UNDERSTANDING SUCCESSFUL USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN

Download PDF
29 downloads 0 Views 66KB Size Report
Comment
example, the production function approach (Brynjolfsson, 1994, Dewan and Min, ... Banker and Kemerer, 1989, Dewan and Michael, 1998), process oriented ...
EJISDC (2009) 37, 3, 1-9

UNDERSTANDING SUCCESSFUL USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN ORGANISATIONS IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES: A STRUCTURATIONAL PERSPECTIVE Acklesh Prasad University of Queensland and University of the South Pacific [email protected] ABSTRACT Information Technology and its relationship to organisational performance has been a subject of continued interest to researchers and other stakeholders in developing countries. While there is concurrence that IT does contribute to performance, and we are efficiently expanding our knowledge on what factors cause better leveraging of IT resources in organisations, we have done little to understand how these factors interact with technology that results in improved performance. This paper suggests looking that the interaction between organisational resources and technology within the structurational lens, which recognises the recursive interaction between technology and people in the presence of social practices, and the norms that inform their ongoing practices. An ethnographic approach to understanding this interaction between technology and resources, as suggested by the structuration perspective, is suggested, aiming to provide richer insights on the nature of the environment that promotes better use of IT resources in developing countries. Such insights could provide the IT users in developing countries with at least an initial conception of the “IT usage platform” that they could promote in their organisations to leverage the most from their IT resources. Keywords: IT Resources, Structuration Perspective, Ethnography, Organisational Resources. Developing Countries 1. INTRODUCTION Information Technology [IT] and its relationship to organisations’ structures, processes, and outcomes has long been interest to researchers in various jurisdictions, including perhaps to a lesser extent in developing economies. Over the years, one such relationship, technology and organisational performance, has been explored using different research perspectives, for example, the production function approach (Brynjolfsson, 1994, Dewan and Min, 1997, Banker and Kemerer, 1989, Dewan and Michael, 1998), process oriented approach (Steers, 1976, Green and Hevner, 2000), and the complementarity approach (Zhu, 2004, Subramani, 2004, Harrison et al., 2001). While it is recognised that IT investments are important for continued growth and development, including in developing economies, on its own, it may not be able to achieve much for businesses. Rather, it is seen as an important tool to achieve efficiency and effectiveness at different levels in organisations (Porter, 2001b, Porter, 2001a). This concept has been explored both conceptually and empirically within the lens of the resource-based view of the firm, and contingency theories, such as the complementarity theory. Essentially, today, it is widely recognised that it is how the organisations explore the IT resources, in conjunction with other resources that determines the nature of organisational benefits that could be generated from these IT resources. For developing countries too, an understanding of these IT synergy-related factors and unique capabilities within organisations is an important first step, as it forms the basis for shaping their IT usage environment. Furthermore, insights into these factors also help organisations realise their resource-base, and make them aware of their potential in making better use of their IT resources. However, while research has and continues to broaden our knowledge of these resources in organisations, little has been done to understand how these resources are used in organisations. Specifically, our knowledge of the organisational dynamics that results in successful use of IT resources in organisations is at its infancy. Such an initiative is important, as it may provide IT investors with insights on successful resource The Electronic Journal on Information Systems in Developing Countries http://www.ejisdc.org

