A comparative study of the application of IT in China and the West: Culture and the stages of growth model

摘要

A comparison is made between the application of computers and other information technology (IT) in China and the West. Computers started being applied much later in developing countries. China, the largest developing country, geographically, in the world has a wish to catch up with the advanced countries and to build its own information technology infrastructure. Much of the technology, theory, and application methods have been introduced into China from the West and other countries over the past 15 years. There is a problem in that a large proportion of the technology and methods cannot simply be transferred between the West and China. On the one hand Chinese people become suspicious of the results of introducing IT from the West, and on the other hand China is a mysterious country for many western people. What has happened when IT has been introduced to China? Will there be a similar growth pattern for China as in the West? This paper compares the environment in terms of culture and the stages of growth model in an attempt to answer those questions, and improve understanding.