Global business and cross‐cultural information systems: Technical and institutional dimensions of diffusion

Draws on a range of research into the problems of accommodating technical change in complex organizations to highlight the issue of cultural inter‐operability. Global economic integration is growing rapidly, facilitated in part by information and communication technologies. As an increasing proportion of organizations spans national and regional cultures significant cultural differences become intra‐organizational differences. Greater economic interaction implies a need for appropriate standards for technology and procedures, however; a number of significant new players in the world system are operating in a technical context and to sets of standards, official and de facto, which have been shaped by a predominantly Western model of business information technology. To gain the potential benefits of emerging technologies, the conflict between the needs of developers and users must be dealt with and the technical focus of information technology must be broadened to encompass cultural concerns at both organizational and social levels. Presents some case study material to indicate the key role of the balance between cultural and institutional constraints and technical capability within organizations.