Diffusion Of Communication Technologies Research Articles

Information and communication technology diffusion, supply chain performance, health care and human development: A case of the South Asian region

South Asian countries have shown tremendous progress in information and communication technology (ICT) and have become one of the fastest-growing regions in technology, innovation, and business competitiveness. The pivotal role of ICT diffusion in the economic growth of both developed and developing countries is a well-established fact. Therefore, this research aims to examine the impact of ICT diffusion (especially the evaluation of ICT indicators) on three core outcomes, namely supply chain performance, health-care expenditures, and the Human Development Index in the context of South Asian economies. To measure ICT, we used three core ICT indicators (i.e., fixed broadband subscriptions, mobile phone subscribers, and internet users) individually as well as in the form of an index developed through principal component analysis (PCA). Panel data of South Asian economies ranging from 2007 to 2021 were used to estimate the equations. The outcomes revealed that all the variables were integrated at order one (1). Second, ICT had a long-run/equilibrium relationship with supply chain performance, health-care expenditures, and human development index. Third, the response of all individual ICT indicators as well as the ICT index on supply chain performance was positive and significant in estimated coefficients. Fourth, the ICT index and all ICT indicators had a positive influence on health-care expenditures. Finally, the ICT index and two out of three individual ICT indicators had a positive and significant influence on HDI. Interestingly, among all the three indicators of ICT, internet users were found to have more pronounced effects on the promotion of supply chain performance, health-care expenditure, and HDI. The more pronounced effect of internet users implied that policymakers should consider devising policies to promote ICT penetration with a core focus on internet penetration.

Information and communication technology diffusion and the urban–rural income gap in China

AbstractThe income gap between urban and rural households is a prevalent social issue in many countries, including China. This study examines the effect of information and communication technology (ICT) diffusion on the urban–rural income gap in China. We theoretically analyse how ICT infrastructure construction, financed by fiscal transfers, in rural areas narrows the rural–urban income gap. Further, our empirical results show that both ICT penetration at county level and ICT usage at household level narrow the rural–urban income gap. Moreover, compared to computer access, the newer generation of ICT devices (smartphones) has stronger effects in narrowing the rural–urban income gap. We find that smartphones play a key role in the reduction of this income gap by increasing the agricultural product operational income of rural households.

Pro-environmental behavior-Renewable energy transitions nexus: Exploring the role of higher education and information and communications technology diffusion.

The most accepted solution to deal with the problems of global warming and climate change is to transform the energy sector by moving toward renewable energy. Therefore, the primary focus of the analysis is to examine the role of renewable energy consumption, higher education, and ICT in improving environmental quality and green growth in China. We have employed the quantile ARDL model to obtain the short-and long-run estimates. According to the findings of QARDL, the long-run estimated coefficients of renewable energy consumption and higher education are positively significant in most quantiles. However, in the long run, the estimates attached to ICT are insignificant in the CO2 emissions model in most quantiles. On the other hand, the estimates of renewable energy consumption are significantly positive from the 50th quantile and onward in the green growth model, confirming that the higher the renewable energy in the economy, closer it will get to the target of green economic growth. The long-run estimates of higher education and ICT are positively significant at most quantiles in the green growth model. In the short run, renewable energy consumption turned out to be the most critical determinant of CO2 emissions and green growth.

Development of strategies to improve Information Communication Technology diffusion in Nigeria’s logistics and transport industry: Adaptation of Structure-Process -Outcome Model

Information and communication technology (ICT) applications in logistics and supply chain management (SCM), which aim to improve competitive advantage and logistics performance are lacking in Niger...

Development of strategies to improve information communication technology diffusion in Nigeria's logistics and transport industry: adaptation of structure-process-outcome model

Development of strategies to improve information communication technology diffusion in Nigeria's logistics and transport industry: adaptation of structure-process-outcome model

Impact of Information and Communication Technology Diffusion on HIV and Tuberculosis Health Outcomes among African Health Systems

