Discovering Development outcomes from ICT interventions in a set of micro-enterprises operating in low resource environments

The concept of Development has alluded scholars and practitioners when information technology becomes prevalent. The majority of research in the Information Technology for Development (ICT4D) field is considered to be practice intended to make the world better with Information and Communications technologies (ICTs). In addition a majority of well-intentioned ICT4D projects tend to fail, often due to unrealistic expectation set by development agencies responding to their political objectives. At the same time, Information Systems (IS) research is ripe with well-studied concepts on IT adoption (i.e. TAM/UAUT: perceived usefulness, ease of use), that do not offer insights on the effects or outcomes of technology adoption. The result is a plethora of research in the variables studied as part of Information Systems adoption research that do little to assist small and micro-enterprises struggling with technology. This research investigates ICT interventions in a set of micro-enterprises operating in low resource environments randomly selected from a public database of about 30,000 micro-enterprises in Nebraska. Based on prior research in which we used grounded theory to analyze the ways in which ICTs are used by micro-enterprises, concepts were developed further to build theory of IT adoption in sets of micro-enterprises. This project proposes to test the theory of ICT adoption micro-enterprises by developing, testing and deploying an IRB approved instrument to the sample of micro-enterprises randomly selected for this study. The results are analyzed quantitatively to 1) identify the concepts that affect the use of ICTs in micro-enterprises. Based on the quantitative analysis a set of micro enterprises are selected to receive technology and training interventions. These micro-enterprises receive interventions customized to their needs. The results of these interventions will be assessed qualitatively using grounded theory analysis to 2) discover the ways in which ICTs are used to support business development and growth and 3) arrive at development outcomes from the ICT usage by micro-enterprises. The potential scientific contribution of this research is in advancing knowledge of the concepts that involve the development of micro-enterprises. It also offers insights into the technology and training interventions needed to enable the growth of micro-enterprises. Such contributions, as provided in this proposed project, entail the discovery of factors that can 1) enable information systems outcomes to be assessed in terms of their success in enabling micro-enterprises to grow and 2) offer strategies for improving the lives of people, in particular the micro-entrepreneur, through IS. The societal impact of this study is in offering specific new knowledge that can be used by policymakers in supporting small business development efforts through investments in ICT infrastructures

Understanding take-up of broadband by small and micro-enterprises: a case study

The paper examines patterns of broadband take-up, implementation and effects within small and micro-sized enterprises. The research focuses on the ‘onlincolnshire’ initiative, a local government-led programme which aims to encourage broadband take-up through provision of connection subsidies to SMEs in rural areas of Lincolnshire

Information Technology Therapy (ITT) as a Catalyst for Micro Enterprise Development, and its Implications for Digital Payment Adoption: Evidence from Lagos Nigeria

In Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy, the country’s over 40 million micro enterprises account for 99% of all enterprises. As a consequence, they employ over 80% of the country’s labour force, drive about 48% of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and enable over 7% of its export. Given their strategic importance, the subject of micro enterprise development has become of keen interest to a number of stakeholders, among them Mastercard, a global technology company with a bias for digital payments operating in the country. While several avenues exist for stakeholders like Mastercard to intervene in promoting micro enterprise development in Nigeria, experience garnered by the organization suggest, given its bias for technology, promoting efforts aimed at catalyzing the adoption of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) among micro enterprises in the country, may represent the most feasible approach. This document, details my experience as a novice researcher, studying for my doctorate degree in business administration at the University of Liverpool, while in full time employment at Mastercard. In this dual role as a scholar and practitioner, I sought to provide Mastercard with actionable knowledge on the considerations critical to catalyzing the development of micro enterprises in Nigeria leveraging ICT. I also sort to assist the organization in understanding what these considerations mean, for proliferating digital payment adoption, among the country’s micro enterprises. Given that this constitutes the company’s primary business interest. In addition to creating value for Mastercard and organizations with similar interest, I also sought to employ the insights garnered from the experience in making significant contribution to the existing business and management discourse, on micro enterprise development. In achieving the objectives articulated above, I employed a form of inquiry based on pragmatic research philosophy, known as insider action research. In doing so, I revisited a program designed by Mastercard in 2017, working with Grooming Centre, the largest micro finance institution in Nigeria. Dubbed the Mastercard-Grooming Centre Smart Business Initiative (SBI), the program sought to catalyze the development of 1000 micro enterprises through a series of interventions, among them the deployment of a smart device based, inventory management application called the Retail Smart Business Service (RSBS). Utilizing a theoretical framework forged from reviewing extant literature as guide, the inquiry focused on 100 micro enterprises drawn from the SBI. It entailed, establishing the profile of all 100 micro enterprises, identifying their level of adoption of the RSBS application, identifying the challenges to adoption, developing a series of interventions to address these challenges, and working closely with the Grooming Centre team, and the micro enterprises themselves, to implement the interventions for 25 of them, over a 3 month period. At the end of the intervention, the impact of the actions taken was assessed first with regards to the level of adoption of the RSBS application, and then on the development of the micro enterprises in the intervention group. At the end of the engagement, the learnings garnered and their implications for Mastercard, other stakeholders vested in micro enterprise development in Nigeria, and the academic community at large, was discerned. For Mastercard as well as other stakeholders, the actionable knowledge created is three pronged. The first is that when it comes to catalyzing micro enterprise development leveraging Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in Nigeria, it is critical to have contextual clarity with regards to 4 important variables that underlie the effort. These variables are; the profile of the micro enterprises in question, the way adoption is defined, how development is measured, and the specific ICT artifact under consideration. The second actionable knowledge that emerged from the engagement for Mastercard is that in addition to having contextual clarity, it is important to approach efforts to catalyze micro enterprise development leveraging ICT in a structured way. This means employing the rigorous process of action research and Information Technology Therapy (ITT) for problem identification and resolution on an ongoing basis. It also means imbibing partnership and trust, as important virtues, and ensuring the coordinator of such efforts have the skill sets of a political entrepreneur. The third and final actionable knowledge created from this thesis project for Mastercard is that, given the fact that digital payment solutions are also ICT artifacts, the considerations established through this effort, also apply. For business and management scholars, the actionable knowledge created asserts that, it is possible to create research on micro enterprise development, that is focused and granular in nature. In addition, the engagement also asserts that from a practitioner’s perspective, there are a number of important variables to consider in investigating micro enterprise development leveraging ICT. These variables include; the context of the investigation, the impact of partnership and trust, the role of political entrepreneurship skills in ensuring success, the impact of having a simple shared narrative across all stakeholders, and the importance of adopting a view of micro enterprise development as a journey as opposed to a destination. Also with respect to scholarship, the engagement unearths a number of considerations for the practice of insider action research. They include, the idea that the practice of action and reflection is not peculiar to insider action research, but is crucial to success of both scholarship and practice, and the fact that knowledge created in action is controlled, with the shared purpose, values and intended outcomes of stakeholders acting as an anchor. The engagement also asserts that conducting insider action research means subscribing to a mindset that acknowledges constant change as a given, an understanding that the stages in the insider action research process do not represent ridged boundaries, and the fact that being an insider action researcher has both advantages and disadvantages, among others. Aside from facilitating the creation of actionable knowledge discussed above, the engagement also aided my development as an individual, a scholar and a practitioner in multiple ways. Among them; creating in me a greater appreciation of my own bias, and how it affects my actions, helping me develop new competencies such as engaging in critical reflection, and horning skills critical to operating as a political entrepreneur; including effective communication, negotiation and problem solving. Keywords: information and communication technology adoption, information technology therapy, micro enterprise, micro enterprise development

Entrepreneurs'' attitude towards the computer and its effect on e-business adoption

This paper presents research exploring further the concept that many SMEs do not adopt computer based technologies due to decision maker's negative attitudes towards computers generally. Importantly, by assessing the entrepreneur's belief structure, we provide quantitative evidence how SMEs, particularly micros, are affected. Earlier research that addresses technology acceptance model (TAM) suggests that TAM parameters are particularly influential factors of e-commerce adoption, as perceived by top managers of SMEs. The model we develop is tested using a sample of 655 enterprises. The information was gathered, via a telephone survey of UK SMEs, from decisions makers in the enterprise. Technically, the paper uses k-means cluster analysis to segment respondents using the TAM perceptions, ease of use, usefulness and enjoyment. Based on two determined segments we look at the differential rate of adoption of internet, and the potential adoption of new e-collaborative technologies like video conferencing and electronic whiteboards. The diffusion of internet for low IT utility (LIT) segments was considerably slower than in the high utility segment (HIT). Similarly, the anticipated adoption of e-collaboration technologies was much lower for LIT than HIT. Interestingly, we find that LIT is populated by more micro SMEs than HIT. The results we present are limited however as our sample is considerably underweight in micro SMEs, suggesting that the problem may be much larger in the economy than our model predicts. For policy makers, this research confirms the value of knowledge transfer programs to SMEs in the form of technology support. Our research shows that organisations which have dedicated IT support will tend to be more advanced technologically than those that do not. The implication for entrepreneurs is if they can be persuaded that a technological route is beneficial to them, and that suitable support can be provided via KT, then operational efficiency gains could be made. This paper contributes to knowle

Mobile apps usage and dynamic capabilities: A structural equation model of SMEs in Lagos, Nigeria.

