An empirical examination of the factors influencing the implementation of information technology systems in the Saudi private organisations

This study was conducted in Saudi Arabia (SA) to identify and examine the main factors that entice private organisations in SA to implement Information Technology (IT) Systems. The study started by conducting an exploratory study using interviews, focus groups meetings to meet some IT academics and professionals in SA to find out about their opinions about the current IT environment in SA. Two mini-case studies were used to discuss the experience of two Saudi private organisations with implementation. The findings of this study were used to guide the direction and contents of the research. It was decided after the exploratory study that the research focus on the experience of Saudi private organisations with IT.;Questionnaires were distributed to 500 private organisations in the Saudi private sector in the Eastern Province in SA. 170 organisations completed and returned the instrument making the response rate to reach 34%. An analysis of the received data revealed that 89.4% of the respondent organisations are using IT systems with differing degrees of success as proposed by this study. This leaves 10.6% of the responding organisations being classified as unsuccessful (did not adopt IT systems at all); however 77% of these organisations stated that they will adopt IT systems in the near future.;The main reasons that entice Saudi private organisations to implement IT systems as revealed by this study include: to replace manual operations, to improve and facilitate decision-making, to improve the quality of the products and services, to overcome competition, to improve communication between the organisation and its clients/suppliers. Organisations which did not implement IT systems stated the main reasons include high costs, current way of doing business is sufficient, business is too small, lack of qualified IT staff. In addition, the study found significant relationship between IT implementation and senior manager age, his nationality, his education level and his IT knowledge.