Information systems in developing countries: a critical research review
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Information systems in developing countries: a critical research review Chrisanthi Avgerou Department of Information Systems, London School of Economics & Political Science, London, UK Correspondence: Chrisanthi Avgerou, Department of Information Systems, London School of Economics & Political Science, Houghton Street, London WC2A 2AE, UK. Tel: þ 44 020 7955 7634; Fax: þ 44 020 7955 7385; E-mail: [email protected]
Abstract In this paper I review the Information Systems (IS) research on how developing countries have attempted to benefit from information and communication technologies (ICTs). First I identify three discourses on IS implementation and associated organizational and social change that coexist in information systems in developing countries (ISDC) research, namely as a process of technology and knowledge transfer and adaptation to local social conditions; as a process of socially embedded action; and as a process of transformative techno-organizational intervention associated with global politics and economics. I then point out the distinctive research agenda that has been formed in ISDC studies, both in the more familiar IS themes – failure, outsourcing, and strategic value of ICT – and also in studies of themes relevant specifically to the context of developing countries, such as the development of community ICT and information resources. Finally, I call the reader’s attention to the potentially significant theoretical contributions of ISDC research for understanding IS innovation in relation to social context and in relation to socio-economic development theories and policies. Journal of Information Technology (2008) 23, 133–146 doi:10.1057/palgrave.jit.2000136 Published online 17 June 2008 Keywords: developing countries; information systems; innovation; development; discourses
Introduction he pace and direction of information and communication technology (ICT) innovation and concomitant organizational change, which comprise the object of study of the information systems (IS) field, are undoubtedly set by the advanced economies of the world, primarily in North America and Europe. Nevertheless, the international IS literature includes an increasing number of studies of IS innovation experiences in other regions of the world, mainly the developing countries of Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Such studies considerably expand the empirical basis that informs IS research findings. More significantly they expand the domain of research of the IS field by addressing new themes, such as the provision of ICT resources for a community (Reilly and Gomez, 2001; Madon, 2005), and by highlighting dimensions of the process of IS innovation that so far have received relatively little attention in mainstream IS research, such as national culture (Sahay, 1998) or global politics (Ciborra, 2005). Most research concerning IS innovation in developing countries is published in specialist conferences and journal
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