Preface

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This is the third volume in a series of Advanced Topics in Global Information Management. The first two volumes were edited by Felix Tan, Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Global Information Management. It is indeed my honor to join Felix in this project.

Information Technology is changing the way in which business manages information. Organizations adopt this technology to provide information for deciding how to fend off new competitors, re-enforce or maintain their competitive advantage, or to enter into new markets. Products and services must be provided to a global market as quickly as possible. This has put new demands on the organization's value chain both with regards to internal operations and externally when interacting with customers and suppliers. In order to remain competitive, organizations must continually develop and employ innovative applications for managing information. Indeed, in many situations these processes are a necessary part of continuing to be a viable organization. Cross-functional information systems are now being employed to support and integrate business activities related to products, services, and customers. As the global business environment changes so too must organizations.

Information Technology, in conjunction with the Internet, is a universal mediator because it connects parties who want to be connected throughout the world. It provides a new product distribution channel and supports information asymmetry. That is, it facilitates the equal sharing of information related to a business transaction. Various forms of electronic commerce assist organizations to work with existing, and in some cases new, customers, business partners, and suppliers.

The nature of knowledge seems to be the only limiting factor to the pervasive application of Information Technology. Knowledge of how to employ the technology is limited only by imagination. The creative use of Information Technology will generate many innovative applications.

As the use of Information Technology expands globally, cultural variability becomes evident in the processes used to manage information. There are two types of culture that are affected by technology. First, corporate culture relates to shared values of individuals within an organization. With the advent of Information Technology this corporate culture must change. Required skill sets will be modified as individuals will be asked to carry out new and expanded tasks. These changes will create stress. Second, Information Technology will facilitate the interaction of individuals from different societal cultures. Currency and payment infrastructures will vary from one country to another. As individuals from different countries interact there is the necessity to address different languages and issues relating to the compatibility of customs and conditions.

The very many issues outlined above are addressed by the chapters of this volume. Global information management involves all aspects of the management of information systems in an international setting. Research in this area is quite diverse, as exhibited in this book, and usually involves the investigation of cross-cultural issues in a multi-country context. In this volume we continue the custom established for the prior volumes by presenting chapters categorized by themes relating to either Global or Regional Perspectives.

Global Themes

The theme used to categorize the chapters included in this section is that they relate to investigations conducted with an international perspective. In Chapter I, Mol and Koppius discuss how Information Technology enables globalization. Bin, Chen, and Sun, in Chapter II, identify cultural considerations in the process of globalization through the use of Internet-based payment systems. Then, in Chapter III, Wresch investigates e-commerce initiatives in nine least developed countries and suggests strategies to expand markets. In Chapter IV, Khalifa, Limayem, and Liu present a contingency theory for e-commerce consumer retention by studying customer repurchase experiences. An interesting cultural aspect is investigated by Kersten, Kirsten, and Rakowski in Chapter V. They suggest how cultural variability may be addressed in the core of application software. Another cross-cultural investigation was conducted by Downing, Gallaugher, and Segars in Chapter VI. They determined that Information Technology selection with respect to cultural attributes will contribute positively to employee empowerment. In Chapter VII, Huang, Wei, and Lim propose a conceptual framework for employing group support systems to facilitate virtual team-building. Choi and Choi, in Chapter VIII, present their findings on the cross-cultural effects on information systems managers. In Chapter IX, Chen, Huang, and Hee provide a global perspective to automated "straight through processing" for international security trading by financial firms. In the final chapter of this section, Lee, Kang, Lee, and Lee evaluate the dynamic stages of e-tailing as an innovative venture and propose a stage model to explain e-tailing evolution.

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