Chrisanthi Avgerou - Information Technology in Context: Studies from the Perspective of Developing Countries

Studies from the perspective of developing countries

Edited by
Chrisanthi Avgerou
Geoff Walsham

First published 2000 by Ashgate Publishing

Reissued 2018 by Routledge
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Copyright Chrisanthi Avgerou and Geoff Walsham 2000

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A Library of Congress record exists under LC control number: 00111412

ISBN 13: 978-1-138-73318-3 (hbk)
ISBN 13: 978-1-315-18778-5 (ebk)

J. Alcantar Mexican Institute of Petroleum, Technology Intelligence Coordination, Mexico

Leo Van Audenhove Centre for Studies on Media Information and Telecommunications (SMIT), Free University, Brussels

Chrisanthi Avgerou Department of Information Systems, London School of Economics

Abiodun O. Bada Manchester Metropolitan University

Michael Barrett Faculty of Business, University of Alberta

Subhash Bhatnagar Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad

Jrn Braa Department of Informatics, University of Oslo

. Cruz-Aguilar Mexican Institute of Petroleum, Technology Intelligence Coordination, Mexico

Pat Hall Open University, UK

Richard Heeks Institute for Development Policy and Management, University of Manchester

Matthias Jarke Technical University of Aachen, Informatik V (Information Systems)

Mikko Korpela Computing Centre, University of Kuopio, Finland

S. Krishna Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore

Per Lind Centre for Management and Infrastructure Development, Linkping University, Sweden

Cesar A. Macias-Chapula Information Science Consultant, Hospital General de Mexico, Mexico

Shirin Madon Department of Information Systems, London School of Economics

Peter Malling PLC Consult, Denmark

Mohammed Lamin Mansaray ECOWAS, Togo

Anja Mursu Department of Information Systems, University of Jyvskyl, Finland

Ch. Nermunkh National Institute of Health, Mongolia

Matthias Nicola Technical University of Aachen, Informatik V (Information Systems)

Gert Nulens Centre for Studies on Media Information and Telecommunications (SMIT), Free University, Brussels

Abhoy . Ojha Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore

K.C. Olufokunbi Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria

Kaewta Rohitratana Thammasat University

Sundeep Sahay Department of Informatics, University of Oslo

H.A. Soriyan Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria

Natalia Volkow Geoff Walsham The Judge Institute of Management Studies, University of Cambridge, UK

Christopher Westrup University of Manchester

The editors have selected a number of papers presented at the 1998 Bangkok Conference of IFIP WG 9.4 and have added considerable value to them. They have done this by arranging the papers around the central theme of context. Taking context into consideration may seem an obvious prerequisite for the application of information and communication technologies to contribute to socioeconomic development. However, it is still widely ignored in projects which seek to contribute to the socioeconomic development of communities and countries in the developing world. The richness of the concept of context is used by the editors to focus on organisational, sectoral and wider contexts. Seen through these lenses, the contributions by the various authors complement each other and provide an unequivocal message to all involved in ICT initiatives in developing countries: you have to understand the nature and significance of local and wider contexts. The conclusion of this message is clear: you have to ensure above all that the application or initiative is in line with contextual needs and not just with your own interests. This book makes a forceful and substantial contribution to the literature on information technology in developing countries.

Dewald Roode
Director
School of Information Technology
University of Pretoria
South Africa

Earlier versions of the chapters in this volume were presented at a conference organised by the IFIP (International Federation for Information Processing) Working Group 9.4 in Bangkok, in 1998. The aim of the conference was to understand the efforts organisations in developing countries make to implement and utilise information and communication technologies (ICT). Previous conferences by the same group and a growing stream of literature on aspects of information systems for development had suggested that too many information systems projects in developing countries begin with high expectations for economic and social benefits but yield disappointing results. There were clear indications that in most such cases the main obstacles had to do with fitting technology applications in particular local contexts.

Thus the conference in Bangkok focused on the contextual aspects of developing and using ICT applications and infrastructures. Papers drawing data from diverse socio-organisational settings exposed a multiplicity of context-related concerns, whether they examined appropriate technologies, the interaction between technology implementation and social change, or policy directions. To begin with, they referred to techno-economic concerns, in the fundamental sense of seeking to develop sustainable and cost effective technologies that meet the requirements of specific activities in a specific organisational setting. Technological innovation emerging in the market context of industrialised countries does not always make economic sense in the poorer regions. Exploring technology options to address the information and communication needs of organisations in developing countries is a necessary and rather neglected research effort.