EJISDC (2009) 37, 3, 1-9

2

interaction, and at least an initial conception of the IT usage “culture” that they could promote in their organisations to leverage the most from their IT resources. This understanding is especially important to developing countries in a number of ways. First, in developing countries, access to IT resources is limited, and an understanding of how value could be maximised within this constraint is crucial for growth. Second, owing to relatively small number of entities in some developing countries, it is difficult to make generalisations on empirical analysis, and thus limits our understanding on what mechanics of IT usage is proving successful in these countries. Finally, and perhaps the most important is that individuals and organisations in developing countries share a unique culture that includes one of IT usage. Thus, making assertions “from a distance” in such environment may not prove to disseminate information on the true nature of the successful interaction between different resource components within the organisations. To obtain rich understanding on the dynamics of IT usage in such environment means one has to get involved and be part of the “institution” created by the organisations. Thus, this paper proposes a theoretical lens, namely a structurational perspective that could be applied in developing countries to understand how technology is leveraged in organisations. The rest of the paper is organised as follows. The next section provides discussion on our current knowledge of the benefits of IT in developing countries. This follows discussion on the structuration perspective, followed by a research design that could be employed. Then, suggestions on how data should be analysed is presented, and the final section discusses possible implications of research in developing countries using this approach. 2. IT INVESTMENTS AND THEIR BENEFITS IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES The imbalance of scholarly studies in understanding the role of IT in developing countries is well noted in literature (for example, Roztocki et al., 2004, Checchi et al., 2003). Further, doubts have also been raised about the relevance of studies conducted in developed countries to developing countries (Pimchangthong et al., 2003, Roztocki et al., 2004). This lack scholarly focus tends to hinder the development and use of IT in developing countries, as businesses lack the vital information that could provide directions for successful use of IT. Nevertheless, the limited research conducted in developing countries does indicate that IT is important. Prasad (2008b) highlighted that managers and accountants perceive IT to be important in improving business activities at different levels of their organisations. This, to some extend, has also been supported empirically (see for example, Prasad, 2008a). At national level, Ziadi and Kuofie (2006) found that in Tunisia, businesses are not yet completely committed to the revolution of the information. They suggest that this lack of initiative could be because new technologies require investments, including development of human resources, which the Tunisian businesses do not feel ready to provide. Researchers have also focussed attention on how IT may promote development in developing countries. Madon (2000) highlighted the role of the intermediary institutions in linking the local to global, whereas Avgerou (2002) asserted the role of institutional settings of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) as an important factor in promoting development. The need for standards and telecommunications infrastructure is shown to be important (Silva and Figueroa, 2002), and the need for a network of human and nonhuman elements (Sayed and Westrup, 2003) is also highlighted as being important for development through the use of IT. The issue of cross cultural settings has also been considered in the developing countries, and the difficulty in non face-to-face communication when working across cultures is recognized (Aman and Nicholson, 2003). The need to understand and value locally meaningful ways of doings things is also recognized as important in seeing the benefits of IT investments (Bada, 2002). The more advanced developing countries, with higher GDP per capita, strong manufacturing sector, and advanced technology adoption have The Electronic Journal on Information Systems in Developing Countries http://www.ejisdc.org

EJISDC (2009) 37, 3, 1-9

3

received more attention with their IT investments. Studies have considered the diffusion of IT (Travica, 2002, Jain, 1997), the role of internet (Srikantaiah and Dong, 1998), human resource management (Napier and Vu, 1998), and management of technology (Abdul-Gader, 1998). The above discussion highlights the need to improve the awareness of the potential of IT to foster growth and development in developing countries, and to do so, a deeper level of understanding of the mechanics of successful IT usage is important. One such approach, that tames the rigid philosophical boundaries of research, is proposed next, which could prove to be helpful for both researchers and practitioners in developing countries in exploring and disseminating information on what leads to successful use of IT resources. 3.

