Creating Theoretical Research Frameworks using Multiple Methods

Insight from ICT4D Investigations

Sergey V. Samoilenko, Kweku-Muata Osei-Bryson

• Publisher: Auerbach Publications
• Year: 2017
• ISBN:
  9781351651165
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Politik & Internationale Beziehungen
• Subtopic: Stadtplanung & Stadtentwicklung

By now, it is commonly accepted that investments in information and communication technologies (ICTs) can facilitate macroeconomic growth in developed countries. Research standards in ICT for development (ICT4D) are high, and it is a basic expectation that a theoretically sound conceptual investigation should yield actionable results. An additional expectation is that an on-the-ground study conducted in each setting should add to the common body of knowledge based on theory. In other words, one is expected to make a connection between the world of concepts and the world of reality. Middle-range theories and frameworks could help connect the case studies with grand theories, by helping to create a theoretically sound and practically applicable research architecture of ICT4D.

This book demonstrates how creative use of various data analysis methods (e.g., data mining [DM], data envelopment analysis [DEA], and structural equation modeling [SEM]) and conceptual frameworks (e.g., neoclassical growth accounting, chaos and complexity theories) may be utilized for inductive and deductive purposes to develop and to test, in step-by-step fashion, theoretically sound frameworks for a large subset of ICT4D research questions. Specifically, this book showcases the utilization of DM, DEA, and SEM for the following purposes:

• Identification of the relevant context-specific constructs (inductive application)
• Identification of the relationships between the constructs (inductive application)
• Development of a framework incorporating the constructs and relationships discovered (inductive application)
• Testing of the constructed framework (deductive application)

The book takes a multi-theoretical perspective to economic development research. It starts with an overview of ICT4D. Next it covers such frameworks and theories as neoclassical growth accounting and the theory of complementarity, complex systems and chaos theories, and the product life cycle (PLC) theory. There are also nontechnical overviews of the DM and data analytic methods that can be used in this research. Also presented is evidence that human capital and investment capital are complementary and are reliable sources of economic growth. The book concludes with methodological frameworks to guide investment decisions and the formulation of strategic policy.

1Overview of Research on Information and Communication Technologies for Development

This chapter provides a brief overview of previous research on information and communication technology for development (ICT4D).

Introduction

In this chapter, we present an overview of research on information and communication technologies for development (ICT4D), which, as noted by Walsham (2017), “has a history going back some 30 years.” For a more comprehensive exposition of this research field, the reader may consult studies such as those of Walsham (2017), Roztocki and Weistroffer (2015), Avgerou (2008), and Donner (2008).

To date, ICT4D research can be considered to fall into the broad categories of (1) the relationship between information and communication technologies (ICTs) and development at the macro or micro level and (2) adoption/diffusion/implementation of ICT in “developing” countries (including those considered to be transitional or emerging economies) without necessarily giving attention to the issue of development. With regard to the first category, a major aim is often to understand and/or demonstrate how ICT may be used to combat poverty and promote economic growth and sustainable development in developing countries, economies in transition, and least developed countries, rooted in the recognition, which has proliferated in recent years, that quickly accessed, properly adapted, and broadly shared information and knowledge are key drivers of economic growth and social opportunity. An underlying speculation behind such research involves examination of the validity of theories of modernization, which, as noted by Qureshi (2015), “are based on the notion that technological change developed in the West should be used to develop economies that are poor.” Alternatively, ICT4D research can be considered to fall into three groups: (1) studies that explain or predict the adoption/diffusion/implementation of ICTs; (2) those that assess the impacts of ICTs on people, organizations, and economies; and (3) those that attempt to explore and explain the usage of various ICTs.

Some Options for Configuring an ICT4D Research Project

In this section, we briefly discuss previous ICT4D research in terms of the ICT issues and focus areas of previous studies; the countries and communities that provided the context; and the research methodologies, theoretical frameworks, and data analysis methods that were utilized. For each subsection, we list examples of relevant papers in order to, if necessary, sensitize the reader to the wide variety of options for configuring an ICT4D research project.

ICT Issues and Focus Areas

A variety of ICT issues have been explored in previous studies, including ICT adoption, diffusion, and usage (e.g., Avgerou et al. 2016; Wong et al. 2016; Zaremohzzabieh et al. 2016; Van der Schyff & Kraus 2014; Bernroider et al. 2011; Gryczka 2011; Bailey & Ngwenyama 2010; Pavon & Brown 2010; Donner & Tellez 2008; Brown et al. 2007; Brown & Licker 2003; Brown 2002), ICT implementation (e.g., Cavalheiro & Joia 2016; Lech 2012), ICT strategy (e.g., Maryska et al. 2012), impacts of ICT (e.g., Bankole et al. 2015; Samoilenko & Osei-Bryson 2011), ICT education (e.g., Maryska et al. 2012), e-learning (e.g., Charlton-Laing & Grant 2015), and ICT security (e.g., Barclay 2014; Barrett-Maitland et al. 2016; Gupta et al. 2017;). Roztocki and Weistroffer (2015) report that for ICT4D research that focused on the transition economies of Europe, ICT diffusion and ICT implementation were the two most explored issues. These two ICT issues have also attracted the attention of researchers focusing on other geographic regions, though with regard to less economically developed regions, there is also increased interest in exploring the impacts of ICTs on the people, organizations, and economies.

Focus areas previously studied include banking (e.g., Gupta et al. 2017; Borena & Negash 2016; Mansingh et al. 2015), cultural issues (e.g., Krauss 2013), education (e.g., Stanimirovic & Vintar 2015), employment (e.g., Pavon & Brown 2010), governance (e.g., Canares 2016; Prakash 2016), e-government (e.g., Cumbie & Kar 2016), health care (e.g., Prakash 2016; Stanimirovic & Vintar 2015; Purcarea et al. 2011), trade and commerce (e.g., Boateng 2016; Bankole et al. 2015), telecommunications (e.g., Wong et al. 2016; Kaba & Osei-Br...