Cultural aspects of information technology implementation

• Published in: International journal of medical informatics Vol. 56; no. 1; pp. 25 - 41
• Main Author: Demeester, Michel
• Format: Journal Article Conference Proceeding
• Language: English
• Published: Shannon Elsevier Ireland Ltd 01.12.1999; Elsevier
• Subjects: Biological and medical sciences; Computerized, statistical medical data processing and models in biomedicine; Cultural Diversity; Decision Making; Group Processes; Humans; Information technology; Localisation; Medical computing and teaching; Medical Informatics Applications; Medical sciences; Models, Theoretical; Organizational Culture; Organizational Innovation; Project management; Sociology; Sociology of technology; Technology assessment; Technology Assessment, Biomedical; Technology Transfer; Sociology of technology; Cultural diversity; Localisation; Information technology; Project management; Technology assessment; Biomedical data processing; Decision making; Technology transfer; Man machine relation; Telematics; Review; Cultural aspect; Implementation
• ISSN: 1386-5056; 1872-8243
• DOI: 10.1016/S1386-5056(99)00036-2

Culture sets our values and norms. It is a way of thinking that determines our behaviours, decisions, actions and knowledge. Technology transfer and integration are basically the exchange of the knowledge, know-how and skills through which technology was created and on which its use depends. Culture is deeply rooted in ourselves. We are usually unaware of its influence on our professional activity. Cultures are diverse, and their encounter through technology exchange triggers conflicts that are expressed in objective terms. We need to detect and resolve those conflicts at the right level, i.e. at the cultural level instead of only focusing on the visible ‘obstacles’ to the deployment of telematics applications. This paper summarises the basic concepts on which we ground a practical approach to detecting and resolving culture-based conflicts in technology transfer and integration. It investigates the relation between cultural preferences and actions. Culture is translated and reduced to a seven dimensions framework. Cultural preferences influence the decision-making process that leads to tangible actions. The structure and dynamics of that process are described as a Change Governance Framework. It considers the control aspects of decision making that are sensitive to cultural preferences, i.e. the way decisions are taken, why, by whom.