What Lies Beyond Virtual Community Informatics - Expanding a Research Agenda

The paper suggests directions for future work by bringing together the perspectives of researchers in community informatics (CI) and community operations research (COR). It begins with the assumption that community informatics has evolved into a broader field which includes also virtual CI. The outlined possibilities for future research in CI result from an analysis of past critiques of community informatics and of the evolution of group support systems and COR. The presented ideas complement and expand an earlier research agenda for virtual community informatics, aiming at the development of a better understanding of the needs for networking of virtual and physical communities

Community Informatics and Sustainability: Why Social Capital Matters

This paper adopts a holistic approach to explain why social capital matters for effective implementation, widespread uptake, greater social inclusion, and the sustainability of CI initiatives. It describes a theoretical framework drawn from diffusion of innovation, community development and social capital theories. The framework emphasises the interplay between physical infrastructure (including hard technologies and their location in the community), soft technologies (including capacity building, education, training and awareness raising), social infrastructure (including local networks and community organisations) and social capital (including trust and reciprocity, strong sense of community, shared vision, and outcomes from participation in local and external networks)

Telematics for community portal development.

Community portals emanate from information and communication technology (ICT) applied to community networking, enabling citizens to access information and services on-line. These telematic portal systems are now deployed globally, facilitating information services to geographic and virtual communities. The context of this research study is one of community portals deployed by UK government local authorities for citizen service interactions. To date there have been few studies that holistically and longitudinally examine the subject of community portals. The 5 year research exercise has been undertaken as a qualitative study using an interpretivist approach and methodology derived > from context-process analysis. The approach was influenced by Mumford’s writings on ‘people and technology' and Schuler’s early work on community network development in the USA. Data collection was undertaken using a national survey questionnaire and qualitative techniques including interviews and mini-case studies. Findings of the research include a new categorisation of community portals into two distinctive types of Civic and Civil portal. Theoretical outcomes include an improved understanding of the methodological, technical, and social dimensions of portal development and deployment. The implications for management include an exposition of the issues involved in community portal development and the important need for citizen engagement in the process. A case study of Blackpool, (and mini case studies of five civic / civil portals), point to lack of collaboration between central and local government portal architects and developers

Flexible networking, information and communications technology and local economic development

This paper examines the impact of information technologies on rural communities and suggests new efforts to support local economies with globally connected networks

The growth paths of small business in a competitive global economy : the network perspective in the context of the clothing manufacturing industry in Durban.

Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2004.One of the most enigmatic phenomena to explain in social and business sciences is the functioning and economic growth of organisations and national economies. This is testified by the several theoretical frameworks, which, with varying degrees of success, attempt to unravel the growth puzzle. This dissertation focuses on the network theory, with particular reference to small business growth in the contemporary competitive global economy. The primary focus is the isolation thesis which maintains that although small business growth is constrained by a number of factors, isolation rather than size is the key problem and that the answer lies in networking and clustering. Hypothesising that fraternal network is the most significant type of network for small business growth, the dissertation investigates the structural properties of networks in relation to the performance of the small clothing manufacturing enterprises (SCMEs) in the Durban Metropolitan Area (DMA). Combining qualitative and quantitative research approaches, descriptive network data and hermeneutic analyses, the dissertation argues that the growth and development of small business may be understood by the framework of relationships between the scopes of fraternal and factor networks, the medium of communication and the human factor. The dissertation empirically confirms the isolation thesis and the widely documented view that networks have positive impact on business performance although they could also be detrimental. The study finds that although clustering may be necessary it is certainly not a sufficient condition for inter-firm co-operation and joint action to a level that promotes individual firm performance and collective efficiency. The study argues that the widely documented poor performance of the clothing industry in the Durban Metropolis is, to a large extent, due to inadequate network relationships. The observed minimal network relationships among the sampled firms is largely the result of human factor decay manifesting as mistrust, selfishness, dishonesty, greed etc. Conceding that human factor decay is largely a consequence of the process of modernisation or the transition from Germeinschaft (Community) to Gesellschaft (Association), the dissertation maintains that human factor decay among the sampled SCMEs is exacerbated by the apartheid system, which undermined social and economic relationships. Of the three types of networks identified in the literature - factor, fraternal and communication networks - the study confirms the latter as the most significant to SCMEs in Durban. The study also confirms the view that the use of electronic networks or new information and communication technologies (ICTs) contributes significantly to economic performance. Although reverse causality is a possibility, the dissertation concludes that small firms are likely to be better off through increased electronic connectivity, as compared to face-to-face (FTF) interactions. By this finding and conclusion the study, on one hand, fails to confirm the hypothesis that fraternal networks are the most significant types of networks among the SCMEs in Durban. On the other hand, it confirms Castells' theory of a universal trend of social change towards a network society, a global informational economy and a culture of 'real virtuality'. The impact of ICTs use on the effectiveness and efficiency of networks, however, depends on the scope of networks but more importantly, on the human factor (HF) i.e., appropriate human personality traits, e.g., information management skills and knowledge, trust, honesty, reciprocity, loyalty and creativity. In the concluding chapter, the dissertation explores the policy implications of the findings and offers recommendations that could inform trade and industrial policy for small business growth and development through the network perspective

An empirical investigation of telephony impact on business performance and regional development: evidence from small businesses in Nigeria.

This thesis reports on a study conducted to investigate the nature of the relationship between increased access and use of telephony, small business performance and regional development in a developing country context. This study presents detailed evidence drawn from a sample of 198 small businesses in Nigeria. The research conceptualises and empirically tests a research model which incorporates three theories in order to connect and explain how the use of telephony by small businesses enhances business performance and contributes to regional development. This is based on the existing literature of small business development; telecommunications (increased access and use of telephony) by small business; and regional development. The research data was gathered through a questionnaire of owner-managers of small businesses. This data was supplemented by the use of photographs. The data generated was analysed using Logistic Regression techniques with the aid of SPSS V.17 statistical package. In addition, the study used Visual Data Analysis and Interviews to corroborate the outcomes of the statistical analyses. The regression results suggest that there is a statistically significant and positive relationship between the impact of using telephony in business processes and enhanced business performance. In particular, it was identified that the extent of the influence of using telephony in the acquisition of new customers; the extent of the influence of using telephony to reduce the time it takes to make important business decisions; and the extent of the influence of using telephony in acquiring better market prices are critical determinants that explains enhanced competitive advantage of small businesses. In addition, the extent of the influence of using telephony in the acquisition of new customers, and the extent of the influence of using telephony to reduce the time it takes to make important business decisions are critical determinants that explains enhanced profitability of small businesses. This evidence is corroborated by the analysis of the visual data and textual description of the owner-managers interviewed who noted that the influence of using telephony have enhanced their business performance. Furthermore, the regression results suggest there is a statistically significant and positive relationship between the growth outcomes of increased access and use of telephony by small businesses and regional development of the business location. In particular, the extent of influence of use of telephony by small businesses to create new jobs, the extent of influence of use of telephony by small businesses on improved business performance, and the extent of influence of use of telephony by small businesses on significant business growth are critical determinants that explains regional development of the small business location. Finally, given the important role small businesses play in developing countries, such as Nigeria, this study help provides a clearer explanation on the nature of the relationship between increased access and use of telephony, small business performance and regional development that could be used to improve the growth of entrepreneurial activities of small businesses which are precursors of economic growth as well as improve infrastructural services such as telecommunications that are essential for regional development