| Management information systems, transaction processing systems, office automation, decision support and executive information systems, telecommunication and voice networks, the internet, multimedia applications, data bases and data warehouses are all components of information technology (IT) that are believed to be important for business success in today's competitive, global environment. Both practitioner and academic publications are filled with articles and studies that tout the importance of information technology and how it is changing the world of business. But even though much is being written about IT, research in this area has primarily been anecdotal with very few empirical, quantitative studies. There have been several studies that address the issues related to the potential value of IT and how it could be used, but very few that have focused on how IT is being used and its impact. In addition, much of the research to date has primarily considered domestic IT applications with only a few addressing the subject of global IT.; The objective of this study was to investigate and develop a typology of how global IT applications are being used and to develop and apply a means of assessing the impact of Global IT. Some major variables or factors that could influence the use and impact of global IT applications were identified and several hypotheses were tested regarding the influence and significance of these variables.; The most important contribution of the study was the development of a reliable and valid way of measuring the impact of global IT applications. Building on the prior work of Palvia, Sethi and King, and Mahmood and Soon, a 5-factor GIT impact model was developed. The GIT impact measurement model exhibits a high degree of reliability and validity and was successfully used in the study to examine some postulated relationships between some independent variables and GIT use and impact.; From a theoretical model building perspective, this study developed a measurement instrument that can be used to evaluate the use and impact of IT in a global environment. From a practitioner's perspective, the study provides a better understanding of the critical issues, determinants, and factors that influence the use and impact of global IT. The study demonstrated a significant relationship between GIT use and impact and several strategic factors (Miles and Snows typology, and Porter's competitive strategies) that has practical applications in helping firms evaluate strategic alignment issues. |
