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.

Autorentext
Dr. Sebastian-Dominik Jais promovierte bei Prof. Dr. Utz Schäffer am Lehrstuhl für Controlling der European Business School, Oestrich-Winkel. Er ist Associate im Bereich Acquisition/Closing/Financing für einen US-amerikanischen Private Equity Fund.

Inhalt
Overview and Problem Statement.- Purpose and Research Question.- Conceptual Framework and Methodology.- Theoretical Foundations of the Research.- Behavioral Accounting as General Framework for this Research.- The Concept of Managerial Information Use.- The Concept of National Culture.- The Influence of National Culture on Managerial Behavior.- Literature Review.- Review: The Use of Information in Different Countries.- Review: The Relationship between Information Use and Individual Performance.- Review: The Influence of National Culture on Information Systems.- Summary.- Methodological Foundations of the Research.- Structural Equation Modeling.- Level of Analysis.- Measurement and Operationalization of the Constructs.- Data Collection Procedure and Target Population.- Questionnaire Administration and Sample.- Goodness-of-Fit Measures.- The Structural Equation Model.- Results.- Assessment of the Measurement Model Fit.- Descriptive Analysis of Information Use Practices.- The Relationship between Information Use and Individual Performance.- The Moderating Effect of National Culture Analysis.- Results Summary.- Summary and Conclusion.- Summary of Key Findings.- Limitations and Directions for Future Research.- Practical Implications and Final Conclusion.