A survey study of the current IS usage in the Chinese manufacturing industry

The status of information systems (IS) usage is an important measure of the level of IS adoption. This paper presents the results of a study investigating the current usage of IS and the attitudes toward their use in the Chinese manufacturing industry. Using the survey results obtained from a sample of 78 firms, we provide findings in the current status of IS applications, orientation of IS applications, human factors, and future IS plans. This effort also demonstrates an underlying relationship between critical IS factors (especially the human factors) and business performance in the Chinese environment. The paper concludes with a discussion of IS issues and their implications for practitioners. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.