Consultants as intermediaries and mediators in the construction of information and communication technologies for development

This article considers the role of one actor that is in the ascendancy in the development sector, namely the multinational management consulting organization. Drawing on science and technology studies concepts, we argue that such consultants are increasing and important, yet relatively invisible intermediaries and mediators in the development sphere that justify critical examination. Empirically, we draw on secondary data relating to the shape and nature of consulting in the development sector and focus specifically on a report by a multinational consulting organization to illustrate our argument. Our discussion argues that consultants can be treated both as intermediaries, relays in a network of development provision, and as highly political mediators that seek to expand and stabilize their position in the development network and, in so doing, actively shape what we take development to be. Overall, we suggest that understanding the ways in which such actors engage in the development sphere are important to current and future discussions and developments in information and communication technologies for development (ICT4D)

ICT in Developing Context(s)

This paper seeks to develop a theoretical contribution to studies in the areas of ICT in developing contexts by reviewing how the notion of context has been understood to date, before offering a rethinking of how it is handled in the IS and development studies literature. To do this we draw a case study of M-PESA a mobile banking initiative in Kenya, on science and technology studies ideas and specifically Cooper and Law’s (1995) distal and proximal perspectives, to argue that we need to better attend to the multiplicity of practices which take place within development arenas, and also to better consider the processes by which context is represented. The paper concludes by addressing some of the implications for information systems research and development

Overflows of technological innovation in emerging economies: the case of MPesa

This paper contributes to the debate on technological innovation in the domain of emerging economies. Using the example of M-Pesa, the well-known m-banking application developed in Kenya, we argue that technological innovation in emerging markets should be seen as arising from an assemblage of actors in which context matters.  We develop this argument by drawing on concepts from the sociology of markets. Through our detailed empirical analysis of the career of M-Pesa in Kenya, we propose that innovation in this case is emergent, highly provisional and politically constituted. Overall we provide insights into the non-technological issues critical to technological innovation in emerging economies.  We will conclude by discussing the implications for future mobile technological innovation specifically and technological innovation more broadly in emerging economies.Author has checked copyrigh

Labours of division : Legitimacy, membership and the performance of business knowledge

The idea(l) of ‘legitimate peripheral participation’ remains at the heart of debates over the nature and potential of communities of practice. Yet the question of how the legitimacy or otherwise of participation is actually established is seldom addressed. In this article, we focus on ‘legitimacy’ as figure instead of ground. We attend to the ‘displays of competence’, and their associated ‘labours of division’, by means of which ‘practitioners’ claim recognition and are made recognisable to each other as members, or non-members, of an ‘us’. We seek to understand how members come to recognise particular ‘doings’ and forms of knowledge as belonging (or not belonging) to a particular practice. How is the common ‘domain’ (communis) of practice settled (or un-settled) in the course of specific performances of membership? Empirically, the article draws upon a 2-year investigation of how community of practice boundaries and participation were negotiated in ‘UltraGlass Plc’, a multinational manufacturing company, and specifically of the failure of ‘community’ to cohere around practices

Context and the processes of ICT for development

This paper argues for a rethinking of the notion of context in the information and communication technology for development (ICT4D) research domain. We argue that context can be conceived of as a dynamic outcome constructed through processes of development and interpretation rather than as an entity which can be isolated and represented. We argue that instead of focusing on Issues of IS and their context is not one of the adequacy of the representation of context – the motivation of contextualism – instead researchers should consider the processes by which context is represented. Three principles are proposed to assist in this endeavour. Firstly, that representations of context is a relational process in which both ‘macro’ and ‘micro’ actors engage. Understanding context of ICT4D requires multiple accounts drawn from different actors. Secondly, while research needs to describe the concepts used by ‘macro’ actors to represent context it is crucial to recognise them as outcomes of processes of development and not as self evident entities. Finally, we suggest that research needs to attend to how these accounts are produced, be they by ‘macro’ and ‘micro’ actors. This can be understood as an emergent activity showing not only unexpected outcomes but that the concepts describing actors also change in development. These principles are applied to the case of M-PESA, now widely known as an innovative mobile banking application from Kenya. One outcome of this approach is that it helps explain why ICT4D projects in general, and M-PESA in particular, are often difficult to replicate successfully