Gordon Hunter and Felix Tan live in very different parts of the world. Gordon lives in a small city, Lethbridge, Alberta, in a large northern hemisphere country, Canada. Felix lives in a large city, Auckland, in a small southern hemisphere country, New Zealand. The time difference between the two locations is 18 hours. However, with the use of modern technology and judicious planning, the two are able to co-ordinate many research projects.
Recently Gordon travelled on an academic exchange to Anadolu University in Eskisehir, Turkey. Again, technology allowed him to interactively co-ordinate a visit to Melbourne, Australia and to work with a graduate student back in Lethbridge.
The above examples show just how global work is becoming. It seems possible to work with anyone, anywhere, at anytime. This is not only possible at the individual level but also at the corporate level. Indeed, it is now necessary for companies to be able to conduct business while taking a global perspective to their operations.
The research presented in the following chapters relates to the many issues surrounding living and working in a global environment. The chapters are organized by those that take a truly global perspective and those that emphasize a regional theme while contributing to the global environment.
Global Themes
Chapter I by Yap, Das, and Burbridge, discusses why some countries successfully integrate e-commerce, while others do not. Dhar and Balakrishnan, in Chapter II, assess the risk factors associated with outsourcing the IT function on a global scale. In Chapter III Shah, White, and Cook present a global perspective on privacy protection. Zhao, Kim, Suh, and Du, in Chapter IV, examined how social institutional factors affected diffusion of the Internet in 39 countries. In Chapter V, Joshi, Barrett, Walsham, and Cappleman assess knowledge sharing in global organizations. Ho, Yoo, Yu, and Tam, in Chapter VI, employ Hofstede’s Cultural dimensions to analyze Buy-It-Now (BIN) auctions. In Chapter VII, Srivasta and Teo gathered secondary from 99 countries to examine the impact of e-government on national performance. Then, in Chapter VIII, Zhang and Lee reviewed the economic performance of 10 countries relative to international spillover of information and communication technology.
Regional Themes
In this section the chapters focus on a specific location or small group of locations within a specific region. Chapter IX’s Wresch and Fraser discuss the technological hurdles for e-commerce in the Caribbean. In Chapter X Davison, Kam, Li, Li, and Ou explore the use of Web-based surveys in China. Gefen and Heart, in Chapter XI relate Israeli national culture to trust in e-commerce. Then Hornik and Tupchiy, in Chapter XII discuss the impact of culture based on a sample from southeastern United States on the effectiveness of technology mediated learning. In Chapter XIII Dinev, Bellotto, Hart, Russo, Serra, and Colautti investigate privacy concerns of Internet users in Italy and the United States. Ji, Min, and Han, in Chapter XIV, reviewed 18 Chinese academic journals to identify their major theoretical references. In Chapter XV, Lim and Yang investigate the use of negotiation support systems in East Asia. Park, Kim, and Lee, in Chapter XVI report on number portability in the telecommunications industry in Korea. In Chapter XVII, Taylor employs Agency Theory to review outsourced information technology projects in Hong Kong. Lippert and Volkmar, in Chapter XVIII, employ the Theory of Reasoned Action to compare the cultural effects of technology on performance and utilization between users in Canada and the United States. Teo presents a Singapore perspective in Chapter XIX on Internet adoption. In Chapter XX Sanford and Bhattacherjee analyze technology implementation in a municipality in Ukraine. Sherer compares information technology investment management processes in Portugal and the United States in Chapter XXI. In Chapter XXII, Hsiao examines e-marketplace adoption in the agricultural industry in China. Ali and Green, in Chapter XXIII review information technology governance mechanisms in Australia. Finally, in Chapter XXIV, Chan, Vogel, and Ma investigate the Hong Kong cultural aspects of mobile phone interruptions.
Acknowledgements
The many authors involved in conducting the research reported here have made a significant contribution not only to this book but to our global information management field of study. To you we are indebted.
M. Gordon Hunter
Felix B. Tan
March 2008