Browsing by Author "Ngwenyama, Ojelanki"
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- ItemOpen AccessChallenges of information systems innovation in developing country contexts: an inquiry into the adoption of institutional repositories in Nigerian universities(2019) Utulu, Samuel Chiedu; Ngwenyama, OjelankiEmpirical observation persistently shows that information systems (IS) innovation is always hampered by different challenges. The number of failures and incomplete IS innovation reported across the globe, particularly in developing countries justifies this. Using the example of institutional repository (IR), an IS used to promote open access to scientific knowledge produced by universities, this study proposes actionable remedies to challenges of IS innovation in universities in developing countries. This study focuses on IR because little of it exists in universities in developing countries despite the fact that it is a cost effective way for universities to distribute scientific knowledge. IR has also not been a major focus of IS researchers despite its importance in the contemporary global academic landscape. The study therefore aims to develop explanation and solutions to barriers to IR innovation in universities in developing countries. The qualitative interpretive research philosophy was adopted together with the case study research method to conduct three empirical studies. Inductive research approach and unstructured qualitative data collection techniques were also adopted. Study 1 was carried out to assess IR innovation barrier factors at the institutional level. It reveals how globalization trends, transformation of universities and conditions of university libraries constitute IR innovation factors at institutional level. Study 2 was carried out to assess IR innovation barrier factors at the organizational level. It shows how institutional logics, adherence by universities to traditional university management orientations and paradox barrier factors constitute IR innovation factors at the organizational level. Study 3 identifies factors that influence effective tacit knowledge management at the individual level. The factors are namely, privileged information and experiences, mental reflection, planned interactions and dialogues and sustained real-time enactment of IR innovation. The three studies provide a set of theoretical and practical insights that contribute to the IS discipline, IS in developing countries and IR innovation. The contributions show how institutional, organizational and individual level factors influence IR innovation. The study reaches its goal of providing understanding and resolution to IS innovation barriers in universities in developing countries and in contexts that have similar socio-technical characteristics.
- ItemOpen AccessICT, the Somali diaspora and the stabilization of a failed state(2019) Elmi, Mohamed Abokor; Ngwenyama, OjelankiFor almost three decades, Somalia has defied definition and expectation precisely because the country has lacked an effective, centralized state apparatus. As a result, the term 'failed state’ is often applied to Somalia in popular discourse and by scholars. For a state to formally function as such, a few conditions must be met including the state’s ability to unquestionably legitimatize its authority over its territory, its residents pledging allegiance to that state, and explicit recognition by other states. Despite the perceived chaos and violence associated with the country, there is evidence of structures that allow for markets to function and social services to be delivered. The Somali diaspora is one factor in supporting Somalia’s economic and social system, as remittances pay for children’s education, social services and provide investment funds for businesses. Moreover, Somalia has been able to foster a vibrant Information Communications Technologies (ICTs) sector, comparable to that of its more stable and wealthier East African neighbours. Therefore, the objective of this Information Systems thesis is to examine how Information Communication Technologies are utilized within communities that are considered failed (or failing) and lack defined, and legitimate state apparatus. The guiding research question for this thesis is: What role does Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) and the diaspora play in the creation of a `stable` Somalia? To address the research question, in addition to providing Somalia’s historical context, three interrelated empirical studies were designed. The first study utilizes both qualitative and quantitative content analysis approaches to extend our understanding of how Somalia is defined in Western media. This included determining when the failed state term became synonymous with Somalia. The study, additionally, applies the principles of Critical Discourse Analysis to explore how Somalia and Somalis are perceived and portrayed in Western news sources. The study confirmed that Western media narratives about the country are negative in tone, violent in the description and have reinforced negative stereotypes regarding Somalia and its people. The second study explores the existing social structures in Somalia, utilizing Anthony Giddens’s Structuration Theory. More specifically, the study examines the banking and credit system used by Somalis, how the education and justice systems are delivered along with other necessary social services accessed by residents within the country. Through in-country key Mohamed Elmi PhD. Thesis iv informant interviews from various sectors and industries, the study aimed to discover how visible and invisible institutions that are central to the delivery of social and economic services in Somalia are mediated by ICTs. This study found evidence of functioning social structures, despite the failed state label applied to Somalia. The third study aimed, through surveys and key informant interviews, to better understand the role played by the diaspora in Somalia’s economic and social system. This study explores the institution behind the Hawala system and how it is enabled by technology. By examining how the remittance system works and the methods Somalis employ including recent innovations such as mobile banking, this study also establishes the role of Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) in the Somali money transfer sector. In the concluding chapter, the contributions to both the Information Systems field and our collective understanding of Somalia are discussed. Drawing on the evidence from the three studies, this chapter makes four main claims. The first claim of this study is that ICTs act as a binding agent of social structures within Somalia as defined by a social theory framework. I am thus demonstrating why Somali social institutions function in the absence of a robust administrative state. The second claim argues that the diaspora are essential agents in stabilizing Somali social and economic institutions by offering financial aid, investments and knowledge transfer. The third claim suggests that the perceptions of Somalia and its people have been negatively influenced by Western news media. Finally, I argue that definitions of a failed state are narrow, Western-centric and do not necessarily apply to Somalia.