A STRUCTURATIONAL APPROACH TO UNDERSTANDING HOW IT IS LEVERAGED IN ORGANISATIONS IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES At times, social science researchers’ strict adherence to underlying philosophical assumptions itself becomes a limitation on what we could understand about a phenomenon. One such aspect, the inherent opposition between subjective and objective dimensions of social reality, and its implications on understanding a phenomenon, has been the focus of social theorists (for example, Giddens, 1976, Giddens, 1984) and philosophers of science (for example, Bernstein, 1983). The result saw the evolvement of an alternative meta-theory that incorporates both the objective and subjective dimensions of reality. One such theory is the Giddens’ Structuration Theory (Giddens, 1976, Giddens, 1979, Giddens, 1984), that allows researchers to embrace both the subjective and objective conceptions of organisations. Giddens (1984) proposes the notion of structure as a set of enacted rules and resources that mediate social actions through facilities, norms and interpretive schemes. Actors, in their recurrent social practices, draw on their knowledge (prior action and situation on hand), the facilities, and their norms and apply these to structure their current action, and in doing so, they recursively instantiate and thus reconstitute the rules and resources that structure their social action (Orlikowski, 2000). Thus, in Giddens’ terms, technology in organisations should be seen as a structure, and thus, the same recursive constitution applies. People draw on their skills, power, knowledge, assumption, and expectations about the technology and its use from their past interaction and experience with that technology (Orlikowski and Gash, 1994). Users also draw on their knowledge of and experiences with the institutional contexts in which they live and work, and the social and cultural conventions associated with participating in such contexts (Orlikowski, 2000). As such, people’s use of technology becomes structured by these experiences, knowledge, meanings, habits, power relations, norms, and the technological artifacts at hand (Orlikowski, 2000). Recursively, they embody a distinct “technology-in-practice” – one that is a product of their capabilities, sourced from their learning from their past interaction with the artifact in the presented surrounding. Using this structuration lens we have seen the development of a number of structuration models of technology in the past, providing us with insights on the role of technology in organisations (see for example, Poole and DeSanctis, 1990, Orlikowski and Robey, 1991, Jones and Karsten, 2008). These models argue that technology as an embodying structure which is then appropriated by users during their use of technology (Orlikowski, 2000). These models relay the significance of human interaction, and since a structurational perspective is inherently dynamic and grounded in on-going human interaction, it has the potential to explain emergence and change in technologies and use (Orlikowski, 2000). Such conjecture could also be expanded to understand the interaction of IT resources with other “unique” resources that the organisations may be able to create overtime. This notion of technology and embodying structure fits well with the argument that technology is an essential tool for The Electronic Journal on Information Systems in Developing Countries http://www.ejisdc.org

EJISDC (2009) 37, 3, 1-9

4

organisations and its benefits depend upon how that tool is utilised. This depends upon how much they “understand” their technology, and this understanding will result on a particular level of interaction with other resources. The structuration approach has been explored in the analysis of organisational processes in information systems (see for example Orlikowski, 1992, Barley and Tolbert, 1997, DeSanctis and Poole, 1994, Jones and Orlikowski, 2004, Orlikowski, 2000, Orlikowski, 2002), and in other disciplines (for example, Sandberg, 2000). Essentially, structuration is posited as a social process that involves the reciprocal interaction of human actors and structural features of organizations (Orlikowski, 1992). It recognizes that human actions are enabled in the organisational structures, yet these structures are the result of previous actions. The role of human actors in reaffirming structural properties is highlighted so as to avoid reification (Giddens, 1984) . In the context of use of information technology in organisations, from structuration lens, human actions create and change technology, yet humans also use it to accomplish some action. This recursive notion of technology is what Orlikowski calls duality of technology (Orlikowski, 1992). Technology is seen as the product of human action (what they would like to achieve), while it also assumes structural properties. That is, technology is physically constructed by actors working in a given social context, and technology is socially constructed by actors through the different meanings they attach to it and the various features they emphasize and use (Orlikowski, 1992). Understanding how this technology is used, and the extent to which this technology contributes to performance in organisations depends upon ones ability to understand the meaning the actors (management and employees) attach to technology. This interaction is knowledgeable and reflexive. Respectively, one may not understand IT’s contribution in business by ignoring this notion of interactivity between technology, other resources and actors. This is the essence of this paper’s argument, and this “institution” that is created through various interactions hold rich information, which is rarely captured when one, is not involved in the setting. Furthermore, this setting is evermore complex and deep in organisations in developing countries owing to rich organisational and societal culture. Thus, this structuration perspective demands that, to understand organisations’ use of IT, one has to be richly submersed in the created “institution”, and this paper proposes an interpretive methodology, which is presented next. 4.

