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Towards a Grounded Theory of Information Systems for the International Firm: Critical Variables and Causal Networks

International Information Systems, often of critical importance for the operations of the multinational enterprise, are poorly researches and there is a dearth of theoretical frameworks for analysing them. This paper summarises the evolution of an IIS as it follows its organisation’s global business development. Using a Case History method in the Grounded Theory tradition the paper derives a number of key variables and develops their relationship in an effort to establish some theoretical foundations for such systems. The findings support the notion that international information systems should follow the global business strategy of the multi-national enterprise they support. Failure of the IIS to adapt to the organisation’s strategy changes sets up a field of antagonistic forces, in which business resistance summarily defeated all attempts to install a standard global information system. The key variables from both the business and information technology domain interact in this force field in a cyclical manner. The notion of causal networks is used to depict the migration through these cycles