- ItemOpen AccessThe impact of ICT expansion on promoting democracy and economic freedom in the Middle East (1995-2005)(2010) Shirazi, Firad; Ngwenyama, Ojelanki; Brown, IrwinThe PhD study has found that ICT expansion has positively influenced democratic freedom, information sharing and dissemination and provides a public sphere for discourse among citizens of the eleven Middle Eastern countries. This thesis also found that ICT expansion positively influences economic freedom in the eleven Middle Eastern countries. However, differences between countries such as the educational attainment of their citizens and institutional resistance to ICT utilization both enhanced and restricted the relationship between ICT and economic freedom in the region
- ItemOpen Access(In)formality in Africa: Exploring the social and cultural factors influencing mobile payment non-adoption by informal traders in Cape Town(2017) Nteta, Zarina; Ngwenyama, OjelankiThis research explores and identifies the various reasons for which informal traders in Cape Town, South Africa, do not adopt mobile payment technology and prefer cash. In the informal economy, a cash preference creates challenges such as financial exclusion (Bromley, 2006; Donner & Tellez, 2008; Blanco et al., 2009; Bick et al., 2009; Kendall et al., 2014). Recently, with the mobile phone's ubiquity, mobile payments have emerged as one of the ways to enable access to finance for underbanked or unbanked people, primarily because mobile payments are considered low-cost and easy to use (Donovan, 2012; Mbogo, 2010; Maurer, 2012). However, research reflects low adoption of mobile payments in South Africa (Pew Research Centre, 2015). In light of this low adoption, this research is interested in asking: 'Why don't informal traders in Cape Town, South Africa use mobile payment facilities?' This research explores this question through the critical social theory perspective. This qualitative study was conducted in four trading locations in Cape Town's inner city over June to September 2015. Primary data was collected through semi-structured face to face interviews with twenty informal traders, and participant observations. The empirical findings demonstrate that social and cultural factors influence non-adoption. The theoretical contribution made in this paper is the contributes to the development ofmodification of the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM, 1989). The modified model places social and cultural factors as central to the determinants of adoption. This modified TAM contributes towards the field of mobile technology acceptance research in South Africa, and is a response to the call for information systems research exploring social and cultural explanations for adoption or non-adoption (Lee, 2003; Bagozzi, 2003; Ventakesh, 2007; Dahlberg et al., 2008; Donner & Tellez, 2008; William et al., 2009; Crabbe et al., 2009; Morawczynski, 2009).