The file attached to this record is the author's final peer reviewed version. The Publisher's final version can be found by following the DOI link.Significant knowledge exists regarding the application of dynamic capability (DC) frameworks in large firms, but their impact on smaller organisations is yet to be fully researched. This study surveyed 1162 small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in Lagos in an effort to understand how SMEs in developing country contexts use mobile apps to enhance their businesses through DCs. Through the use of the covariance-based structural equation modelling (SEM) technique, the study explored the fitness of a conceptual formative model for SMEs. The model assembled 7 latent variables namely: mobile app usage, adaptive capability, absorptive capability, innovative capability, opportunity sensing ability, opportunity shaping ability and opportunity seizing ability. Subsequently, 15 hypotheses aimed at testing the relationships between the latent variables were developed and tested. The findings revealed that mobile app usage increases the adaptive, absorptive and innovative capabilities of SMEs. Absorptive capabilities help SMEs to maximise opportunities, while innovative capabilities negatively influence SMEs’ tendency to maximise opportunities. The results failed to establish a direct relationship between mobile app usage and SMEs’ ability to maximise opportunities. The research outcomes indicate that SMEs in Lagos respond to opportunities innovatively but they seldom exhibit innovation in order to create opportunities. The heterogeneous nature of SMEs complicates any clear-cut narrative as to how SMEs in Lagos should employ mobile apps to create and maximise opportunities. However, mobile apps could induce innovation and, as such, impact significantly when developed and applied to the contextual requirements of SMEs. The research revealed the untapped potential of SMEs’ mobile app usage in Lagos

Economic and social impacts of Integrated Aquaculture-Agriculture technologies in Bangladesh

This study estimated the adoption rate of integrated aquaculture-agriculture (IAA) technologies in Bangladesh and their impact on poverty and fish and food consumption in adopting households. We used a novel, simulation-based approach to impact assessment called Tradeoff Analysis for Multi-Dimensional Impact Assessment (TOA-MD). We used the TOA-MD model to demonstrate how it is possible to use available data to estimate adoption rates in relevant populations, and to quantify impacts on distributional outcomes such as poverty and food security, thus demonstrating ex ante the potential for further investment in technology dissemination. The analysis used baseline and end-of-project survey data from WorldFish-implemented Development of Sustainable Aquaculture Project (DSAP), promoting IAA. This dataset was used to simulate adoption and assess its impacts on poverty and food security in the target population. We found that, if adopted, IAA had a significant positive impact on reducing poverty and improving food security and income

Action learning : co-creating value from collaborative sustainable projects

This article reports on the specific role that action learning plays in the promotion of sustainability and innovation in the Local Government sector. The study focuses on one organisation and the efforts of a senior manager to enact change. The senior manager utilized his participation in an MBA programme to bring the classroom learning into his business. As a consequence of the requirements of the programme and also the desire of the senior manager, he was able to instigate a change programme, which delivered measurable outcomes and had financial and cultural impact. This case study illustrates the favourable advantages of using action learning as an intervention approach by HEI’s in driving sustainable innovation in the Local Government sectorFinal Published versio

Regional construction sector: sector implementation plan (SIP)

This Sector Implementation Plan (SIP) forms an integral part of the Regional Economic Strategy (RES), acting as a high level plan for the region’s construction sector, and providing an overview of the strategic actions and interventions which will deliver the outcomes required to achieve progress against each key challenge

Goodbye to Projects? - Review of development interventions and livelihoods approaches in Uganda

Approaches to projects and development have undergone considerable change in the last decade with significant policy shifts on governance, gender, poverty eradication, and environmental issues. Most recently this has led to the adoption and promotion of the sustainable livelihood (SL) approach. The adoption of the SL approach presents challenges to development interventions including: the future of projects and programmes, and sector wide approaches (SWAPs) and direct budgetary support. This paper `Review of development interventions and livelihood approaches in Uganda¿ is the fourth in the series of the project working papers. This is the output of a literature review and series of interviews on development interventions in Uganda.Department for International Developmen

An evaluation of the economic impact of broadband in Lincolnshire: updated final report

The Lincolnshire Broadband Initiative, ‘onlincolnshire’, was launched in 2003 to bring a range of broadband supply and demand stimulation activities to businesses across the county. The initiative has used £15 million of European funding, together with matched funding from Lincolnshire County Council, to support a series of significant Information and Communication Technology (ICT) interventions to provide support and financial assistance to eligible Lincolnshire businesses. The ‘onlincolnshire’ initiative has four long term strategic objectives. By 2010: • Lincolnshire will be the foremost rural County in the UK, with regards to ICT usage and skills and will have a commercial environment that embraces ICT; • The main employment sites and premises will have attracted increased and more diverse investment; • ICT will have made a major contribution to business competitiveness, expansion and diversification of the economy – measured through an increase in ICT related employment and a range of ICT based activities; • To have engaged individuals and employers in improving ICT skills to increase local competitiveness, raise the standards, participation and achievement in ICT throughout the County