Conducting Research in a Developing Country: A Reflection-in-Action Perspective

ICT4D researchers acknowledge the instrumental role of cultural differences in determining project outcomes. Rarely, however, do they acknowledge culture’s role in the actual research process. This study explores the impact of cultural differences on research conducted by Western-based researchers in a developing country. In mid-2015, we went to Uganda to conduct research on mobile payment systems and technology use in healthcare. This study recounts our data collection process, particularly the unique challenges and opportunities that we experienced. We employ the theory of reflection-in-action to interpret our responses to disruptions to our research project. As part of our contribution to ICT4D research, we offer several recommendations for conducting research in a developing country.

How FOSS Replaced Proprietary Software at a University: An Improvisation Perspective in a Low-income Country

The purpose of this study is to understand the rationale for and the process of replacing an imported proprietary higher education management software with a locally developed free and open source software (FOSS). Information Systems (IS) research on FOSS and higher education in low-income countries has focused more on teaching and learning. Less attention has thus been paid to the area of management and administration. Also, low-income country IS research on technology transfer has focused more on applications from the high-income world. Less research therefore exists on transfers between low-income countries. To address these research gaps, this study employs improvisation theory and interpretive case study methodology to investigate why and how a low-income country university replaced a proprietary higher education management software from another low-income country with a locally developed FOSS. The findings show that the university did so through improvisation to overcome the rigidity of the proprietary software and benefit from the flexibility of the FOSS. The study offers rich insight into how low-income country universities can deploy FOSS through improvisation to address design-actuality gap with imported proprietary software and also presents implications for research and practice

Emergent Cultural Contradictions from Overlapping Cultural Levels in Information Systems Development

Research exploring cultural influence on information system development (ISD) projects tends to focus on a single level of influence (e.g., organizational culture) or cultural incompatibility between one or two cultural levels that are assumed to be discretely separate and static (e.g., national and organizational culture). In contrast, our research conceptualizes culture as dynamic and emergent, with varying levels of overlapping cultures that occur simultaneously in ISD projects (e.g., organizational and occupational culture overlaps). The case study method is used to examine two strategic projects in a single organization in South Africa. The findings describe how the overlap of different cultural levels gives rise to cultural contradictions in ISD projects. Understanding the relevance of the multiple cultures that exist in ISD projects offers further opportunity for refining explanations of cultural contradictions. Cultural contradictions that emerge from cultural overlaps during ISD are conceptualized as five distinct types: Vision Contradictions, Priority Contradictions, Process Contradictions, Role Contradictions, and Technology Contradictions. Despite variation in the context of each project, there is similarity in the nature and effect of emergent cultural contradictions. The paper concludes with suggestions for addressing cultural contradictions in, and influences on, ISD projects

Structurational analysis of cross-cultural development of an academic registry information system in Mozambique

Contains fulltext : 92381.pdf (preprint version ) (Open Access