Guest editorial cultural issues and it management: past and present

The study of culture is rooted in sociology, social psychology and anthropology.In particular, cultural anthropology seeks to understand the similarities and differences among groups of people in the contemporary world.Not so long ago, the practical relevance of researching cultural issues, and especially comparing phenomena across cultures, was widely questioned (see 7).However, the importance of cultural issues is becoming increasingly evident in many applied disciplines.These include the management of information technology (IT), which is the focus of this journal issue.Our own interest in, and belief in the importance of, culture stems less from our academic training than from our personal experiences.We have lived and worked in Europe, North America and Asia, worked for more than a dozen different employers, and researched hundreds of organizations.In our encounters and interactions, we have observed that different people do things in different ways, and that they use various approaches to develop and express their ideas.Our consulting and research work, as well as our discussions with both business practitioners and students from all over the world, have convinced us how important it is to understand local beliefs and practices.Although a truly global practice remains very rare, people often do not realise that their way of doing, thinking or expressing is unlikely to be universal.