AN EAST-WEST COMPARISON OF IS PROFESSIONALS' PERFORMANCE AND KNOWLEDGE/SKILLS: AN EMPIRICAL STUDY OF USA VS. TAIWAN

The outsourcing literature suggests that the capabilities of partners involved in outsourcing or off-shoring projects are a crucial factor for the success of the projects. This paper studies the capabilities of IS professionals from the USA and Taiwan on issues such as performance, time spent on IS related activities, and required skills vs. skills possessed. The goal is to determine the differences among these two groups in their core IT capabilities and to offer practitioners an empirical reference for carrying out their IS development decisions. Findings from the current study indicate that Taiwanese professionals tended to focus more on the technical issues and hardware/software details, while American professionals were proficient in business modeling, inter-personal communication, and end-user training. These findings present an opportunity for partnership between the two countries to develop low-cost but high quality IS projects. Other business implications are also discussed.