A PROPOSED METHODOLOGY THAT RECOGNISES THE CONCEPT OF STRUCTURATION An ethnographic approach, which provides the most in-depth analysis of the phenomenon, ideally blends with the core arguments of organisational structure within structuration perspective. Ethnography allows one to see what people are doing as well as what they say they are doing, thus obtaining a deep understanding of the people, their motivations, the organisation, and the broader context within which they work. Ethnographers immerse themselves in the life of people they study (Lewis, 1985) and seek to place the phenomena studied in their social and cultural context. Given that an understanding of successful use of IT focuses on the social and organizational contexts of IT usage, ethnographic research is an important means of studying these contexts and offers a rigorous approach to the analysis of how organisations use IT with the notion of context being one of the social construction of meaning frameworks. Ethnographic research is thus well suited to providing rich insights into the human, social, and organizational aspects IT usage, and posits as the most suitable approach to obtaining insights on how organisations use IT using the structuration lens. 4.1 The Organisation It is important to begin with some general criteria for site selection. Since the aim is to search for generic themes in IT use, focus should be on sites that represent IT usage diversity, and that could provide access to different levels of organisation. It is also important to include The Electronic Journal on Information Systems in Developing Countries http://www.ejisdc.org

EJISDC (2009) 37, 3, 1-9

5

employees and managers at different hierarchy in the organisation at a site where the groups (divisions) have had experienced fundamental IT investments, and groups that may have just reengineered their processes. Importantly, one would like to study an organisation that are known to be in the forefront of IT usage, as the themes that emerge from these organisations would most likely to characterise a wide range of organisations. The ethnographic research process is field intensive and longitudinal. This will require a considerable amount of organisational assistance in permitting a researcher access over a long period of time, and to a wide range of people. An ideal strategy would be to hold preliminary meetings with organisations that show interest, to ensure that there is a trade off, and they stand to learn something from the new to-be-produced knowledge. 4.2 The Players The main aim of a research of this nature is to understand the living meaning of a collective situation of the use of IT in organisations. However, much of the data gathered should focus on the individuals. As a result, use of triangulation is important, which is a process where there is continual concurrence and comparison of data obtained from different sources that attempts to describe the same phenomena. A negative approach may be useful, where one can decide who and what not to study, and use a big net (Fetterman, 1998), and at first, mingle with whoever one can. Perhaps, one can adopt an informal strategy, where, wherever possible, will try to “slip a foot in the door”, and mix it up with judgemental sampling to target units and people than can best help us answer the research question. The focus of this approach will be on workers and management who use technology, and one must conduct interviews and discussions with all those who are directly involved, in addition to observing them. The views and experiences of mid and senior level managers, and the members of the IT department (the technical teams) should be considered. These sampling techniques (individual or group meetings) will depend upon the constraints imposed by the chosen site. For example, in a production environment, access to individuals will be at the manufacturing floor, so more time needs to be spent at the manufacturing floor to meet the individuals and related managers. There needs to be a good mix between independence and soliciting support. For an ethnographer, it is difficult to penetrate into the “culture of the workforce”, so one should attempt to find somebody that can introduce them to the organisation, preferably a senior member. Once acceptance into organisation is achieved, the next level of data gathering should commence. 4.3 Data Gathering It is important to employ a number of ethnographic techniques such as observations of users and managers of IT, documentation review, social contact and being part of the workforce, and structured and unstructured interviews to collect the data. In the first phase of the research, gather historical data from in-house published materials and with senior managers on the company, its core business processes, and the use of technology. It is advisable to conduct small group discussions, and invite the outspoken individuals for a more probing discussion. These discussions should be tape-recorded, but be flexible to give the informants the opportunity to decide. It is also important to attend management meetings, hoping to observe the discussion, and to ask questions. One should also observe the participants, a process of living in the site and spending time observing and/or working side-by-side with employees. An ethnographer may get the richest data in an informal setting (Fetterman, 1998), thus, try to accompany them to coffee and lunches, and hopefully to after-work social gatherings. This will be useful in building the trust that will allow them to explore their experiences with you. Start with the basics in participation observation, with simple questions – “What is this?” As one gets involved in the actual process of use of IT, record our observations of your own learning and The Electronic Journal on Information Systems in Developing Countries http://www.ejisdc.org

