Managing information systems within Japanese companies in Europe: An empirical study

✍ Scribed by Peter T. van den Hoven; Frank P.A. van Valkenburg; Michael S.H. Heng

• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• Year: 1994
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 991 KB
• Volume: 27
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0378-7206
• DOI: 10.1016/0378-7206(94)90025-6

✦ Synopsis

This paper examines the influence of the culture of Japanese companies in Europe on the information systems (IS) departments of thirteen Japanese companies in Belgium and the Netherlands. Japanese culture is normally considered to involve groupism and perseverance.

In the subsidiaries that Japanese companies set up in Europe, much of that culture prevails. Characteristics of these companies are consensus decision making (nemawashi), continuous improvement (k&en), regular change of president, strong informal communication, loyalty to employees, and lack of written long term plans. The IS departments of the companies are generally characterized by a lack of formal information planning. They are acting reactively only. When the companies introduce Information Planning, and perform it in the typical Japanese way of continuously improving it (Information Planning kaizen), it allows the companies to optimize their IS departments, making them more up-to-date and aware of new opportunities.