Groupware Effectiveness in Large Latin American Corporations

Large corporations are looking at Third World countries, particularly in Latin America, to expand their supply and production channels with foreign offices and personnel. Access and experience with technology of those enterprises will determine, in part, the speed at which an organization can expect to fully integrate these new channels and manage remote projects in this area of the world. This paper summarizes CIO’s perceptions about the effects that groupware technologies have had in one third of the largest corporations of Monterrey, an industrial center in Mexico and one of the most important manufacturing hubs for Latin America. The results showed that groupware tools are becoming essential for Latin American corporations, especially to obtain an advanced degree of communication and mutual aid with other organizations worldwide. The research found a generalized positive tendency in secondary effects produced by groupware (e.g. higher productivity, collaboration, and user satisfaction among others). The outcomes did not exhibit any effect that generated an adverse change within the enterprises. The significance of this study lays in Latin American corporations still cautious to start incorporating groupware applications due to a lack of information about the effectiveness or consequences generated after its implementation.