Information Systems and Global Diversity

by Chrisanthi Avgerou

Overview

It is often assumed that the impact and implementation of ICTs (Information and Communication Technologies) will or should be the same in all situations with little regard to the particular social or cultural context. Drawing on experience and research in different societies (Europe, Latin America, etc.), this book explains the nature of organizational diversity in which ICT innovation takes place, and also develops a conceptual approach to account for it.

The book draws from institutionalist concepts of organizations, the sociology of technology, current debates on globalization, and critiques of the rationality of modernity. The theoretical perspective is supported empirically by four international case studies. The author shows how the processes of ICT innovation and organizational change reflect local aspirations, concerns, and action, as well as the multiple institutional influences of globalization.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780199263424
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	09/04/2003
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	280
Product dimensions:	9.08(w) x 6.26(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Chrisanthi Avgerou is Professor in Information Systems at the London School of Economics. Her research interests include the relationship of information technology to organizational change, and the role of IT in socio-economic development.

Table of Contents

IntroductionPart I:Theory1. The Institutional Nature of ICT and Organizational Change2. The Socio-technical Nature of Information Systems Innovation3. Multiple Situated Rationalities4. The Global, the Local, and the DisembeddedPart II: Insights from Case Studies5. Pemex — Transforming a National Company6. IKA — Striving to Modernize a State Bureaucracy7. An Experiment of Flexible Specialization in Cyprus8. Medical Drug Utilization Information Systems in the United States and Europe9. The Nature and Significance of Global Diversity for Information Systems

Editorial Reviews

"' the book represents a compelling and important work. The theoretical perspective it offers to the academic field of information systems is a refreshing challenge in a literature that has been too heavily populated by unambitious analyses of small problems using narrow frameworks. While the text is aggressive in scope - as indeed it must be, considering the problems it entertains - it is not diffuse. The ideas in it are drawn tightly together by a strong and consistent logical thread .the book should certainly grace the shelves of all researchers with genuine interest in information technology innovation and organizational transformation.'"

From the Publisher