EJISDC (2009) 37, 3, 1-9

6

discovery process. A specified time will need to be spent at each core process, and will include observation, interviewing the users in their daily interaction with the IT within the processes. Participation in the interview and other aspects of data gathering should be voluntary, and any invitations for participation will be the researcher’s sole initiative. If needed, seek other key stakeholders (customers, system developers) from outside the company. One of the keys to ensuring rich data collection is to set a friendly atmosphere of interaction, thus, pursue a non-judgemental form of listening to solicit people’s experiences that are still implicit. If they have a problem expressing their implicit thoughts, encourage them to draw pictures or some other way to express themselves. Try not to constrain the informants in anyway, and make the interviews as informal as possible. At this stage, one should be able to identify few “key actors”. They will provide a rich set of insights, and up-to-date cultural information. It is important to establish a bond of trust with the key actors, and try to spend more time with them. However, avoid overreliance and continue to target multiple resources. 4.4 Analysing Data In analysing data, adopt an inductive approach by treating data like the informants – listening to what the data is saying without any preconceived judgement. The ability to think is crucial in ethnographic data analysis. Start with simple perceptions, spending time identifying the patterns, allowing them to contradict. Focus on the key elements of IT investments, business resources, and their contribution to performance (Orlikowski, 2002, Eisenhardt, 1989, Glaser and Strauss, 1967), but remaining alert to emerging ideas. Data analysis should include multiple readings of interview transcripts, and other documentation. As with data collection, triangulation is basic in data analysis (Fetterman, 1998), and is the heart of ethnographic validity. Make every attempt to improve the quality of the data, thus improving on the accuracy of the findings. For every piece of important information, revisit an alternative source to confirm it. It is anticipated that all will share a few critical points on some aspect of the use of IT. This will provide a good grasp of fundamental ideas of IT usage, and should help in understanding the “IT resource usage communities” values of IT usage and performance. Once a basic understanding of the community culture (IT usage) is established, then look for patterns of thought and behaviour that repeat with various situations and various players. The patterns an thoughts are the key form of ethnographic reliability (Hammersley, 1992, Hammersley and Atkinson, 1989). From the undifferentiated ideas, collect pieces of information, compare, contrast, and sort gross techniques and minutiae until one can identify discernible thought and behaviour on IT usage and benefits. Then, use this thought and behaviour and listen and learn, and compare. With further sorting, sorting and shifting, one should expect to see some themes appearing. This will continue in an iterative form, and should help move up to build a broader understanding. It is also important to analyse any key event that one has come across (which should be recorded), (for example introduction of technology) hoping to derive some social activity, or embedded meaning. Use flow charts, organisational charts to evaluate the chain of communication, and decision rights. Any written or electronic data not considered earlier will have to be content analysed, and where necessary, this will help triangulate information within these documents to ensure they are consistent. Meeting minutes, budgets, and policy statements may provide important insights into management philosophy on IT investment and use. Practices are engaged in by individuals as part of the ongoing structuring processes through which institutions and organisations are produced and reproduced (Orlikowski, 2002). At this stage, one should expect to see some similarities, and hopefully some counterintuitive conceptions of the nature of use of IT that contributes to performance. This The Electronic Journal on Information Systems in Developing Countries http://www.ejisdc.org

