure even - the differences between them. That is the starting point for the third 1996 Stockton Lecture, reproduced here. The author identifies seven dimensions by which cultures can be distinguished from each otherwhich he defines as: Universalism versus Particularism; Collectivism versus Individualism; Affective versus Neutral relationships; Specificity versus Diffuseness; Achievement versus Ascription; Orientation towards Time; and Internal versus External Control. According to Dr Trompenaars, “Culture is the manner in which these dilemmas are reconciled, since every nation seeks a different and winding path to its own ideals of integrity.” Not only will conflict be reduced by this reconciliation, he argues, but businesses “will succeed to the extent that this reconciliation occurs.”
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paper_title: Informating the clan: controlling physicians' costs and outcomes

paper_content:

Past literature recognizes the power of information technology (IT) to establish greater transparency and in turn the potential for greater control. Theoretical perspectives such as informating and agency theory describe situations whereby legitimized management authority can control goal divergence by implementing information systems to better monitor agents' behavior and outcomes. But what happens when the principal does not possess legitimacy to impose an agent's use of information and/or behavioral conformance? This study investigates this situation. Through an action research project, a physicians' profiling system (PPS) was used to monitor and benchmark physicians' clinical practices and outcomes resulting in changed practice behaviors in closer congruence with management's goals. ::: ::: The PPS project represents a successful attempt of a hospital's management (principal) to "informate the clan" of physicians (agents) to reduce clinical procedural costs and adopt practices benchmarked to produce better outcomes. This research moves beyond directly controlling informated workers through legitimized managerial authority to a better understanding of how to informate autonomous professionals. Emerging insights suggest that a clan can be informated if the principal can improve the perceived legitimacy of the information (the message), legitimize the technical messenger (customized user interface), legitimize the human messenger (boundary spanners and influential clan members), and facilitate an environment where clan-based discussion, using the information provided by the principal, is incorporated into the process of concertive control.
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paper_title: Mexican and Swedish Managers' Perceptions of the Impact of EIS on Organizational Intelligence, Decision Making, and Structure*

paper_content:

Although information technologies in business organizations around the world may be very similar, the meanings conveyed through the technologies may be dependent on managerial values and national culture. Cultural differences need to be understood before information technology developed for organizations in one country can be effectively implemented in organizations in another country. Drawing on survey responses from managers using Executive Information Systems (EIS) across many organizations in Mexico, Sweden, and the United States, the current study examined whether cultural differences influence perceptions of the relationship between Executive Information Systems' use and various outcomes related to decision-making behaviors and processes. The study found significant differences, predicted by cultural factors, in the impact of EIS use on senior management decision making. The findings confirm the notion that IT is used by executives to reinforce the decision-making behaviors valued in their culture.
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paper_title: The organizational and cultural context of systems implementation: Case experience from Latin America

paper_content:

Abstract Multinational corporations (MNCs) face a number of potential obstacles in their efforts to implement computer-based information systems in subsidiary companies. Culture may impede implementation efforts because of differences in the way information systems are interpreted and given meaning. Specifically, the meaning of an information system to the MNC's headquarters and systems development group may differ from the meaning it has for the managers and users in the subsidiary. This paper describes one MNC's efforts to implement an automated accounting system in two of its Latin American subsidiaries. Problems experienced in one country led the company to adjust its implementation strategy by involving members of the company's international division in a redesign effort. Subsequent efforts to implement the same system in the second country succeeded easily due to the compatibility between the implementation team's actions and those of the local managers and workers.
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paper_title: Global Culture or Culture Clash New Information Technologies in the Islamic World—A View From Kuwait

paper_content:

Theories about the impact of the information revolution on the developing world stress the inevitability of democratization and economic privatization. This article tests some of these predictions in light of ethnographic practice using Kuwait as a case study. By studying the development of an active Internet culture in Kuwait and the persistence of traditional political and economic practices, this article provides evidence of the ways in which countries chart unique paths toward the 21st century and subsequently respond to forces of globalization. The author concludes that local cultural frameworks play an important and underrecognized role in the kinds of practices that are enabled by networked communications and adaptations to the global economy.
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paper_title: From Issues to Actions: The Importance of Individual Concerns and Organizational Values in Responding to Natural Environmental Issues

paper_content:

