Application of information and communication technology for internationalization of Nigerian small‐ and medium‐sized enterprises

Information and communication technology (ICT) has fundamentally transformed business transactions. While its uses have become ubiquitous in the advanced economies, emerging and developing economies are still struggling with the mode and manner of the deployment of ICT for business. Thus, this study seeks to investigate how small‐ and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) utilize ICT in Nigeria for business internationalization. To achieve the goal of the study, a mixed‐method was employed. A questionnaire was administered to 265 people consisting of SMEs staff, managers, and owners. Similarly, interviews were conducted with seven SME decision makers. Findings revealed that Nigerian SMEs used ICT tools, such as websites and social media platforms, for internationalization. The findings also revealed that the challenges of ICT did not affect its application by these SMEs, which contrasts with many previous studies. Furthermore, this study identified privacy concerns, internet problems, cyber insecurity, trust, and system anxiety as new challenges facing the application of ICT tools by SMEs. Similarly, the findings showed that lack of ICT competence and strategic focus of ICT applications are internal problems facing Nigerian SMEs. These findings provide insight for practitioners and academia on the internationalization of Nigeria SMEs and the application of ICT to promote business growth.</p

Customer vs. e-tailer:how tablet affects mobile commerce

Abstract The emergence of mobile devices, especially the tablet, has created chances and challenges for mobile commerce vendors across the continents, as they seek to increase their profits and optimize the users’ online shopping experience. This study examines how mobile devices affect mobile commerce with regards to tablet usage for online shopping in developed and developing nations. The intervention of mobile devices in mobile commerce should be aboveboard, so that it can be easily understood by both, customers and e-tailers. An exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to validate the constructs while structural equation modelling was employed to test the hypotheses based on 550 respondents’ feedback. The findings show that the reputation of an e-tailer’s website is the determinant of trust to use a mobile tablet for online shopping while ease of use colligates with customer loyalty. Future research can concentrate on the impact of using a tablet for sales increase or how social media apps influence mobile commerce by using a tablet, with a focus on generation X and Y of developed and developing countries. This research impacts and extends the growing body of knowledge on usage of mobile devices. This study reveals the need for e-tailers to combine their in-house strategy with emerging technology and create a technology plan that targets consumer interest. Online vendors need to target the tablet users globally when optimizing their websites, for effective visibility and usability. This action plan will facilitate a cordial customer-e-tailer relationship. This study on mobile commerce in the context of tablet usage is paramount to the marketing practitioners and the scholars. This is a scanty research domain, but there is more publicity about the study on practitioner’s electronic and print media. Due to this limitation in academia, this study contributes to filling some research vacuum in mobile commerce

The Use of mPOS in Mexico

Abstract Economies around the world are migrating to either “cashless” or “less cash” models. Latin America is no exception. Mexico, with its considerable population and large economy, including many small and medium enterprises, already offers a variety of mPOS brands. Despite this, most literature on cashless societies has focused on developed countries and other innovative emerging nations such as Nigeria, leaving the Latin American region out of its scope. This paper presents a model of mPOS use in Mexico based on a survey of graduate and undergraduate students. Using structural equation modelling (SEM) variables such as lifestyle, ease of use and carbon footprint produced interesting results. The study finds that users’ lifestyle is the highest predictor of mPOS in Mexico. Also, carbon footprint predicts mPOS use while the user’s perception of ease of use did not predict the mPOS use. The study also concludes that mPOS in Mexico will promote a green environment and make Mexican society healthy. Managerial wise, this study suggests that the mPOS service providers in Mexico should pay closer attention to mPOS users’ lifestyle. Besides, mPOS service providers should consider the carbon footprint and lifestyle when addressing their product to a specific customer segment

The need for green companies in Nigeria:a study of electronic invoicing

Abstract Manual invoicing is a major business document that the supplier uses to request payments from a purchaser for services rendered. It contains the contact information of the seller, the list of goods or the services provided and the payment instructions. Attention is being shifted from manual invoicing these days because of some factors like increased man-hours, risks of human error and risks of high carbon footprint. The study applied Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) to investigate the need for green Companies in Nigeria. Empirical data were collected from Nigerian companies to measure intention-behavior for electronic invoicing and structural equation modelling was used for data analyses. This study provides some useful guidelines for industry players such as the einvoicing service providers (EISPs), policy makers and the marketers. With the newly integrated framework, a greater level of comprehension can be achieved about e-invoicing acceptance among Nigerian companies

