State policy, liberalisation and the development of the Indian software industry

This thesis investigates the relationship between industrial development and industrial policy in a developing country. The chosen industry - software - is of recent origin and of growing importance in many developing countries, for which it can present one of the best entry points into the information technology production complex. Yet this industry and, particularly, the role of state policy in its development have been relatively neglected within the literature. The key policy issue of recent years has been policy liberalisation, and the thesis takes as its central theme the role that policy liberalisation plays in software industry development. A specific case study is made of the Indian software industry and Indian software policy because these have been long-standing, and because they combine high growth with liberalisation. The conclusion reached is that certain policy liberalisations may have a role to play in software industry development but that liberalisation cannot be seen as a 'panacea' for such development. The impacts of some liberalisations run counter to some long-term development objectives while state intervention is seen to have played a positive and necessary role in assisting software industry growth. At the same time, certain liberalisations are found to be either politically or financially unfeasible. Software policy makers face a major decision on whether to orient their industry towards the domestic or export markets. It is argued that the Indian industry has shown an export bias which should be reduced by greater orientation to the domestic market. Other developing countries may need to focus even more on domestic-oriented production rather than exports. Policy is not the only determinant of software industry development because technology, market entry barriers, input supply constraints, and producer-consumer relations also play a part. Nevertheless, policy has a very important role to play and should be applied in a non-dogmatic way that is responsive to the specific and changing circumstances of individual nations and industries

Small Enterprise Development and the 'Dutch Disease' in a Small Economy: The Case of Brunei

Following hydrocarbon (oil/gas) discoveries and price rises, a number of small developing economies which had been relatively poor found themselves to be relatively wealthy. However, the existence of significant quantities of minerals with strong export potential has generally been seen as a mixed blessing for national development. All of these small economies have thus adopted conscious policies of diversification aimed at increasing the economic contribution of other sectors. Initial diversification strategies focused mainly on the development of large enterprises. More recently, though, these economies have begun to take a greater interest in small enterprises. This has chimed with growing recognition of the potential impact these enterprises can have on factors such as employment and income generation, income distribution, and technical innovation. This paper therefore investigates issues relating to small enterprise development in small, rich economies, choosing the case of Brunei as the main example for discussion. The material presented derives from a research study conducted from 1995 to 1997, including fieldwork and a survey of enterprises in Brunei. Following the introduction, the paper is divided into five main sections. In the first, some of the benefits and costs of a bobming minerals export sector are summarised. In the second, typical responses (in the form of so-called "resource-based industrialisation" and other large-scale initiatives) are investigated; and the need for small enterprise-based diversification is argued. In the third, the state of small enterprise development in Brunei is described. The fourth section analyses the current constraints to the creation and expansion of small firms in Brunei, particularly those constraints that relate to the economic domination of hydrocarbons in a small economy. Finally, conclusions are drawn about the future of small enterprise-based diversification strategies in this small economy.Community/Rural/Urban Development,

Champions of IS Innovations

Researchers have studied champions in diverse settings and kinds of initiatives; a significant body of work on champions has also steadily grown in the information systems discipline. However, we still lack clarity about the distinctiveness of IS champions. Given the poor track record of IS project success and champions’ importance to that success, we argue that this lack of conceptual clarity about the uniqueness of IS champions constitutes a significant and urgent gap. In part, this gap exists because researchers have inadequately consolidated knowledge about IS champions thus far. In response, we systematically reviewed the literature and approached this gap from two viewpoints: 1) a research process perspective whereby we investigated the approaches and practices that IS champion research has followed and 2) a thematic perspective whereby we examined how knowledge about IS champions has accumulated to date. Our findings culminate in three contributions: we 1) propose eight IS champion distinctive features using a classification scheme, 2) redefine IS champions in a way that better reflects the distinctiveness of the champion role in IS innovation, and 3) combine findings from process and thematic perspectives in an agenda to advance IS champion research

Linking ICTs and Climate Change Adaptation: A Conceptual Framework for eResilience and eAdaptation

Also published as University of Manchester, Climate change, innovation and ICTs paper no. 2The aim of this paper is to set out a conceptual foundation that links climate change, livelihoods vulnerability, and the potential of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in supporting systemic resilience. A systemic perspective allows for the identification of key components, processes and properties, as well as the feedback and interactions that play a role in the realisation of adaptation processes in vulnerable settings. The concept of e-resilience is defined as a property of livelihood systems by which ICTs interact with a set of resilience sub-properties, enabling the system to adapt to the effects of climate change