In this research, we traced the development of natural environmental issues in two organizations in real time over the period of a year. Participant observations, discussions with organizational members, and corporate documents yielded insights used to develop a model describing issue flows in both organizations. With this model, we identified the factors that influenced the scope, scale, and speed of organizational response to issues. Our methods provided insights into why issues generated organizational responses and also why they did not.Two factors appeared to be critical in explaining organizational responses to issues: individual concerns and organizational values. Individual concerns gave rise to an issue champion or seller. An issue consistent with organizational values was perceived as strategic. These werenecessary conditions; without either condition, the issue would not be resolved. It is argued further that individual discretion and excess resource slack will moderate the relationship between these direct effects and the scope, scale, and speed of organizational response. The framework that emerged from the data is conveyed through a set of four propositions.
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paper_title: Teams in packaged software development: The Software Corp. experience

paper_content:

Packaged software companies evolve in an environment characterized by ever‐shorter product life cycles and ever‐increasing competition. Reaching the marketplace first is often the way to gain a competitive advantage. This situation leads many packaged software organizations to change both their (often sequential) software development processes and rely on (often cross‐functional) teams. Reports on the software development practices of Software Corp., an organization developing software products for the travel industry, which experimented with several different approaches and finally implemented cross‐functional development teams. Data presented show that changes in the software development process deeply affect many aspects of the organization. The conclusions emphasize the importance of considering the work culture and organizational history when implementing a new software development method and highlight the importance of clearly defining the roles and responsibilities of all groups involved and the necessity to modify the company’s performance‐appraisal system to promote and support the new organizational objectives embodied in the changes in software development methods.
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paper_title: Punctuated equilibrium: Reconciling theory of revolutionary and incremental change

paper_content:

Using Simon's concept of nested hierarchies, this paper advances a new synthesis for understanding how and why the discontinuous change processes of punctuated equilibrium may occur in socio-economic settings. A. key concept is the nested, multilevel organization of 'deep structure', the order in a system. This includes culture, technology, operating routines, control systems, organizational structure, resources and distributions of power. Using a modified evolutionary process, change is triggered when a disturbance disconfigures one or more levels of the system's deep structure. New variations of deep structure, constrained by more fundamental levels, emerge as deep structure reconfigures. The variations are sorted through competitive selection and other non-competitive processes. The variations are retained as part of the reconfigured deep structure. The concept of a nested, multi-level deep structure explains a continuum of change. Incremental change occurs when only the more marginal levels of deep structure are affected. Revolutionary change occurs when the fundamental levels of deep structure reconfigure, as do all more marginal levels nested within them. Copyright (C) 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
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paper_title: A Qualitative Assessment of Arab Culture and Information Technology Transfer

paper_content:

Information technology transfer is not an easy task, and seems to be particularly daunting for developing countries. As most technology is designed and produced in developed countries, it is culturally-biased in favor of those developed countriesâ€™ social and cultural systems. This bias creates cultural and social obstacles for developing countries to transfer technology into practice. Based on focus groups, interviews of Arab-American business people, and a field study conducted in five Arab countries, this paper presents the findings of a qualitative progressive study to systematically examine the linkage between information technology transfer and sociocultural factors that support or impede a successful transfer.
---
paper_title: Computer-based information systems for development planning: the significance of cultural factors

paper_content:

Abstract New technological advances in microelectronics have recently prompted a number of developing countries to introduce computer-based information systems as a strategic tool for promoting socio-economic development. Despite efforts, these initiatives have not resulted in more effective planning and monitoring systems. Apart from problems related to inadequate resources and infrastructure, experience suggests that the introduction of information technology for development planning implies cultural values which are fundamentally at variance with those of traditional societies. There is, however, a paucity of literature which exposes the interplay between these cultural factors and the process of technology adoption. In this article, we review the literature on organizational culture and information technology. We then present a case study which attempts to link the current theory to practical experiences. Finally, we discuss ways in which the analysis of cultural aspects can lead to more effective management of information technology.
---
paper_title: EXECUTIVE VALUES AND DECISION MAKING: THE RELATIONSHIP OF CULTURE AND INFORMATION FLOWS

paper_content:

The effect of culture on work values has been studied in a number of ways, largely from a western perspective. Studies have predominantly employed questionnaires as the principal agent of data collection. Yet the Confucian work ethic attributes greater emphasis to collectivist values which bear more centrally on personal relationships. This research used discourse analysis in order to try to identify the implicit features of cultural values as they affected the transmission of financial information, a problem highlighted by the Asian currency crisis in 1997/98. ::: ::: ::: ::: The international hotel industry operates in a multicultural environment where very often foreign operators manage locally owned premises. In these circumstances, budgetary planning and control is an important mechanism. A sample of the interactions between 18 hotel general managers and their financial controllers were studied in Hong Kong. Financial controllers are already subject to a number of role conflicts and it was found that these may be exaggerated by culture. ::: ::: ::: ::: Chinese financial controllers seem to distort the outputs of budgetary planning and control processes in recognition of important organizational relationships. It is suggested that recognizing the direction and effect of these relationships has implications for leadership and performance judgements generally.
---
paper_title: Cultural differences in the online behavior of consumers

paper_content:

