The impact of top management attitude on information systems implementation

All organizations that attempt to implement IT based Information Systems have realized that the process is extremely complex. What has also been accepted is that the issues involved are less technical and more managerial in nature, such as ensuring user involvement, resolving conflicts, and allocating resources. Consequently, the involvement of the Top Management or the CEO becomes an extremely critical factor in ensuring the success of such projects, and lack of the CEO's involvement has often led to such projects failing. This paper attempts to go a step further, and tries to examine what determines involvement of the CEO. It studies five cases based on the author's experience as a Consultant to such projects, and concludes that a Flexible Attitude on the part of the CEO, and his willingness to change, is a key factor in determining his or her involvement in such projects