How High Growth Economies Impact Global Information Technology Departments

By the very nature of information technology (IT), change and dynamism have always been significant drivers on its path to further development – and it have traditionally been the western countries leading these. Now the picture is changing. The new High Growth Economies (HGE) of the world (also known as BRIC countries) are increasingly pressing forward as active IT development drivers. Internal IT organisations of international companies are experiencing these global shifts first hand and are facing changes in their traditional roles. This exploratory research is aimed at clarifying the context of the impact of high growth economies on such IT departments of western-rooted enterprises. 51 interviews were conducted with IT managers, HR managers and expatriates emphasizing the importance of intercultural interaction, maturing IT economies, change in IT landscape and entrepreneurship.