EJISDC (2009) 37, 3, 1-9

7

will then allow one to crystallise their thoughts to come up with some insights on how IT is used and how it contributes to performance. Such an understanding will have far reaching consequences for investors in IT in developing countries. 5. CONCLUSION The level of IT spending in organisations in developing countries is growing rapidly. Technology has penetrated significantly into business processes, and is, directly controlling these key processes, or their introduction has resulted in a radical change in those business processes. Current arguments postulate that it is not IT itself that generates value; rather it is how IT is used that contributes to organisational performance. This paper presents an approach to understanding how IT is used in organisation to create value, and is intended to provide a richer understanding to stakeholders in developing countries on the true potential of IT resources. This paper has framed its argument within Gidden’s structuration theory, which tames the subjective-objective conception of organisations and posits a reciprocal interaction of human actors and the structural features of organisations, and provides an ideal framework to understanding how resources and technology interact in organisations with an ethnographic approach. It is hoped that the suggestions and procedures presented in this paper, will provide IT-related stakeholders in developing countries with an opportunity to understand that “ideal” combination and interaction of organisational resources that delivers the most value from their IT investments. 8. REFERENCES Abdul-Gader, A. (1998) Managing Computer-based Information Systems in Developing Countries: A Cultural Perspective, IGP. Aman, A. & Nicholson, B. (2003) The Process of Offshore Development: Preliminary Studies of UK Companies in Malaysia, International Conference on Information Processing Dordrecht, The Netherlands. Avgerou, C. (2002) Information Systems and Global Diversity New York, Oxford University Press. Bada, A.O. (2002) Local Adoption of Global Trends: A Study of IT-based Organizational Change Program in Nigerian Bank, The Information Society, 18, 2, 77-86. Banker, R.D. & Kemerer, C.F. (1989) Scale Economies in New Software Development, IEEE Transactions on Software Engineering, 15, 10, 1199. Barley, S.R. & Tolbert, P.S. (1997) Institutionalization and structuration: studying the links between action and institution, Organization Studies, 18, 93-117. Bernstein, R.J. (1983) Beyond Objectivism and Relativism, Pennsylvania, University of Pennsylvania Press. Brynjolfsson, E. (1994) Information Assets, Technology, and Organization, Management Science, 40, 12, 1645-1662. Checchi, R.M., Hsieh, J.J. & Straub, D.W. (2003) Public IT Policies in Less Developed Countries: A Critical Assessment of the Literature and a Reference Framework, Journal of Global Information Technology Management, 6, 4, 45-64. DeSanctis, G. & Poole, M.S. (1994) Capturing the complexity in advanced technology use: Adaptive structuration theory, Organization Science, 5, 2, 121. Dewan, S. & Michael, S.C. (1998) Firm Characteristics and Investments in Information Technology: Scale and Scope Effects, Information Systems Research, 9, 3, 219. Dewan, S. & Min, C.K. (1997) The substitution of information technology for other factors of production: A firm level analysis, Management Science, 43, 12, 1660-1675. Eisenhardt, K. (1989) Building Theories from Case Study Research, Academy of Management Review, 14, 4, 532-551. The Electronic Journal on Information Systems in Developing Countries http://www.ejisdc.org

EJISDC (2009) 37, 3, 1-9

8

Fetterman, D. M. (1998) Ethnography: Step by step, Newbury Park, Sage Publications. Giddens, A. (1976) New Rules for Sociological Methods, New York, Basic Books Giddens, A. (1979) Central Problems in Social Theory: Action, Structure, and Contradiction in Social Analysis Berkeley, CA, University of California Press. Giddens, A. (1984) The Constitution of Society: Outline of the Theory of Structure, Berkeley, CA, University of California Press. Glaser, B. & Strauss, A. (1967) The Discovery of Grounded Theory: Strategies for Qualitative Research, Chicago, Aldine Publishing Company. Green, G.C. & Hevner, A.R. (2000) The Successful Diffusion of Innovations: Guidance for Software Development Organizations, IEEE Software, 17, 6, 96. Hammersley, M. (1992) What's wrong with ethnography? Methodological explorations, London, Routledge. Hammersley, M. & Atkinson, P. (1989) Ethnography: Principles and Practices, London, Routledge. Harrison, J.S., Hitt, M.A., Hoskisson, R.E. & Ireland, R.D. (2001) Resource Complementarity in Business Combinations: Extending the Logic to Organizational Alliances, Journal of Management, 27, 679-690. Jain, R. (1997) A Diffusion Model for Public Information Systems in Developing Countries., Journal of Global Information Management, Winter, 4-15. Jones, M. & Orlikowski, W. (2004) Structuration Theory and Information Systems: A Critical Reappraisal. In Mingers, J. & Willcocks, L. (Eds.) Social Theory and Philosophy for Information Systems. UK, Wiley, Chichester. Jones, M.R. & Karsten, H. (2008) Giddens's Structuration Theory and Information Systems Research, MIS Quarterly, 32, 1, 127-157. Lewis, I.M. (1985) Social Anthropology in Perspective, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press. Madon, S. (2000) The Internet and Socio-economic development: Exploring the Interaction, Information Technology & People, 13, 2, 85-101. Napier, N.K. & Vu, V. (1998) International Human Resource Management in Developing and Transitional Economy Countries: A Breed Apart?, Human Resource Management Review, 8, 1, 39-77. Orlikowski, W.J. (1992) The Duality of Technology: Rethinking the Concept of Technology in Organizations, Organization Science, 3, 3, 398-427. Orlikowski, W.J. & Robey, D. (1991) Information Technology and the Structuring of Organizations, Information Systems Research, 2, 2, 143. Orlikowski, W.J. (2000) Using Technology and Constituting Structures: A Practice Lens for Studying Technology in Organizations, Organization Science, 11, 4, 404. Orlikowski, W.J. (2002) Knowing in Practice: Enacting a Collective Capability in Distributed Organizing, Organization Science, 13, 3, 249. Orlikowski, W.J. & Gash, D.C. (1994) Technological Frames: Making Sense of Information Technology in Organizations, ACM Transactions on Information Systems, 12, 2, 669702. Pimchangthong, D., Plaisent, M. & Benard, P. (2003) Key Issues in Information Systems Management: A Comparative Study of Academic and Practitioners in Thailand, Journal of Global Information Technology Management, 6, 4, 27-44. Poole, M.S. & DeSanctis, G. (Eds.) (1990) Understanding the Use of Group Decision Support Systems: The Theory of Adaptive Structuration, Newbury Park, CA, Sage Publications. Porter, M. E. (2001a) Clusters of Innovation Initiative, Washington, DC, Council on Competitiveness. Porter, M. E. (2001b) Strategy and the Internet, Harvard Business Review, 79, 3, 63. The Electronic Journal on Information Systems in Developing Countries http://www.ejisdc.org

