Research Issues in Global Information Technology Management

Information technology (IT) is rapidly becoming an essential requirement for the conduct of international business. In many cases, IT is a driving force as evinced by its role in business expansion and competitive advantage in worldwide markets. Anecdotal accounts of innovative uses of IT in international business continue to appear in popular press as well as in many practitioner journals. Lately, the academic research community has taken note of IT in international business and has begun inquiry into global IT management. Yet at this early stage of inquiry, neither the issues nor their relative importance are clearly known. This article is an attempt to define the appropriate research issues and their relative importance in global IT management (GITM). Based on opinions of a large sample of IS professionals, six topical areas in GITM have been identified. The topical areas as well as specific research issues are further evaluated for their relative importance. The article should be of value and provide direction to researchers in this challenging and growing subdomain of MIS. It is also intended to stimulate further interest and investigation by a greater number of researchers.