GIM Research Frameworks

GIM Research Frameworks

No formal definition of global information management could be found in the IS literature. Deans and Ricks (1991) refer to issues at the "interface of MIS and international business" (p. 58). Palvia (1997) refers to "global IT research" and describes a model to "assess the strategic impact of IT on a global organization engaged in international business" (p. 230). For this chapter, we define global information management as the development, use, and management of information systems in a global/international context. By global we mean those information systems that have impacts beyond a single country or country of origin. The term global is used in a general sense since no firm or information system is found in every country in the world. Global information management deals with management, technological, and cultural issues such as differing national communications infrastructures, differing IS quality standards, IS development in different cultures, and many others. GIM research is the rigorous and systematic study of the development, use, and operations/management of a global information system(s) in a multicountry organizational environment. At the same time, traditional GIM research includes numerous single country studies focusing on the management of the information resource in a domestic context. According to Palvia (1998a), these "first generation" studies have laid the foundation and helped define global IT. This paper has therefore included single country studies in the analysis.

Most of the published literature in GIM that provides some kind of guide to research in the field has concentrated on identifying the "key issues" in the global management of information resources (Badri, 1992; Deans & Ricks, 1991; Ives & Jarvenpaa, 1991; Palvia, 1998b; Watson et al., 1997). These publications survey various stakeholders involved in the research and practice of GIM and are useful in that they attempt to capture what these people think are the critical issues in the field.

Very few papers propose frameworks or models that will help guide comprehensive research in this area. One exception is the work of Deans and Ricks (1991), who identify key issues and develop a research model based on Nolan and Wetherbe's (1981) IS research model and Skinner's (1964) work on international dimensions. This model views research as a set of subsystems that places management information systems (or GIM) at the center of the set. Skinner's international dimensions (social/cultural, economic, technological, political/legal) are overlaid on this framework to show the scope of the issues involved in GIM. This model is useful in a general sense but does not appear to help in showing where previous research fits or in guiding future research.

Another exception is Palvia (1997). In this paper, a model that attempts to measure the strategic impact of IT on the global firm is proposed. This model is useful in that it identifies a number of strategic factors that should be considered in studying global IT. However, this model does not identify key areas for future research in GIM and was not developed specifically to guide comprehensive research in the field.

Other preliminary frameworks with a focus on culture might also be considered GIM research frameworks. Ein-Dor, Segev, and Orgad (1993), in their model, contend that culture as a variable consists of three major dimensions—economic, demographic, and psycho-sociological. The authors argue that any research into global IT should consider these cultural dimensions. Nelson and Clark (1994) propose a model describing the effect of multicultural environments on IT development and use. However, both of these models are too narrow in their scope and do not provide a broad framework to guide research in GIM.

What appears to be missing at this point is an overall research model, similar to the early IS research models, which will help guide future research into GIM and help organize and categorize research previously done. According to Palvia (1998a), such a framework has yet to be developed.