Understanding how different cultures use the Net---as well as perceive the same Web sites---can translate to truly global e-commerce.
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paper_title: The key role of organizational culture in a multi-system view of technology-driven change

paper_content:

Organizations undergoing technology-driven change must understand that technology is only one of several inter-related components which drive organizational performance. A multi-system perspective of organizations highlights the interdependencies between an organization's technology, structure and culture and how these affect organizational processes and behaviors. Successful technological innovations require that either the technology be designed to fit the organization's current structure and culture or that the organizational structure and culture be reshaped to fit the demands of the new technology. Thus, the desired effects of new technology are most often realized in organizations able to implement the additional changes that are required to maintain overall fit. To illustrate these issues, this paper presents a case study based on a technology-driven change in a Turkish financial organization. Special attention is given to the role of organizational culture, which is often cited as the most critical factor in successful technology assimilation.
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paper_title: The Australasian Produce Cooperative: a Global Information Systems Project

paper_content:

This case describes how the Australasian Produce Co-Operative (APCO), a marketing cooperative in a land-based industry in ‘Australasia’ attempted to create a global information system. APCO is among the 20 largest food enterprises in the world. Information systems took on increasing importance as the enterprise refined its global operations in the last decade. In the six years between 1996 and 2002, this case demonstrates the many pitfalls in the process of evolving an international information system as it follows APCO’s global system development. It shows the difficulties surrounding the definition of requirements in a large multinational firm and how such a definition is intertwined with the pre-existing politically charged environment that characterizes the global firm. Further, the case demonstrates how the failure of the information technology department to interpret correctly the organization’s strategy changes resulted in antagonistic forces in which business resistance finally defeated all attempts to install a standard global information system.
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paper_title: A Qualitative Assessment of Arab Culture and Information Technology Transfer

paper_content:

Information technology transfer is not an easy task, and seems to be particularly daunting for developing countries. As most technology is designed and produced in developed countries, it is culturally-biased in favor of those developed countriesâ€™ social and cultural systems. This bias creates cultural and social obstacles for developing countries to transfer technology into practice. Based on focus groups, interviews of Arab-American business people, and a field study conducted in five Arab countries, this paper presents the findings of a qualitative progressive study to systematically examine the linkage between information technology transfer and sociocultural factors that support or impede a successful transfer.
---
paper_title: Managerial information system success factors within the cultural context of North America and a former Soviet Republic

paper_content:

Due to the magnitude of organizational resource requirements for the development of managerial information systems, both practitioners and researchers have attempted to identify those factors that impact on information system success. This paper presents a cross-cultural analysis of a hybrid model of information systems success within the cultural context of North America and a former Soviet Republic, Latvia. The results of the analysis indicate that some of the factors that impact on managerial information system success have built-in value biases reflecting the value orientations of the culture in which they are developed.
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paper_title: Diffusing the Internet in the Arab world: the role of social norms and technological culturation

paper_content:

Drawing on the theoretical work of Hill et al. and Straub et al., this study examines culture-specific inducements and impediments to using the Internet in the Arab world. Research questions were: (1) to what extent does the process of technology culturation affect the acceptance of the Internet? and (2) to what extent do social norms (SNs) affect the acceptance of the Internet? Of the two research methods employed, the first was a quantitative field study of knowledge workers. The instrument measured the extent to which respondents and their organizations are influenced by advanced technology cultures. Using partial least squares (PLS), the first of two models tested links between SNs; technological culturation and Internet usage for each respondent. The second model investigated links between technological culturation and Internet utilization for the respondent's organization. Findings show strong support for both models, explaining, respectively, 47% and 37% of the variance. The second method was a qualitative analysis of respondents' free-format comments. These findings reinforce the quantitative findings, on the one hand, and reveal additional cultural barriers that still need to be studied, on the other. Findings identify how culture can both inhibit and encourage technological innovation and how Arab cultures can move their economies more quickly into the digital age.
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paper_title: Corporate Culture, Environmental Adaptation, and Innovation Adoption: A Qualitative/Quantitative Approach

paper_content:

