The Dynamics of International Information Systems Anatomy of a Grounded Theory Investigation

The serious difficulties facing the developer of international information systems (i.e. supporting business functions in different countries) are widely known and their propensity to catastrophic failure has been acknowledged among practitioners for quite some time. Despite the often pivotal importance that such systems generally have scholarly research in this field has been surprisingly sparse. Information technology applications with a global range and reach are still largely unstudied and under-explored. Subsequently there is a distinct dearth of theoretical frameworks for dealing with them. After a career in information technology line management I have been involved with multinational enterprises and their information systems for over a decade as a consultant, working in Africa, the UK, continental Europe, North America and Australasia. It was on joining a university in the early nineties that I discovered the near-vacuum in this field of research. When I decided to make international information systems my field of research it became clear that fairly fundamental work needed to be done. I started the project described further on more than 10 years ago. It turned out a fairly difficult, necessarily broad based and, eventually, longitudinal research.

International Information Systems in the Literature.- Research Problem and Research Questions.- Research Methodology.- Research Method: Grounded Theory for Descriptive and Exploratory Case Studies.- Foundation Case: The Australasian Food Co-op.- Case Two: J Lauritzen Ship Owners.- Case Three: PANALPINA International Forwarders.- A Substantive Theory of International Information Systems.- Discussion of the Theory and its Implications for Research and Practice.- Conclusion.

Hans Lehmann is the Associate Professor for Electronic Business at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand. His 25 years of business experience with information technology, both in line management and as a consultant with Deloitte’s, spans work in continental Europe, Africa, the UK, North America and Australasia. In 1991 Hans changed careers and joined the University of Auckland, New Zealand, where he focused his research on the strategic management of global information technology. In 2002 he moved to Victoria University, where his current research interest includes a specialization in the application of wireless technology in business.

Lehmann has well over 100 refereed publications to his name and has spoken at numerous international conferences. He is a graduate in psychology from the University of Vienna and the University of Natal, holds an MBA from the University of South Africa, and received his PhD in Information Systems from the University of Auckland.