Introduction

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The software industry is full of experiences about software projects that miss their deadlines, exceed budget, are low in quality, and are delivered not to customer satisfaction (for example Dutton, 1980, Myers, 1995; Brooks, 1995; Flowers, 1996; Glass, 1997; & McBride, 1997). These problems are usually caused by risks to the project that were not anticipated and identified early enough. However, as each software development project involves at least some degree of uniqueness and our technology changes continuously, uncertainty about the end results will always accompany software development (Kontio & Basili, 1996). It is generally accepted that risks, if not managed properly and successfully, may cause IS projects to fail (Charette, 1989; Boehm, 1991; Fairley, 1997). Therefore, the factors that contribute to IT/IS project failure have to be examined since they are sources of project risks. The success and failure of IS/IT projects have been extensively covered in the IS literature (Dutton, 1980; Pinto & Slevin, 1987; Abdel-Hamid & Stuart, 1990; Poulymenakou & Holmes, 1996; Flowers, 1996). Several authors have examined the issue of IS failure for the purpose of gaining detailed understanding of the nature, issues and factors affecting failure (Ginzberg, 1980; Lyytinen, 1988; Ewusi-Mensah & Przasnyski, 1995). Several frameworks have been proposed (Ginzberg, 1980; Lyytinen, 1988; Flowers, 1996; & Karolak, 1996).

Our current research work is investigating risks at the implementation stage of IS projects in Omani government organizations. It aims to answer the following questions: What are the cultural/organisational risk factors involved in implementing IT projects in Oman? And what strategies are needed to deal with those risks? A review of the IS literature suggests that most research that has concentrated on exploring the factors affecting IT implementation can be characterized by the following.

First, it concentrates on businesses. However, public administration theory and management literatures argue that business organizations face a different environment than government organisations, which in turn leads to observable differences in organizational behaviour and management that surrounds the IS implementation.

Second, most studies in IT implementation have been conducted in developed countries like the U.S. and UK. Much of the technology designed and produced in industrialized countries is culturally biased in favour of their social and cultural systems; consequently, developing countries encounter cultural and social obstacles when transferring technology into practice (Hill et al., 1998). There are significant cultural, and organizational differences between organisations in developed and developing countries (Palvia & Palvia, 1996). The aim of this chapter is to contribute to a broader understanding of the IT implementation process by focusing on government organizations in a developing country (in this case, Oman). The analyses of these factors will enable us to recommend mitigation strategies to deal with them.

In this chapter, the cultural and organisational factors affecting IT/IS deployment in Omani government are examined. To provide a context we outline the IT culture of the country. We then establish the theoretical background for the importance of the cultural and organisational factors in the success and failure of IT/IS. The different characteristics of implementing an IS in commercial companies and government organisations in Oman will also be highlighted. Then we discuss specific factors that are relevant to Omani culture. Our focus will be on the cultural and organisational factors: we then conclude with a list of recommended solutions to minimise the difficulties of IT deployment.

Background of IT in Oman

Oman is located on the east of the Arabian Peninsula and is part of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) along with Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, and Kuwait. These countries signed a 'Unified Economic Agreement' in 1981 with the aim of creating an economic block. All the GCC countries are classified as either high or upper-middle income, according to World Bank classification. The GCC's combined GDP reached US$250 billion in 1999 while Oman's GDP reached US$15.5 billion. In 1999 Oman's population was put at 2.3 million and it is considered to be the second largest among GCC countries. The use of IT in Oman is booming, although it is not possible to get accurate figures of IT spending. However, it is accepted in Oman that IT use in the public sector is much less than in the private sector. Several reasons contribute to this situation, including:

• Language: The private sector uses English as an official language while the public sector uses Arabic. The availability of IS in Arabic is limited.

• Workforce composition and management styles: The private sector is mainly managed by expatriates (especially at decision making levels) who tend to possess higher education and better awareness of the potential of IT than Omani nationals.

• Competition: Private enterprises are subject to potential competition and use IT to improve efficiency in decision making, while in government organisations bureaucratic rationale, centralised decision-making, and risk-averse culture still prevails.

Oman has only one university (Sultan Qaboos University) that is state owned, funded, and operated. The chancellor of the university is a cabinet minister, and the education is free. There are also few colleges offering diplomas in administrations, engineering, and sciences. In 1998, 260 IT professionals entered the Omani job market: 24 graduated from the local university with either computer science or information science degrees, nine from abroad, and 227 with local IT diplomas. This number is fairly small compared to high demand for IT in Oman, thus compounding the need for expatriates.

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