A Tale of Two Systems

Abstract

With China becoming an economic powerhouse, there has been increasing need for more studies on issues related to information systems localization in China and ways to solve them. Most information systems adoption literatures have been conducted in the context of Western society, especially in America, and due to differences in the cultural, social, and legal environment, these theories and findings out of these studies need to be tested in the context of Chinese culture. This chapter adopts the technology, organization, and environment framework to explain why a Chinese apparel manufacturing company failed in its first enterprise resource planning (ERP) project, and how it achieved success in the second project with government's assistance and what they have learned from their first experience with ERP. This study provides insight on the characteristics of Chinese companies and the unique challenges they have encountered in the informatization process.