MIS500 Impact of Cultural Context on the use of Information System at ‘Neulife’

Introduction

Purpose

The technology adoption plays a major role in the success of any organization as the technological advancements can often evolve as a source of competitive advantage for any business (Roddy, 2011). However, technological adoption is not straightforward as all organizations may not be equally ready for a change. This readiness is dependent on the organizational culture which is dependent on several factors including leadership, communication, employee participation, organizational fit, and organizations processes (Self et al., 2007).

This report analyses the cultural readiness at ‘Neulife’ towards information system and digital disruption. ‘Neulife’ is a Sports Nutrition Company in India that manufactures and sells its private labels as well as distributes products by various international companies. The company was established in 1999 when there was no health supplements industry in the country. Currently, the company sells its products through stores as well as through its e-commerce platform (Neulife, 2020).

Till 2013, the majority of revenue came from exclusive distributorship of a global brand in India. However, when the brand decided to sell directly, the company had to innovate as the company did not have exclusivity and now price became a key factor. The focus was on to offer products at the lowest possible price, for which it was needed that the costs were brought down. To reduce its operational cost, the company undertook several technological steps that caused a disruption in the health supplements industry in India (Kashyap, 2019).

Outline

This report evaluates the cultural readiness at Neulife by analyzing the cultural elements of the organization and the influence of culture on the use of the information system and the uptake of digital disruption.

Cultural elements

In 2014, when the company suffered a major revenue loss, it decided to revamp itself by transitioning from a pure brick and mortar business to an e-commerce platform. As argued by Tyseen et al. (2013) leadership plays an important role in shaping the organizational culture. This could be attributed to the fact that an organization leader needs to drive any change in the organization and also authorise any change driven by the employees. The organization leader also needs to ensure that the organization has an effective internal communication system and processes. Also, the leader must ensure that any change in the organization is appropriate.