Cross-Cultural Software Production and Use: A Structurational Analysis

This paper focuses on cross-cultural software production and use, which is increasingly common in today's more globalized world. A theoretical basis for analysis is developed, using concepts drawn from structuration theory. The theory is illustrated using two cross-cultural case studies. It is argued that structurational analysis provides a deeper examination of cross-cultural working and IS than is found in the current literature, which is dominated by Hofstede-type studies, in particular, the theoretical approach can be used to analyze cross-cultural conflict and contradiction, cultural heterogeneity, detailed work patterns, and the dynamic nature of culture. The paper contributes to the growing body of literature that emphasizes the essential role of cross-cultural understanding in contemporary society. 'Michael D. Myers was the accepting senior editor for this paper. introduction There has been much debate over the last decade about the major sociat transformations taking place in the world such as the increasing interconnectedness of different societies, the compression of time and space, and an intensification of consciousness of the world as a whole (Robertson 1992), Such changes are often tabeted with the term globatization, atthough the precise nature of this phenomenon is highly complex on closer examination. For example. Beck (2000) distinguishes between globality, the change in consciousness of the world as a single entity, and globaiism, the ideology of neoliberatism which argues that the world market eliminates or supplants the importance of locat potiticat action. Despite the complexity of the globalization phenomena, all commentators would agree that information and communication technologies (ICTs) are deeply implicated in the changes that are taking ptace through their abitity to enabte new modes of work, communication, and organization MiS Quarterly Vol. 26 No. 4. pp. 359-380/December 2002 359 Walsham/Cross-Cultural Software Production & Use across time and space. For example, the influential work of Castells (1996, 1997, 1998) argues that we are in the "information age" where information generation, processing, and transformation are fundamental to societal functioning and societal change, and where ICTs enable the pervasive expansion of networking throughout the social structure. However, does globalization, and the related spread of ICTs, imply that the world is becoming a homogeneous arena for gtobat business and gtobal attitudes, with differences between organizations and societies disappearing? There are many authors who take exception to this conclusion. For exampie, Robertson (1992) discussed the way in which imported themes are indigenized in particular societies with tocat culture constraining receptivity to some ideas rather than others, and adapting them in specific ways. He cited Japan as a good example of these glocalization processes. White accepting the idea of time-space compression facilitated by ICTs, Robertson argued that one of its main consequences is an exacerbation of collisions between gtobat, societat, and communat attitudes. Simitarty, Appadural {1997), coming from a nonWestern background, argued against the gtobat homogenization thesis on the grounds that difl'erent societies witt appropriate the "materials of modernity" differently depending on their specific geographies, histories, and languages. Watsham {2001) devetoped a related argument, with a specific focus on the rote of ICTs, concluding that globat diversity needs to be a key focus when devetoping and using such technotogies. If these latter arguments are broadty correct, then working with tCTs in and across different cuttures should prove to be problematic, in that there wilt be different views ofthe relevance, appticabitity, and vatue of particular modes of working and use of ICTs which may produce conflict. For exampte, technotogy transfer from one society to another involves the importing of that technology into an "atien" cutturat context where its value may not be similarly perceived to that in its original host cutture. Simitarty, cross-cuttural communication through tCTs, or cross-cultural information systems (IS) devetopment teams, are likely to confront issues of incongruence of values and attitudes. The purpose of this paper is to examine a particular topic within the area of cross-cutturat working and tCTs, namety that of software production and use; in particutar, where the software is not devetoped in and for a specific cutturat group. A primary goat is to devetop a theoreticat basis for anatysis of this area. Key eiements of this basis, which draws on structuration theory, are described in the next section of the paper, tn order to iltustrate the theoreticat basis and its vatue in analyzing real situations, the subsequent sections draw on the field data from two published case studies of cross-cultural software development and application. There is an extensive titerature on cross-cutturat working and IS, and the penultimate section ofthe paper reviews key etements of this titerature, and shows how the anatysis of this paper makes a new contribution. In particular, it witt be argued that the structurationat analysis enabtes a more sophisticated and detailed consideration of issues in cross-culturat software production under four specific headings: cross-cultural contradiction and conflict; cultural heterogeneity; detailed work patterns in different cuttures; and the dynamic, emergent nature of cutture. The final section of the paper wilt summarize some theoretical and practical implications. Structuration Theory, Cuiture and iS The theoretical basis for this paper draws on structuration theory {Giddens 1979, 1984). This theory has been highty inftuentiat in sociology and the social sciences generalty since Giddens first developed the ideas some 20 years ago. In addition, the theory has received considerable attention in the IS field {for a good review, see Jones 1998). The focus here, however, wilt be on how structuration theory can offer a new way of looking 360 MIS Quarterly Vol. 26 No. 4/December 2002 Walsham/Cross-Cuitural Software Production & Use Table 1. Structuration Theory, Culture, and ICTs: Some Key Concepts