Debate regarding the impact of information and communication technology (ICT) on health outcomes has prompted researchers to conduct analyses across many parts of the globe, yet, still little is known about the ICT impact in the African continent. Using a robust multivariate approach, this study examined system-wide impact of ICT diffusion on multiple health outcomes for HIV and tuberculosis among sovereign countries of Africa. This study utilized longitudinal panel data from the World Bank and International Telecommunication Union databases between 2000 and 2016. We relied on a robust linear dynamic panel model to incorporate lagged time variables to estimate the relationships between ICT infrastructure (mobile phone use, internet access, and fixed-telephone subscriptions) and HIV and tuberculosis outcomes. Econometric analyses found that the coefficients of the aggregate ICT variables were all negative (except for fixed telephones) for tuberculosis health measures and HIV prevalence, and positive for access to antiretroviral therapy. The diffusion of mobile phones and internet was associated with decreased incidence of tuberculosis, HIV prevalence, and tuberculosis mortality rates. However, increased diffusion of these three ICT tools was associated with increased access to antiretroviral therapy. Thus, African governments should identify investment strategies for adopting and implementing ICT to improve population health outcomes.

Financial inclusion, information and communication technology diffusion, and economic growth: a panel data analysis

ABSTRACT Earlier studies accept that both Financial Inclusion (FI) and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) individually play positive role in economic growth. Moreover, ICT applications like mobile phone and internet penetration are being increasingly utilized in banking sector. The present study has shown that ICT development can be an important determinant of Financial Inclusion by using a fixed-effect panel data model of 41 countries. The paper further contributes by highlighting the role of FI, powered by a better ICT penetration, in fostering the growth of the countries in a Dynamic Panel Data Model. The results suggest that both FI individually and once coupled with mobile and internet can improve the per capita growth. However, in developing countries, the role of ICT indicators in fostering financial inclusion and therefore growth is not very promising. From the policy perspective, it suggests that more investment in educating people about the usage of ICT in formal banking sector is required.

Factors influencing information and communication technology diffusion in Nigeria's transport logistics industry: an exploratory study

Modern transport and logistics management is replete with the applications of advancements of information and communication technology (ICT). However, the barriers to ICT innovation diffusion in the industry are widely acknowledged, particularly in the context of developing countries. Therefore, this study adopts a qualitative research approach (focus group discussion and in-depth expert interviews) to explore: 1) how institutional forces in Nigeria are influencing ICT diffusion in the transport and logistics industry, using evidence from the local small and medium third-party logistics operators in the region; 2) the perceptions of the relevant stakeholders concerning ICT diffusion challenges in the industry and their roles in modulating them. In exploring the views of the relevant stakeholder, one can observe that the lack of an effective institutional framework in the region is the chief problem militating against efficient ICT diffusion in the industry. An ICT diffusion framework is developed to help address the problem.

Factors influencing information and communication technology diffusion in Nigeria's transport logistics industry: an exploratory study

Modern transport and logistics management is replete with the applications of advancements of information and communication technology (ICT). However, the barriers to ICT innovation diffusion in the industry are widely acknowledged, particularly in the context of developing countries. Therefore, this study adopts a qualitative research approach (focus group discussion and in-depth expert interviews) to explore: 1) how institutional forces in Nigeria are influencing ICT diffusion in the transport and logistics industry, using evidence from the local small and medium third-party logistics operators in the region; 2) the perceptions of the relevant stakeholders concerning ICT diffusion challenges in the industry and their roles in modulating them. In exploring the views of the relevant stakeholder, one can observe that the lack of an effective institutional framework in the region is the chief problem militating against efficient ICT diffusion in the industry. An ICT diffusion framework is developed to help address the problem.

Information communication technology diffusion and financial inclusion: an inter-state analysis for India

ABSTRACT The paper investigates the impact of ICT (information communication technology) diffusion on the financial inclusion across 16 Indian states during the time period 2007–2008 to 2014–2015. Tele-density, usage of mobile phones and internet connectivity can improve the accessibility, reduce the transaction cost and travel cost of the commercial banking sector. This increases the access of institutional credit, products and services to marginalized unbanked population of society. Inter-state comparison reveals the fact that there are disparities in the spread of ICTdiffusion and financial inclusion across the regions and these disparities are persistent in nature. ICT diffusion index is consistently high in Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka, whereas low in Assam, Bihar Uttar Pradesh, Orissa and Madhya Pradesh. Dynamic panel data analysis exhibits that ICT index has a strong positive significant impact on financial inclusion index. It also illustrates that lack of education, age composition of population, rural-urban location, poor status of financial literacy play a very vital role in spreading financial inclusion. The elderly people in rural as well as in urban areas are still not that familiar with mobile and internet, they may not be able to get benefited by ICT revolution.

