14 Executive information systems develop- ment in Thailand W Jirachiefpattana, D. R. Arnott and P. A. O'Donnell Department of Information Systems, Monash University Level 7, 26 Sir John Monash Drive, Caulfield East, Melbourne, 3145, Australia, Phone +61 3 9903 2208, Fax +61 3 9903 2005, Email darnott@is.monash.edu.au Abstract This paper examines EIS development in Thailand. Thailand is a newly industrialised country, typical of other developing countries. First, the paper discusses the nature of the Thai economic and political systems. Four case studies are explored to examine how EIS are developed and to explore the influence of the economic and political environment on EIS development. Only one of the four systems examined can be considered highly successful. The factors behind EIS success and failure in a developing country are discussed. The paper concludes by suggesting that to develop an EIS successfully in a developing country and evolutionary approach with strong user participation should be followed. It is also suggested that outsourcing EIS development to foreign consultants is unlikely to be successful. Keywords Executive information systems, developing country, systems development, evolutionary development, outsourcing 1 INTRODUCTION Executive information systems (EIS) are a class of information systems which support the work of senior management by providing effective access to timely internal and external information (Houdeshel and Watson 1987, Rockart and DeLong 1988, Wallis 1989, Armstrong 1990, O'leary 1990, Paller and Laska 1990, Volonino 1992). P. Humphreys et al. (eds.), Implementing Systems for Supporting Management Decisions © Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 1996