Both global and local: ICTs and joint ventures in China
Authors: Westrup, Chris; Liu, Wei
Journal: Information Systems Journal (2008)
DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2575.2008.00306.x
<jats:p><jats:bold>Abstract. </jats:bold> The expansion of global firms, supported by extensive information and communication technology (ICT) systems, is frequently seen as leading to the spread of best practices to different regions of the world. Some argue that these practices are bound up with the national origins of these firms, while others propose that local circumstances in specific economies are of prime importance. According to the first perspective, global firms will use ICTs in China that reflect their national origins, but the second approach emphasizes the importance of the Chinese local context in how and what ICTs are used. Based on evidence from two case studies of global UK multinationals with Chinese joint ventures, this paper argues that the ICTs used by these companies do relate to their national roots and that China is seen by them as a very unusual setting that is treated as a special case. For example, one company was prepared to roll out a global enterprise planning system elsewhere but refused to implement it in China, while the second company cordoned off their ICT systems in China from their other, more global systems. Cultural frames of reference are a…