Information Technology Implementation in Developing Countries: Advent of the Internet in Mongolia

Internet Service Providers (ISPs) in developing countries experience great difficulties in the implementation of technologies that provide access to the Internet. These difficulties are due to technical challenges, such as poor telecommunication infrastructure, lack of technological readiness, inadequate technical skills and training, financial barriers, and the like. Often they require assistance from non-government organizations to successfully implement these types of projects. This paper begins with an overview of the factors that lead to successful implementation of information technology projects in developing countries. A framework is then presented which categorizes these factors into environmental, technical, intra-organizational, and inter-organizational components. The paper then reports the efforts of one company in implementing a series of telecommunications projects to provide access to the Internet for Mongolian companies, governmental organizations, and others. The paper concludes by applying the framework developed earlier to illustrate how successful implementation in the developing country context can be explained.