Debt and communications technology diffusion: Retrospective evidence

This study has evaluated the relationship between debt in the capital structure of firms and the dynamics of broadband and digital technology adoption in the United States, based on a large dataset on local exchange carriers in the United States over a contemporary historical fourteen year period from 1988 to 2001. Using treatment effects modeling, the impact of debt in impacting the levels of firms’ broadband deployment has been found to be negative and significant. The primary source of debt in the sector has been in the form of arm's-length corporate bonds and the assumptions of the monitoring hypothesis associated with such debt, that lenders, in the face of information and collective actions problems, might not be able to control managers and hence invest less in highly technology-intensive situations, are supported by the data. Additionally, the data set has been split into separate sets for two periods, one between 1988 and 1995, for the period before the Telecommunications Act of 1996 came into force, and the other set between 1996 and 2001, and the results have stayed consistent. A test of the coefficients between the two periods has shown that the negative impact of leverage on broadband deployment has become stronger after the introduction of competition in the sector, and this has suggested that the change in the institutional logics between the two periods has been of material impact in influencing lenders’ perceptions.

Fatwa and the internet: a study of the influence of Muslim religious scholars on internet diffusion in Saudi Arabia

This study uses diffusion of innovations theory to examine the influence of Muslim religious scholars on internet diffusion in Saudi Arabia. It applies content analysis to the fatwa, the religious edicts that Muslim religious scholars issue, to explore fatwa decisions relating to the internet since its launch in Saudi Arabia in 1999. There are 34 fatwa in total, 11 with approving decisions, 11 with disapproving ones, and 12 with conditionally approving decisions. Those who issue approving fatwa argue that it helps to spread the word of Allah and that if Muslims do not exploit the opportunities provided by the internet, then non-Muslims and non-believers will use it for evil. To explain their disapproving fatwa, other scholars argue that the internet corrupts people. The study discusses the impact of religion and religious scholars on the dissemination of communication technologies in Saudi society. It also predicts a pattern of opinions that scholars may be expected to adopt on the introduction of any new communication technology that is culturally controversial.

Are Mobile Phones and Handheld Computers Being Used to Enhance Delivery of Psychiatric Treatment?

The rapid diffusion of communication technology has provided opportunities to enhance the delivery of mental health care. We used Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines to conduct a qualitative review of randomized controlled trials that reported on the efficacy of mobile phones or handheld computers used to enhance the treatment of psychiatric disorders. We identified eight randomized controlled trials. Five studies used mobile phones to target smoking cessation. Those receiving the smoking cessation intervention were significantly more likely to achieve abstinence compared with those under the control condition. Three studies used non-personal digital assistant (PDA) handheld computers targeting anxiety. Compared with those in the control condition, those who received the non-PDA handheld computer intervention had significant improvement in anxiety outcomes in only one of the three studies. The limited number of rigorous evaluations of mobile phone, PDA, or smartphone interventions for mental health problems underscores the opportunities to enhance our interventions using the available tools of contemporary technology.

Dal sistema impresa ai sistemi di imprese. Suggestioni e limiti delle reti d’impresa

Globalization of markets, shortened time to market and diffusion of information and communication technologies represent some of the most relevant trend in the firm competitive landscape. Competition in this scenario in mostly based on the ability of the firm to gain, at the same time, two different goals: innovation and economic efficiency. Tackling this issue, our work analyze alternative forms of division of labor at macro level, underlying the importance of setting up localized economic. In particular, we focus on networks and alliances aiming to explore the so called “network capitalism”. Finally, we propose a discussion about the capabilities needed by different organizations in order to be successful in the actual competitive environment.

