Nexus between organisational culture and IT implementation in Vietnamese organisations: a doctoral thesis
Creators: name: Vo, Hong Nga
Publisher: name: Swinburne
Year: 2024

description: In Vietnam, together with the renovation program known as Doi moi, promulgation of resolution 49/CP in 1993 and subsequently of directive 58 CT/TW in 2000 provided the incentive and resolve to use Information Technology (IT) as a driver of economic development and social advancement. Thus, IT was designated a national strategic priority. However, despite the Government's efforts to implement IT, uptake and use of IT in organisations have been embryonic. Existing studies implied IT implementation in Vietnamese organisations to have been influenced in part by organisational culture factors traceable to the national culture. In light of these findings, the present study focuses on the relationships between organisational culture and IT implementation in Vietnamese organisations. Nine objectives were set for the study. The related research questions were focused on identifying the most common features of organisational culture in Vietnam, how respondents' and organisational characteristics were associated with organisational culture, the general level of IT implementation success in organisations, how respondents' and organisational characteristics were associated with IT implementation, and the nature of the relationship between a Vietnamese organisation's culture and effectiveness of its IT implementation. In pursuing quantitative research methodology, a questionnaire was developed and subjected to a focus group scrutiny at the preliminary stage and then again prior to implementation to confirm the questionnaire's suitability and applicability. Data, from 328 returned questionnaires, and the findings of the subsequent analyses were validated via semi-structured interviews and a panel of experts. To address the research questions, the data were subjected to a battery of statistical analysis tools, including descriptive, correlation, association, analyses of variance and factor analysis. The findings were then interpreted and the panel of experts used to confirm and better understand the findings and to offer extra insights. The majority of the organisations surveyed were characterised by the 'Elephant' organisational culture (OC) style that had elements of order, uniformity, rules and regulations and emphasis on stability. Most of these organisations were state-owned enterprises located in northern Vietnam. In number, these were followed by the 'Tiger' OC organisations, comprising mainly private and foreign-owned organisations, especially those located in Ho Chi Minh City. These 'Tiger' organisations stressed their operational efficiency, and externally positioned themselves toward winning competitive advantage and achieving market superiority. 'Rabbit' characteristics, such as flexibility, creativity and innovation did not surface often within Vietnamese organisations. Most organisations surveyed claimed to enjoy a rather high level of IT implementation benefits, especially those relating to internal-focused aspects such as 'Faster response time', 'Better communication &amp; networking', and 'Higher quality of performance'. Finance related benefits of IT implementation were at the lowest level. Private and foreign-owned organisations had the highest level of both IT investment payoff and IT implementation benefits while state-owned organisations had the lowest on both measures. State-owned organisations also reported the most problems with IT implementation the most frequently, while foreign-owned organisations least often faced such problems. Exploration of the association between OC and IT implementation showed that 'Elephants' were significantly associated with lower levels of successful IT implementation, while 'Tiger' organisations followed by 'Rabbit' were significantly associated with higher levels of success. 'Production-oriented' organisations indicated higher levels of IT investment payoff than 'People-oriented' ones. Organisations with 'entrepreneurial' characterisation were found to have high levels of IT implementation success. In light of the findings and their implications, recommendations were made for government, industry, business and research organisations. The recommendations are designed to foster improved uptake and use of IT in Vietnamese organisations through the process of 'Organisational Doi moi' (organisational renewal) as well as to enlarge the research base on socio-cultural aspects of IT to buttress such efforts.