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The Southern Illinois University Edwardsville School of Business is bringing the World IT Project to St. Louis during August.

The World IT Project is a research initiative focused on learning about the impact of culture on information technology professionals around the world, including attitudes towards work, job satisfaction, techno-stress and job turnover.

The project began in 2013 and includes hundreds of global organizations representing more than 30 countries. The data collection effort for the St. Louis metro area will begin in August 2015.

Tim Jacks, PhD and assistant professor of computer management information systems in SIUE’s School of Business, is part of the six-person core research team responsible for coordinating the efforts of investigators from across the globe. St. Louis-area businesses with large IT departments will be invited to participate in this important research.

 “This is a chance for St. Louis businesses to partner with academia on research that will have a high impact on better understanding the IT workforce,” Jacks said. “Differences in national culture, organizational culture and occupational culture all have an impact on how work gets done.

“Understanding the challenges of managing cultural differences at every level will be key to firms being successful in the future.”

The research team includes: Kallol Bagchi, The University of Texas at El Paso; Jaideep Ghosh, Department of Science and Technology, Government of India; Paul Licker, Oakland (Mich.) University; Prashant Palvia, University of North Carolina at Greensboro; and Aykut Hamit Turan, Sakarya University, Turkey.

SIUE sponsored the 2015 Global IT Management Association conference in St. Louis during June as World IT Project investigators met to discuss their progress and share best practices in managing a large-scale global research project.

More information is available at worlditproject.com.

Photo:  Tim Jacks, assistant professor of computer management information systems in SIUE’s School of Business.