Deshpande and Webster have identified the linkage between corporate culture and innovation adoption as an important industrial marketing topic. In the present study, this relationship is examined by both qualitative and quantitative research methods. The linear regression model, which depicts the corporate culture of adaptive companies attempting to survive in a competitive international environment, demonstrates that corporate culture is predictive of technology adoption. Qualitative data collected through in-depth interviews supplement quantitative results. The divergent cultures and survival modes for innovative and noninnovative companies are presented. Theoretical and methodological implications for marketing research are discussed, and management implications for industrial marketers are presented. Benefits of juxtaposing qualitative/quantitative methods are illustrated.
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paper_title: Culture, Control and Competition; Towards a Conceptual Framework for the Study of Information Technology in Organizations

paper_content:

This paper examines the significance of information communication technology (I.C.T.) for the theory and practice of organizations. There is voluminous literature in this field, but I.C.T. tends to be perceived as just another example of new technology. In fact, the information dimension of I.C.T. gives it a distinctive character in contrast to other technologies which remains under-theorized. The paper argues that information is intimately linked with power-knowledge rela tions and the forms of subjectivity that reside therein. In theorizing the exercise of power and the constitution of subjectivity, we suggest that three concepts — culture, control and competition — provide additional insights for the study of the development and application of I.C.T.s in organizations. The paper seeks to illustrate these arguments by reference to case study examples from financial service companies and the National Health Service.
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paper_title: The Cultural Impact of Workflow Management Systems in the Financial Services Sector

paper_content:

The implementation of information systems is increasingly resulting in significant changes to the host organisation's culture. In particular, the workflow management system (WFMS) is one new technology that, because of its tendency to have a direct impact on the organisation and execution of work, has the potential to significantly modify an organisation's culture. This qualitative research investigates the nature of the relationship between WFMS and organisational culture, in the UK financial services sector. The research concludes that WFMS have the potential to modify culture in a positive way by improving the organisations' customer orientation, flexibility and quality focus.
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paper_title: An analysis of the anticipated cultural impacts of the implemementation of data warehouses

paper_content:

The implementation of information systems is increasingly resulting in significant impacts upon the host organization's culture. This study seeks to explore how major changes to the flow and quality of information, engendered through the implementation of data warehouses, are likely to impact upon organizational culture, among a sample of large UK-based enterprises. An analysis of these cases suggest that improvements to the flow of information may have the potential to modify organizational culture, particularly in the areas of customer service, flexibility, integration, and empowerment. Moreover, a modified version of the "competing values" framework is then used as a mechanism for exploring and discussing the implications of such IT-induced cultural changes. The paper concludes with a word of warning that information technology rarely delivers a quick fix and that the realization of benefits and the management of cultural change are a long-term and potentially difficult undertaking.
---
paper_title: Punctuated equilibrium: Reconciling theory of revolutionary and incremental change

paper_content:

Using Simon's concept of nested hierarchies, this paper advances a new synthesis for understanding how and why the discontinuous change processes of punctuated equilibrium may occur in socio-economic settings. A. key concept is the nested, multilevel organization of 'deep structure', the order in a system. This includes culture, technology, operating routines, control systems, organizational structure, resources and distributions of power. Using a modified evolutionary process, change is triggered when a disturbance disconfigures one or more levels of the system's deep structure. New variations of deep structure, constrained by more fundamental levels, emerge as deep structure reconfigures. The variations are sorted through competitive selection and other non-competitive processes. The variations are retained as part of the reconfigured deep structure. The concept of a nested, multi-level deep structure explains a continuum of change. Incremental change occurs when only the more marginal levels of deep structure are affected. Revolutionary change occurs when the fundamental levels of deep structure reconfigure, as do all more marginal levels nested within them. Copyright (C) 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
---
paper_title: Computer-based information systems for development planning: the significance of cultural factors

paper_content:

Abstract New technological advances in microelectronics have recently prompted a number of developing countries to introduce computer-based information systems as a strategic tool for promoting socio-economic development. Despite efforts, these initiatives have not resulted in more effective planning and monitoring systems. Apart from problems related to inadequate resources and infrastructure, experience suggests that the introduction of information technology for development planning implies cultural values which are fundamentally at variance with those of traditional societies. There is, however, a paucity of literature which exposes the interplay between these cultural factors and the process of technology adoption. In this article, we review the literature on organizational culture and information technology. We then present a case study which attempts to link the current theory to practical experiences. Finally, we discuss ways in which the analysis of cultural aspects can lead to more effective management of information technology.
---
paper_title: Organizational culture and counterculture: An uneasy symbiosis.