- ItemOpen AccessPublic private partnership contract management failure in information technology service delivery: a qualitative inquiry into the South African Department of Labour ERP implementation project(2016) Albertus, Rene Winifred; Ngwenyama, Ojelanki; Brown, IrwinThis PhD research project investigated the failure of a Public Private Partnership (PPP) ICT service delivery project between the South African Department of Labour (DOL) and Siemens Information Services (SIS). The research investigated conditions contributing to management failure of the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Implementation project, which had the objective of improving the Department of Labour's service operations and the transfer of ERP technology competence to the DOL. An important objective of this research was to develop an understanding of the special challenges of PPP management in the context of emerging and developing countries. International organizations such as the IMF, World Bank and United Nations (UN) have been encouraging emerging and developing countries to adopt PPPs as vehicles for developing technology competence and improving public sector efficiency. However, little research has been conducted to discover whether these countries have the competencies to successfully implement and manage PPPs. The goal of this PhD study was to develop an understanding of factors and conditions influencing the DOL-SIS PPP failure in order to develop theory and approaches, which could help improve management practices in the area of contracting-out ICT service delivery in the public sector of the Republic of South Africa. The research was guided by an agency theory framework and utilised a multi-method approach to conduct three empirical investigations into the PPP institutional framework, project governance and public accountability aspects of the DOL-SIS project. Some important findings of this research are: (1) Robust institutional policies and governance mechanisms specific to PPPs for ICT service delivery are necessary but not sufficient to combat risks of failure; robust mechanisms for performance monitoring and penalties for shirking are also necessary. (2) Public sector managers need specialised knowledge and competence to effectively manage private partners in the execution of ICT PPP contracts; over dependence on the private partners can significantly increase the risk of project failure, and encourage opportunistic behaviour and shirking by the private partner. (3) Transparent project governance and public accountability mechanisms are necessary to maintaining public support and combating opportunistic behaviour of both private and public partners on a PPP ICT services project. The thesis comprises three empirical studies: Study 1 used an agency theory framework to interrogate the PPP institutional framework to understand its provisions for identifying and managing risk factors in ICT service delivery projects. Study 2 analysed data from interviews with stakeholders, the contract meeting minutes and other relevant documents, guided by the agency theory framework to develop an understanding of project governance challenges. Study 3 focused on identifying public accountability issues and used a critical discourse analysis methodology to interrogate the media discourse concerning the failure of the DOL-SIS ERP Implementation failure. Content analysis with the use of ATLAS/TI and automated tool was used to analyse all the relevant documents for the different studies. The general contribution of this PhD research is an explanatory theory illustrating how interactions among institutional conditions, governance mechanisms, knowledge and management competence deficits, and the behaviour of the PPP actors reinforced dysfunctional organisational conditions, which resulted in project failure. The theory is illustrated using a causal loop modelling technique and a set of five theoretical propositions clarifying the organizational knowledge and competence challenges, which the public sector managers faced, and the consequences of these affecting the success of the PPP project. This is an important contribution to literature on the use of PPPs for ICT service delivery not only in emerging and developing country contexts, but in developed contexts as well. Other contributions specific to the South African perspective are: (1) Study 1 revealed gaps in the institutional framework concerning the management of risks in ICT PPP projects. While South Africa has much experience with managing risks in the engineering and delivery of physical infrastructure, there is a comparable lack experience with managing ICT infrastructure implementation project risks. (2) Studies 1 and 2 reveal gaps in the governance and accountability mechanisms and practices which can be exploited with adverse consequences to the public interest. These studies also point to the importance of robust transparency and governance mechanisms, and high levels of management competence to the effective risk management of PPPs for ICT service delivery. (3) Study 3 reveals importance of the independent media in fostering debate, uncovering evidence, scrutinizing the activities of the actors in the DOL-SIS PPP and defending the public interest. The independent media played a critical role of agitating for public accountability when the DOL was reluctant to do so, and raising issues about SIS underperformance and pushing for public investigation into the governance of the DOL-SIS ERP Implementation project.
- ItemOpen AccessUnderstanding acceptance decisions and identity associated with smartphones: A qualitative enquiry(2014) Hazra, Ummaha Tul; Ngwenyama, OjelankiThis research project investigated how users accept smartphones and construct self and social identities around their devices. Working from the social constructionist paradigm and employing the perspective of symbolic interactionism to understand the acceptance decisions and choice, this research developed an integrated model of smartphone adoption through four empirical studies. The data were gathered from user self-reports on smartphones running on three leading operating platforms – iOS, BlackBerry OS, and Android. Acceptance decisions were analyzed in first two studies from the perspective of users’ experiences. Study 1 utilized an extension of technology acceptance model and analyzed influences of key product attributes on attitude and actual use through qualitative content analysis. Study 2 focused on both users and non-users of specific smartphones. Employing ethnographic decision tree modeling, this study proposed a model for smartphone acceptance. Using social identity theory as the analytical lens and qualitative content analysis as the research technique, Study 3 examined the ways social identities are formed based on specific smartphone use. Study 4 explored why users attach identification with their smartphones employing a hermeneutic circle framework. The results of these studies suggest that both pragmatic and hedonic attributes of smartphones are important for usage decisions. Identification, enjoyment, and strength of nomadic abilities were found to be important. The results also suggest that users form social identities around their devices by selfcategorizing themselves in celebrated user groups and self-enhancing their member status. Identification fulfils the need for legitimizing the commitment toward the device cued by positive contextual experiences and helps to hold a positive image to self and relevant others. The integrated theoretical understanding offered in this thesis illuminates smartphone adoption as a set of processes which unfolds over time based on users’ interactions with the object and the peers in relevant communities. This novel understanding, along with the separate findings of the studies contributes to IS theory and methodology. Implications for practice and directions for future research are also suggested by this research.