Achieving Cultural Fit in Global Information Systems Implementation

Designers and engineers that plan and manufacture technological systems imprint their values and practices onto these systems, without fully realizing that inconsistencies in cultural dimensions between developers and users may result in poor implementation of the new system due to resistance to change, among other causes. Therefore, manager's awareness of cultural differences is a necessary condition in formulating GIS policies for implementation in different organizational settings across countries. The paper offers detailed examples of cultural differences between countries and their relations to the different stages of technology implementation, which may serve as a guideline for engineers, vendors, consultants, and managers of GIS interventions in formulating mechanisms for global implementation. Implementation managers are advised to adapt GIS to their own set of beliefs through the establishment of joint global and local teams, which represents all parties in the process. In this manner, rather than a cultural conflict, GIS implementation becomes a cultural exchange that reduces resistance to change.