Critical Strategies for Information Systems Development Projects: Perceptions of Developers in Korea

Abstract

Despite enormous progress in the methodologies and technologies used in the development and implementation of Information Systems (IS), IS failure continues to plague the efforts of many companies. According to a recent report, up to 90 percent of all IS projects fail to achieve their goals, 80 percent are late and over-budget, and 40 percent are abandoned (Clegg et al., 1997). Since information systems are becoming increasing critical for the strategic operations of organizations, the high rate of failure for IS projects is of great concern to both organizational management and IS professionals. Developing and implementing successful international IS have proven to be even more difficult due to such factors as the diversity and disagreement among the participants (Mantelaers & Van Den Berg, 2000). However, with an increasing number of firms expanding into international markets, the need to develop and implement IS which cross national boundaries and span diverse cultures is rapidly growing (Palvia, 1998). Adding to the importance of developing successful international IS is the realization that they constitute an essential tool for assisting organizations in coping with the increased competition associated with global markets. Thus, there is an urgent need to acquire knowledge about whether the factors found to be critical for developing successful IS in one country are also applicable to developing international IS involving countries with different cultural norms.