Preparation for future learning:the case of rural communities in Nigeria

Abstract Preparation for future learning is crucial to economic development and poverty eradication because ignorance is the modern slavery of backwardness. Nigeria’s population is increasing daily. With this growing population, there is a need for self-study, home study, Internet, or online study to meet the pressing worldwide demands for literacy training employing distance instruction. Internet use is linear in Nigeria, with forecasts of Internet users reaching 187.8 million in 2023. This study examines the preparation of rural communities in Nigeria for future learning; examines infrastructures and resources available that can facilitate future learning; and also explores the means and approaches to changes future learning systems through the lens of education learning theories. The theory of connectivism was employed. Based on the quantitative approach, this study used a questionnaire to collect data from rural residents of 2,377 samples and utilized SPSS v. 25 for descriptive statistics and regression analysis. Internet availability and affordability are central to future learning, especially in the angle of emerging technology intervention in future learning systems. This result shows that the location of the Internet user’s residence and the frequency of Internet use depend on the Internet’s cost. The excluded rural areas can leverage the Internet for flexible online programs and courses to reduce the alarming illiteracy rates

Do teamwork experience and self-regulated learning determine the performance of students in an online educational technology course?

Abstract This study uses the quantitative research approach to examine the connection between students’ teamwork experience, self-regulated learning, technology self-efficacy, and performance in an online educational technology course. Sixty-three (63) students participated in this study. The study data were collected through an online questionnaire that included background information, course satisfaction, motivation strategies for learning, and online technology self-efficacy, to study the variables’ interactions using quantitative research. To realize this study’s aims, multivariate regression and correlation approaches were employed to analyze the online students’ data. The multivariate regression analysis results show a relationship between self-regulated learning, the online course level, and the number of online courses that the students have completed. Right self-regulated learning strategies in online courses motivate students to strive for a good teamwork experience, leading to increased interest in online learning. In addition, the results also show that there is a relationship between satisfaction and the level of the online course. Achieving good grades makes the student more satisfied and improves the level of technology use. Finally, this study established a relationship between the students’ motivation and the online course level. Therefore, teachers and course designers should implement learning objects that promote students’ engagement and motivation in online learning environments

The strength of agreement of students’ academic performances as a counseling guide for the university prospective admission seekers

Abstract This research examines the strength of agreement of students’ academic performances for their first and graduating year in the University using Cohen’s kappa. Academic records of 710 students which consist of students Grade Point Average (GPA) and Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) for their first and graduating year. This paper is to examine the final academic performances of students in the University based on specific information regarding their academic performances during their first year at the University. This study reveals that a strong agreement exists between the students’ first and graduating year academic performance in their result. This work will serve as a useful counseling guide to prospective admission seekers and all stakeholders at enhancing students’ academic performances in the University system. This study is divided into five sections: introduction, literature, methodology, discussion while the study limitation and future study forms the part of the conclusion

Trend of social media news:a viewpoint of COVID-19 tweets using natural language processing

Abstract The meteoric rise of social media news during the ongoing COVID-19 is worthy of advanced research. Freedom of speech in many parts of the world, especially the developed countries and liberty of socialization, calls for noteworthy information sharing during the panic pandemic. However, as a communication intervention during crises in the past, social media use is remarkable; the Tweets generated via Twitter during the ongoing COVID-19 is incomparable with the former records. This study examines social media news trends and compares the Tweets on COVID-19 as a corpus from Twitter. By deploying Natural Language Processing (NLP) methods on tweets, we were able to extract and quantify the similarities between some tweets over time, which means that some people say the same thing about the pandemic while other Twitter users view it differently. The tools we used are Spacy, Networkx, WordCloud, and Re. This study contributes to the social media literature by understanding the similarity and divergence of COVID-19 tweets of the public and health agencies such as the World Health Organization (WHO). The study also sheds more light on the COVID-19 sparse and densely text network and their implications for the policymakers. The study explained the limitations and proposed future studies

Bibliometric structured review of mobile information systems

Abstract This study attempts to fill the identified research gap in the existing literature through a bibliometric analysis and discovered 20 highly global cited papers with 1376 citations and yielded eight (8) core categories of knowledge in MobIS: (1) Information Systems, (2) Adoption, (3) Acceptance, (4) Satisfaction, (5) Information Systems Success and (6) Information Systems continuance. The results show that the distribution of the annual papers flows along the downslope. It was a bit stable in 2016 and since then descend from 2017 to 2020. As a young discipline, there is a need for more productivity, impact, and collaboration in the field of MobIS