Introduction

The recent development of information technology (IT) since the 1980s has brought about a huge interest amongst academics and business practitioners. According to Davis (1992), for example, the following topics have been investigated by academics: organisation and management of the information system (IS) function in an organisation; specifications for and requirements of classes of systems common to organisations, for example decision support systems (DSS); IS application requirements; IS development, implementation and maintenance; impact/interaction of IT/IS and effects on individual users in various settings. Furthermore, Watson and Brancheau’s (1992) study reports the major concerns of IS executives are: improving IS strategic planning; aligning IS and corporate goals; educating senior management with regard to IS’s potential and role; using IS for competitive advantage; developing an information architecture, and so on. Many pieces of research for each topic area have been conducted. As I will review in Chapter 2, such huge interest in IT/IS has led some researchers to international comparisons of these IT issues in organisational settings. Despite the relative boom of theoretical insights and many predictions for the future which can be seen in, for example, Drucker (1989), relatively few studies have shown empirical evidence on the effects of IT-based systems in an international context, and still fewer have focused attention on the relationship between IT and national culture in particular.