Exploring the use of various technologies, perceptions of success and organizational culture in Jamaica

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationships between organizational culture, the adoption and extent of use of quality management (QM) programs, as well as extent of use of traditional information systems (TIS), e‐commerce (E‐C) and customer relationship management (CRM) systems in Jamaica. Design/methodology/approach – A sample of 93 Jamaican managers are surveyed from a variety of companies including small businesses, as well as Jamaican‐based operations units of US companies. Findings – Our results from this exploratory study offer support for several of the relationships we have suggested. There are strong relationships, across organizations, between QM maturity – in terms of traditional QM only – and all three types of information systems (IS)‐CRM effectiveness, IS: traditional effectiveness and extensiveness, and E‐C extensiveness and effectiveness. In terms of relationships to culture, also notable are the unexpected results found in the negative relationship between the Person‐centered culture and E‐C and TIS use. Originality/value – This research suggests an intriguing series of relationships between IS and QM maturity and, we believe, indicates that further study could lead to an understanding of the impacts which could be helpful to managers seeking competitiveness and researchers hoping to learn more about organizations and quality.