The Successful Use of Information in Multinational Companies

The recent past shows a growing interest in cultural specificities. This new-found focus has its origin in reports about corporate practices indicating that globally standardized information systems are not effective in every culture. One explanation for this observation is that information use practices vary among cultures.

Based on data collected in three national subsidiaries of a multinational company, Sebastian-Dominik Jais examines the use of information in the United States, South Korea and Germany. The results indicate that differences in information use practices only exist if the type of information use is not determined externally, e.g. by technical necessity or task necessity. The author shows that the effectiveness of managerial information use is strongly related to the respective cultural environment.