A Meta-Analysis of Current Global Information Systems Research

Even though global information systems/technology research is a young stream of research, it is important to understand its current status. In this study, we have analyzed 53 global IT articles published from 1998 to 2003 in six leading IS journals. The main subjects, variables (independent and dependent variables), hypotheses, and findings were identified and analyzed. Some of the results show that Resource Management and IS Management Issues are the most studied subjects in global IT research, while subjects such as IT security and privacy, outsourcing, and organizational design have been somehow neglected. Interestingly, USA and Singapore are the most targeted countries for global information technology research. A comprehensive framework consisting of national environmental factors and organizational environmental factors as independent; and system quality, information quality, service quality, information use, user satisfaction, individual impact, organizational impact, and national impact as dependent, is proposed for assisting global IT researchers.