EJISDC (2009) 37, 3, 1-9

9

Prasad, A. (2008a) The Impact of Information Technology Investments on Firm Processes and Performance: Developing Economy Perspectives, New York, Nova Science Prasad, A. (2008b) Information Technology and Business Value in Developing Economies: A Study of Intangile Benefits of Information Technology Investments in Fiji, Electronic Journal of Information Systems in Developing Countries, 34, 2, 1-11. Roztocki, N., Pick, J. & Navarrete, C. (2004) IT Investments in Developing Countries: Editorial Introduction, Electronic Journal of Information Systems in Developing Countries, 19, 0, 1-3. Sandberg, J. (2000) Understanding Human Competence at Work: An Interpretative Approach, Academy of Management Journal, 43, 9-25. Sayed, E.H. & Westrup, C. (2003) Egypt and ICTs bring National Initiatives, Global Actors and Local Companies Together, Information Technology & People, 16, 1, 93-110. Silva, L. & Figueroa, E.B. (2002) Institutional Intervention and the Expansion of ICTs in the Latin America: The Case of Chile, Information Technology & People, 15, 1, 8-25. Srikantaiah, T.K. & Dong, X. (1998) The Internet and its Impact on Developing Countries: Examples from China and India, Asian Libraries, 7, 9, 199-209. Steers, R.M. (1976) When is an Organization Effective - a Process Approach to Understanding Effectiveness, Organizational Dynamics, 5, 2, 50-63. Subramani, M. (2004) How do Suppliers Benefit from Information Technology Use in Supply Chain Relationships?, MIS Quarterly, 28, 1, 45-73. Travica, B. (2002) Diffusion of Electronic Commerce in Developing Countries: The Case of Costa Rica, Journal of Global Information Technology Management, 5, 1, 4-24. Zhu, K. (2004) The Complementarity of Information Technology Infrastructure and ECommerce Capability: A Resource-Based Assessment of Their Business Value, Journal of Management Information Systems, 21, 1, 167-202. Ziadi, J. & Kuofie, M.H.S. (2006) Impact of ICT in Organisations in Tunisia, Electronic Journal of Information Systems in Developing Countries, 28, 4, 1-8.

The Electronic Journal on Information Systems in Developing Countries http://www.ejisdc.org