IRMA-International.org: Creator of Knowledge
Information Resources Management Association
Advancing the Concepts & Practices of Information Resources Management in Modern Organizations

Objects as the Primary Design Principle for International Information Systems

Objects as the Primary Design Principle for International Information Systems
View Sample PDF
Author(s): Hans Lehmann (Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand)
Copyright: 2008
Pages: 18
Source title: Handbook of Research on Global Information Technology Management in the Digital Economy
Source Author(s)/Editor(s): Mahesh S. Raisinghani (Texas Woman's University, USA)
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-59904-875-8.ch025

Purchase

View Objects as the Primary Design Principle for International Information Systems on the publisher's website for pricing and purchasing information.

Abstract

This exploratory research project set out to investigate the architecture and design principles of inter-national information systems. Analysing six case vignettes in a modified grounded theory approach, a two-dimensional topology for international information systems—postulated from previous research as a seed concept—was confirmed as a useful architecture paradigm. In its terms, international informa-tion systems are configured from two elements: core systems (common for the whole enterprise) on the one hand, and local systems (specific only for each site) on the other. The interface between the two is a third component. The cases showed that achieving the correct balance between core and local can be a difficult political process and requires careful organisational engineering to be successful. One case vignette, in particular, highlights the logical and organisational difficulties in defining these systems ele-ments. Object orientation as the fundamental design principle is investigated as an approach to provide a solution for this problem. Because it enables implementation differentiation and flexibility for future functional changes, it is conjectured that object technology is an optimal—technical—development strategy for international information systems. Directions for further research are outlined.

Related Content

Christian Rainero, Giuseppe Modarelli. © 2025. 26 pages.
Beatriz Maria Simões Ramos da Silva, Vicente Aguilar Nepomuceno de Oliveira, Jorge Magalhães. © 2025. 21 pages.
Ann Armstrong, Albert J. Gale. © 2025. 19 pages.
Zhi Quan, Yueyi Zhang. © 2025. 21 pages.
Sanaz Adibian. © 2025. 19 pages.
Le Ngoc Quang, Kulthida Tuamsuk. © 2025. 21 pages.
Jorge Lima de Magalhães, Carla Cristina de Freitas da Silveira, Tatiana Aragão Figueiredo, Felipe Gilio Guzzo. © 2025. 17 pages.
Body Bottom