End User Adoption of Enterprise Systems in Eastern and Western Cultures

Enterprise systems are gaining interest from both international practitioners and researchers, and this paper investigates enterprise systems management and implementation issues comparing Eastern and Western end users. This issue is important because currently enterprise systems involve end-users with different cultural backgrounds in the East and West. Thus, this paper applies enterprise systems adoption issues to cross-cultural end user perspectives in Japan (East) and the U.S. (West), based on the innovation diffusion theory, the self-determinant theory, and Hofstede’s cultural dimensions. Academic and practical implications are discussed in the paper based on empirical findings found deeper in this paper.

The Role of Appraisal in Adapting to Information Systems

The benefits of new organizational information systems (IS) depend on the degree that users of the technology adapt by proactively changing themselves, their work routines, and even the technology itself in order to leverage its strategic capabilities. Scholars have recently proposed the Coping Model of User Adaptation (CMUA) as a useful theoretical lens for understanding individual adaptive responses to an IS; however, this nascent model has not yet received extensive empirical validation. Using survey data from a campus health center at a large public university, this study empirically examines and extends CMUA by exploring the relationship between IS appraisal and adaptive behaviors. Results show that user adaptation to IS depends on how it is appraised by users, with appraisal of the IS as a challenge being the strongest predictor of both problem-focused and emotion-focused adaptation. Implications for research and practice are discussed.