Autenticità e risorse locali come attrattive turistiche: il caso della Calabria

In the last decades numerous changes have affected tourism sector, such as the globalization of markets, the diffusion of new information and communication technologies, and, over all, the demand evolution. All these factors have caused the crisis of mass tourism and the socalled post-tourism birth, reshaping holiday taking and increasing tourist market segmentation. Today tourists want to understand the lifestyle and the local tradition of the destination. Therefore, tourist products must reflect the true culture of the place and must be authentic. This paper analyses the case of Calabria. Calabria is not a successful tourist destination and it is not affected by the main international tourist flows, also due to transportation difficulties and their high costs. The region draws principally the Italian segment of “summer, beach and sun” market and, therefore, it suffers of high demand seasonality. The latter explains the low average occupancy rate of accommodation facilities and the modest rate of return on investment in the tourism sector in the region. A consequence of the congestion of space during the peak season is the negative environmental impact of tourism because of the surpassing of the carrying capacities of the resource base in summer months. In order to overcome these problems, tourism flows have to be regulated and measures are needed to extend the tourist season. The starting could be offering authenticity and uniqueness, concentrating the efforts on typical elements of local lifestyle, history and tradition, involving also the local community. The proposed study analyses some successful enterprises created in order to achieve the previously illustrated aims.

Is ICT the Key to Development?

Using panel data for 52 developed and developing countries over the period 1998-2006, this article examines the links between information and communication technology diffusion and human development. We conducted a panel regression analysis of the investments per capita in healthcare, education and information and communication technology against human development index scores. Using a quantile regression approach, our findings suggest that changes in healthcare, education and information and communication technology provision have a stronger impact on human development index scores for less developed than for highly developed countries. Furthermore, at lower levels of development education fosters development directly and also indirectly through their enhanced effects on ICT. At higher levels of development education has only an indirect effect on development through the return to ICT.

Broadband adoption and firm productivity: evaluating the benefits of general purpose technology

We examine the relationship between the deployment of broadband, which we classify as a general purpose technology, and the productivity of the deploying firms using panel data that comprises information on all the major local exchange carriers in the United States telecommunications industry from 1995 to 2000. This relationship is an important indicator of the economic impact of new technology adoption. We provide a comprehensive analysis of the literature on general purpose technologies as well as on the economic consequences of information and communications technology diffusion and develop a framework to empirically assess the impact of broadband deployment on the productivity. Our results find a positive relationship between broadband deployment and the carriers' productivity and suggest that encouraging the deployment of broadband technologies, in addition to the benefits to consumers and firms at the receiving end of the new technology, create the potential for better technological efficiencies and increased productivity for the deploying firms. The benefits can be enhanced as the firms studied operate in two-sided markets where the network effects brought about by the multitude of interconnections can be substantial because of possible second-order spillovers of productivity. Copyright 2010 The Author 2009. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Associazione ICC. All rights reserved., Oxford University Press.

Intraorganizational information and communication technology diffusion: Implications for industrial sellers and buyers

Information and communication technologies (ICTs) like CRM, ERP and Intranet are considered important for creating competitive advantage. Despite their rapid deployment rates, only a few studies mainly from the information technology (IT) and engineering literature have been devoted in uncovering the factors that influence the diffusion of new information technologies within an organization. Similarly, empirical studies regarding the impact of ICT diffusion on organizations are strikingly limited. In an attempt to fill this research void, the present study examines the implementation of ICT tools within marketing-related and non-marketing-related functions. By testing a number of hypotheses using structural equation modeling, the authors conclude that the antecedents and consequences of ICT diffusion in these functions vary. Their findings provide the foundation for a more thorough examination of both intraorganizational diffusion of ICT tools as well as their impact on organizations.

Information and communication technology diffusion and skill upgrading in Korean industries

We examine the relationship between the directly observable indicator of new technology, information and communication technology (ICT) investment intensity, and skill upgrading by analyzing changes in employment and wage structure of 25 Korean industrial sectors over the 1993–1999 period. The estimation results indicate the following implications. First, although ICT expenditure and investment have increased sharply since 1993, it appears that ICT investment has begun to be complementarily combined with skilled labor only since 1996. Second, our results support the ‘limited substitution hypothesis’. ICT has substituted low-skilled non-production workers, whereas the increased demand for high-skilled workers is driven by ICT diffusion in the second sub-period. This asymmetric trend between high-skilled and low-skilled non-production workers in Korea reveals significant differences in comparison with the experiences of other OECD countries. Third, the existence of substitutability between ICT diffusion and low-skilled non-production workers in Korea may cast doubt on the appropriateness of the non-production workers' category, a category regarded as a proxy variable of high-skilled workers in most previous studies.

Exploratory factors influencing information and communication technology diffusion and adoption within Australian construction organizations: a micro analysis

Exploratory factors influencing information and communication technology diffusion and adoption within Australian construction organizations: a micro analysis