Information requirements of a global EIS: An exploratory macro assessment

Rapid changes in the world economy and politics have accelerated the drive of businesses into international expansion. Information technology (IT) has made an important contribution in both the facilitation and the driving of a global business. As a result of globalization, senior executives in corporations need the ability to monitor important global information in order to spot problems as well as identify opportunities anywhere in the world. The current executive information systems (EISs) that are receiving heightened attention by both executives and researchers are largely domestic in nature. This paper argues that future executive information systems would have to be increasingly global in scope and would be vital for conducting global business. We call such systems global EISs. An exploratory study has been conducted which identifies, in macro categories, the types of information required by executives in a global EIS, the current level of use of such information, and the sources of such information.