paper_content:

Joanne Martin Caren Siehl cA? our sentences capture the essence of much of the recent organizational culture research. First, cultures offer an interpretation of an institution’s history that members can use to decipher how they will be expected to behave in the future. Second, cultures can generate commitment to corporate values or management philosophy so that employees feel they are working for something they believe in. Third, cultures serve as organizational control mechanisms, informally approving or prohibiting some patterns of behavior. Finally, there is the possibility, as yet unsupported by conclusive evidence, that some types of organizational cultures are associated with greater productivity and profitability. Most of this research shares a single set of simplifying assumptions. First, the perspective of the organization’s top management is assumed because the functions studied serve to (1) transmit top management’s interpretations of the meaning of events throughout the organization, (2) generate commitment to their practices and policies, and (3) help them control behavior in accordance with their objectives. Second, the functions of culture are portrayed as integrative, unifying the diverse elements of an or-
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paper_title: Methodological Issues in MIS Cross-Cultural Research

paper_content:

This paper presents a discussion of methodological issues that are relevant and idiosyncratic to cross-cultural research. One characteristic that typifies cross-cultural studies is their comparative nature, i.e., they involve a comparison across two separate cultures on a focal phenomenon. When differences across cultures are observed, the question arises as to whether the results are true cultural differences or merely measurement artifacts. Methodological considerations in cross-cultural research focus on ruling out alternative explanations for these differences and thus enhancing the interpretability of the results. The paper presents an overview of key methodological issues in cross-cultural research and reviews methods of preventing or detecting methodological problems.
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paper_title: Concepts of culture and organizational analysis.

paper_content:

Earlier versions of this paper were presented at the International Communication Association/Speech Communication Association Conference on Interpretive Approaches to Organizational Communication, Alta, Utah, July 1981, and the Eastern Academy of Management meetings, Baltimore, Maryland, May 1982. I would like to express special appreciation to Mike Pacanowsky and Linda Putnam for organizing the Interpretive Conference, which provided the impetus as well as encouragement for the development of these ideas. Thanks also to Gareth Morgan, Linda Pike, Lou Pondy, and Karl Weick for their various forms of inspiration. This paper examines the significance of the concept of culture for organizational analysis. The intersection of culturetheory and organization theory is evident in five current research themes: comparative management, corporate culture, organizational cognition, organizational symbolism, and unconscious processes and organization. Researchers pursue these themes for different purposes and their work is based on different assumptions about the nature of culture and organization. The task of evaluating the power and limitations of the concept of culture must be conducted within this assumptive context. This review demonstrates that the concept of culture takes organization analysis in several different and promising directions.
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paper_title: Reporting bad news about software projects: impact of organizational climate and information asymmetry in an individualistic and a collectivistic culture

paper_content:

The reluctance of people to report bad news can be a major contributor to the phenomenon of runaway software projects. If senior managers receive bad news sooner, they may be able to prevent runaway software projects through corrective action. Two factors that are known to impact predisposition to report bad news are organizational climate (whether reporting bad news is likely to result in reward or punishment) and information asymmetry (whether hiding bad news is likely to be possible over time). Using matching experiments in an individualistic (United States) and a collectivistic culture (Singapore), this study investigates how the individualism-collectivism dimension of national culture may moderate the impact of organizational climate and information asymmetry on human predisposition to report bad news. The results revealed that individualism appeared to amplify the impact of organizational climate on predisposition to report bad news (compared to collectivism) whereas collectivism appeared to amplify the impact of information asymmetry on predisposition to report bad news (compared to individualism). When deciding on whether to report bad news about software projects, people from an individualistic culture seemed to be more sensitive to organizational climate whereas people from a collectivistic culture seemed to pay greater attention to information asymmetry. These results have useful implications for practice and research involving cross-cultural software project teams. Beyond these implications, these results add a cultural dimension to our existing knowledge on software project management.
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paper_title: The Influence of National Culture on the Formation of Technology Alliances by Entrepreneurial Firms

paper_content:

We consider the effect that national culture has on the propensity for small, independent manufacturing enterprises to (1) cooperate with other firms for technological innovation and (2) use equity ties in the formation of these alliances. Results from a five-country study indicate that national culture traits directly influence technology alliance formation and moderate the relationship between perceived technological uncertainty and alliance formation. Specifically, our results suggest that a resource dependence explanation for technology alliance formation is strongest for societies that maintain cooperative values and avoid uncertainty. A transaction cost explanation for the use of equity ties is strongest for societies that value individualism.
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paper_title: EXECUTIVE VALUES AND DECISION MAKING: THE RELATIONSHIP OF CULTURE AND INFORMATION FLOWS

paper_content:

The effect of culture on work values has been studied in a number of ways, largely from a western perspective. Studies have predominantly employed questionnaires as the principal agent of data collection. Yet the Confucian work ethic attributes greater emphasis to collectivist values which bear more centrally on personal relationships. This research used discourse analysis in order to try to identify the implicit features of cultural values as they affected the transmission of financial information, a problem highlighted by the Asian currency crisis in 1997/98. ::: ::: ::: ::: The international hotel industry operates in a multicultural environment where very often foreign operators manage locally owned premises. In these circumstances, budgetary planning and control is an important mechanism. A sample of the interactions between 18 hotel general managers and their financial controllers were studied in Hong Kong. Financial controllers are already subject to a number of role conflicts and it was found that these may be exaggerated by culture. ::: ::: ::: ::: Chinese financial controllers seem to distort the outputs of budgetary planning and control processes in recognition of important organizational relationships. It is suggested that recognizing the direction and effect of these relationships has implications for leadership and performance judgements generally.
---
paper_title: Using Repertory Grids to Conduct Cross-Cultural Information Systems Research

paper_content:

As more business is being conducted internationally and corporations establishthemselves globally, the impact of cross-cultural aspects becomes an important research issue. The need to conduct cross-cultural research is perhaps even more important in the relatively newly emerging and quickly changing information systems (IS)field. This article presents issues relating to qualitative research, emic versus etic approaches, and describes a structured, yet flexible, qualitative research interviewing technique, which decreases the potential for bias on the part of the researcher. The grounded theory technique presented in this article is based on Kelly's Repertory Grid (RepGrid), which concentrates on "laddering," or the further elaboration of elicited constructs, to obtain detailed researchparticipant comments about an aspect within the domain of discourse. The technique provides structure to a "one-to-one "interview. But, at the same time, RepGrids allow sufficient flexibility for the research participants to be able to express their own interpretation about a particular topic. This article includes a brief outline of a series of research projects that employed the RepGrid technique to examine similarities and differences in the way in which "excellent" systems analysts are viewed in two different cultures. Also included is a discussion of the technique's applicability for qualitative researchin general and cross-cultural studies specifically. The article concludes by suggesting ways in which the RepGrid technique addresses some of the major methodological issues in cross-cultural research.
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paper_title: Cross-cultural software production and use: a structurational analysis

paper_content:

This paper focuses on cross-cultural software production and use, which is increasingly common in today's more globalized world. A theoretical basis for analysis is developed, using concepts drawn from structuration theory. The theory is illustrated using two cross-cultural case studies. It is argued that structurational analysis provides a deeper examination of cross-cultural working and IS than is found in the current literature, which is dominated by Hofstede-type studies. In particular, the theoretical approach can be used to analyze cross-cultural conflict and contradiction, cultural heterogeneity, detailed work patterns, and the dynamic nature of culture. The paper contributes to the growing body of literature that emphasizes the essential role of cross-cultural understanding in contemporary society.
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paper_title: Cross-cultural and cognitive issues in the implementation of new technology: focus on group support systems and Bulgaria

paper_content:

Over 40 per cent of technology implementation attempts in the United States (US) fail. These failures often are the result of human (rather than technological) problems. The consequences of implementers installing in one country equipment designed in another should be even more problematic and ubiquitous, as technology designers continue to move into international markets. A cognitive model of cross-cultural implementation is tested, using a US-designed group support system (GSS) and groups of Bulgarian and US university students. Bulgarians were expected to be less critical of the technology due to cultural responses to power and authority (i.e., less likely to challenge authority) and therefore less successful in adapting to the technology. However, results suggest that the Bulgarian students may in fact be more likely to challenge authority than their US counterparts. As hypothesized, Power Distance mediates some of the effects between culture and satisfaction with the GSS.
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paper_title: Testing the technology acceptance model across cultures: A three country study

paper_content:

Abstract In recent years, the technology acceptance model (TAM) has been widely used by IS researchers in order to gain a better understanding of the adoption and use of information systems. While TAM has been widely applied and tested in North America, there have been no attempts to extend this work to other regions of the world. Given the globalization of business and systems, there is a pressing need to understand whether TAM applies in other cultures. This study compares the TAM model across three different countries: Japan; Switzerland; and the United States. The study was conducted by administering the same instrument to employees of three different airlines, all of whom had access to the same information technology innovation, in this case, E-mail. The results indicate that TAM holds for both the U.S. and Switzerland, but not for Japan, suggesting that the model may not predict technology use across all cultures. The implications of these findings are discussed.
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paper_title: Measuring and Interpreting Organizational Culture

paper_content:

This article offers a triangulation approach to the study of organizational culture by employing reliably coded interviews to help interpret and place in context the results of statistical analyses from a standardized survey questionnaire. Subjects were 195 government employees representing every level and division in their department. All 195 subjects completed the Organizational Culture Survey and 91 subjects participated in 45-minute critical incident interviews designed to elicit subjects' interpretations of organizational events. From the analyses of these data emerges a description of the organization's culture.
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paper_title: The Cultural Impact of Workflow Management Systems in the Financial Services Sector

paper_content:

The implementation of information systems is increasingly resulting in significant changes to the host organisation's culture. In particular, the workflow management system (WFMS) is one new technology that, because of its tendency to have a direct impact on the organisation and execution of work, has the potential to significantly modify an organisation's culture. This qualitative research investigates the nature of the relationship between WFMS and organisational culture, in the UK financial services sector. The research concludes that WFMS have the potential to modify culture in a positive way by improving the organisations' customer orientation, flexibility and quality focus.
---
paper_title: An analysis of the anticipated cultural impacts of the implemementation of data warehouses

paper_content:

The implementation of information systems is increasingly resulting in significant impacts upon the host organization's culture. This study seeks to explore how major changes to the flow and quality of information, engendered through the implementation of data warehouses, are likely to impact upon organizational culture, among a sample of large UK-based enterprises. An analysis of these cases suggest that improvements to the flow of information may have the potential to modify organizational culture, particularly in the areas of customer service, flexibility, integration, and empowerment. Moreover, a modified version of the "competing values" framework is then used as a mechanism for exploring and discussing the implications of such IT-induced cultural changes. The paper concludes with a word of warning that information technology rarely delivers a quick fix and that the realization of benefits and the management of cultural change are a long-term and potentially difficult undertaking.
---
paper_title: The inertial impact of culture on IT implementation

paper_content:

Many researchers suggest that information technology (IT) implementation can be used to facilitate organizational reengineering. However, there are several factors that foster organizational inertia and inhibit such change. When an IT conflicts with an organization's culture, the implementation of that IT is resisted in two ways. The first may result in implementation failure by undermining the analysis and design process, underutilizing the system once implemented, and/or sabotaging the implemented system. The second adapts the IT during implementation or use so that conflicts with the existing culture are reduced. Both of these reduce the potential of IT implementation to engender organizational change. The impact of culture on organizational change is well known and documented in the organizational literature. This paper demonstrates some theoretical linkages among various cultures and different ITs. A theoretical case is therefore made concerning the inertial impact of culture on IT implementation.
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paper_title: Exploring Perceptions of Organizational Ownership of Information and Expertise

paper_content:

Beliefs of organizational ownership relate to whether information and knowledge created by an individual knowledge worker are believed to be owned by the organization. Beliefs about property rights affect information and knowledge sharing. This study explored factors that help determine an individual's beliefs about the organizational ownership of information and expertise that he or she has created. Four different situations of organizational ownership (information vs. expertise/internal vs. external sharing) were considered. The study found that a belief in self-ownership was positively associated with organizational ownership - suggesting a collaborative type of ownership situation for both information and expertise and for both internal (intraorganizational) and external (interorganizational) sharing situations. Organizational culture and the type of employee also influenced the beliefs of organizational ownership in all four scenarios. We conclude the paper with implications for practice and future research.
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paper_title: Identifying Organizational Subcultures: An Empirical Approach

paper_content:

Organizations have cultures, but parts of organizations may have distinct subcultures. The question of what is the proper level for a cultural analysis of an organization is generally handled intuitively. The organizational culture of a large Danish insurance company (3,400 employees) was measured, based on employees’ answers to 18 key questions about work practices. Subsequently, scores were determined separately for 131 work groups, and these were subjected to a hierarchical cluster analysis, which produced a dendrogram. The dendrogram showed that within the company there were three distinct subcultures: a professional subculture, an administrative subculture, and a customer interface subculture. These fit a theoretical prediction by Jones (1983); the cultural rifts between the subcultures could be readily recognized in the company’s practice, and had tangible consequences.
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paper_title: Strength Is Ignorance; Slavery Is Freedom: Managing Culture in Modern Organizations

paper_content:

The article subjects the assumptions and prescriptions of the ‘Corporate Culture’literature to critical scrutiny. the body of the article is devoted to teasing out the distinctive basis of its appeal compared with earlier management theory. It is seen to build upon earlier efforts (e.g.‘theory Y’) to constitute a self-disciplining form of employee subjectivity by asserting that ‘practical autonomy’is conditional upon the development of a strong corporate culture. the paper illuminates the dark side of this project by drawing attention to the subjugating and totalitarian implications of its excellence/ quality prescriptions. to this end, parallels are drawn with the philosophy of control favoured by the Party in Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four. Specifically, the paper critiques the ‘doublethink’contention that autonomy can be realized in monocultural conditions that systematically constrain opportunities to wrestle with competing values standpoints and their associated life projects.
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paper_title: An Examination of Cultural Competitiveness and Order Fulfillment Cycle Time within Supply Chains

paper_content:

Supply chains are increasingly important, yet little is known about the determinants of their success and failure. Drawing on the resource-based view and research on “adhocracy,” in this study we e...
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paper_title: The effects of information systems integration and organizational culture on a firm's effectiveness

paper_content:

Abstract Though the relationship between the investment in information systems (IS) and a firm's performance continues to be important; conclusive evidence that information technology (IT) contributes to a firm's effectiveness is rare. This study tests the relationship between the integration of IS during mergers and acquisitions and their effectiveness. The findings point to a positive relationship between IS integration and effectiveness only when controlling for (a) IT intensity, and (b) organizational culture differences between the joining firms. Thus, managers are advised to take into account IT intensity and cultural differences during the pre-merger negotiations and during the post-merger integration process.
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paper_title: Cultural differences and shareholder value in related mergers: Linking equity and human capital

paper_content:

Merger literature suggests that the relationship between shareholder gains and the relatedness of merging firms is contingent upon the compatibility of the two firms' top management cultures. This hypothesis is tested by surveying the perceptions of cultural differences of top management teams of recently acquired firms, and then relating these perceptions to related stock market gains to the buying firms. The findings suggest a strong inverse relationship between perceptions of cultural differences and shareholder gains, after controlling for perceptions of the buying firm's tolerance for multiculturalism and the relative size of the merging firms.
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Title: Review: a review of culture in information systems research: toward a theory of information technology culture conflict

Section 1: Introduction
Description 1: Provide an introductory overview of how culture influences information systems and organizational behavior, citing examples and incidents that illustrate these cultural effects.

Section 2: What Is Culture?
Description 2: Define the concept of culture, describe various perspectives and definitions, and introduce different models for understanding cultural dimensions, focusing especially on Schein's model.

Section 3: Values in Culture Research
Description 3: Discuss how culture is conceptualized through values at both national and organizational levels, and detail the significance of these values in understanding cultural influences on IT behaviors.

Section 4: Research Methodology
Description 4: Outline the criteria used for selecting literature, the search strategy, and the methodological approach for documenting and coding the studies reviewed.

Section 5: Literature Review
Description 5: Summarize the findings from the literature review, organizing the discussion into key themes observed in the research.

Section 6: Culture and Information Systems Development (ISD)
Description 6: Review studies that explore how culture influences information systems design and development processes.

Section 7: Culture and Information Technology Adoption and Diffusion
Description 7: Examine research addressing the impact of cultural values on the adoption and diffusion of IT at both national and organizational levels.

Section 8: Culture, Information Technology Use, and Outcomes
Description 8: Analyze the influence of culture on IT use and the outcomes resulting from this use, noting differences at national and organizational levels.

Section 9: Culture, IT Management, and Strategy
Description 9: Investigate how cultural values affect IT management and strategic decisions within organizations.

Section 10: The Impact of IT on Culture
Description 10: Discuss research that considers the role of IT in potentially transforming organizational and national cultures.

Section 11: IT Culture
Description 11: Introduce the notion of IT culture, examining the values associated with IT and how they impact perceptions and uses of technology.

Section 12: Toward a Theory of IT-Culture Conflict
Description 12: Propose a new theoretical framework for understanding IT-culture conflict, describing different types of cultural conflicts that may occur and their implications.

Section 13: Research Challenges
Description 13: Identify and discuss the methodological and conceptual challenges in conducting research on the relationship between IT and culture.

Section 14: Conclusion
Description 14: Summarize the key points from the review, highlight the gaps identified in the current research, and suggest directions for future studies in IT-culture research.