Information And Communication Technology Services Research Articles

Preference heterogeneity of local government for implementing ICT infrastructure and services through public-private partnership mechanism

The government addresses the demand for information and communication technology (ICT) infrastructure based on strategic economic planning. However, financial resources, as well as government inefficiencies handling the public infrastructure are the most prominent constraints hindering the development of infrastructure. In such a case, incorporating the private sector would strengthen the government strategy to implement the public ICT infrastructure. This study analyses the government perception to implement the public ICT infrastructure incorporating the private sector and finds strong heterogeneity to implement the public ICT infrastructure through public-private partnership (PPP) mechanisms. The main results are that the government agencies (decision makers) in Nepal positively prefer foreign companies and tend to share financial risks with the private sector in implementing ICT projects through PPP. However, there is relatively high heterogeneity in preferences of the government agencies for these attributes. The results of this study imply that public and private sectors might exhibit opportunistic behavior from the development to the operation of the project, ultimately risking the successful outcome of the project.

A Study of Linkage Effects and Environmental Impacts on Information and Communications Technology Industry between South Korea and USA: 2006–2015

This study examined the relationship among carbon dioxide emissions and linkage effects using Input–Output (IO) data of the information and communications technology (ICT) industry between South Korea and the USA. As we wanted to find out if the ICT industry, which the world is passionate about, is a sustainable industry. The linkage effects are analyzed to determine the impact of ICT industry on the national economy, and CO2 emissions of the industry are analyzed to determine how much influence it has on air pollution. In addition, we classify ICT industry by ICT service and manufacturing industries as the key industries in Korea and the US. Data were collected from OECD ranging from 2006 to 2015 in order to quantitatively estimate backward linkage, forward linkage effect, and carbon dioxide emissions. The results indicated that ICT manufacturing industry in Korea has high backward and forward linkage effects. CO2 emissions from ICT service is more than from ICT manufacturing in both Korea and the US. We wanted to find out if the ICT industry, which the world is passionate about, is a sustainable industry. As a contribution, ICT manufacturing and service industries in Korea and the United States are directly compared, and CO2 emissions over 10 years are analyzed in a time series.

Access Digital Divide in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA): Current State and Measures for Improvement

In this age the emergence of information and communication technologies (ICTs) has been identified as a major step toward solve the problems challenged the nation development. Problems such as corruption, delays in service delivery, lack of public sector accountability can be overcome with ICT. Furthermore, ICT are the key factors in improving government business and human sustainable development in all life aspects. Whilst the ICT considered the key to these problems but owning these technologies was facing many obstacles staring from bought them to continuous use, and create a gap between countries and within a country from the perspective of who does have computer and networks communication and who doesn't, and this refers to the digital divide. Some aspects of the digital divide exist everywhere and not only related to developing countries but also the size of the gap, which is different in countries and within a single community. This study focuses on the digital divide problem by exploring the current state of the access digital divide in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) based on three main research questions. And to achieve that, Data collected from International Telecommunication Union (ITU), Communications and Information Technology Commission (CITC), and World Bank were used. The study found that Saudi Arabia is suffering from the access digital divide, and there is a strong link between household income and the access digital divide resulting from unaffordable prices in both ICT and broadband services and this gap tends to be larger in the regions where the inhabitants have the lowest income level. The study recommends that the government should give improving household income the highest priorities and at the same time offering affordable prices for broadband services. Also, the study finds that mobile penetration represents a valuable resource for the Saudi Arabia government to be investing in delivering government services through mobile platforms. Finally, the study recommends that public-private partnerships with promoting and encouraging the private sectors to invest in ICT is one of the most important measurements in bridging the access digital divide.

Improving Effectiveness of Rural Information and Communication Technology Offices: The Case of Qazvin Province in Iran

The information and communication technology (ICT) offices in rural areas of Iran have been developed as government provided counters under a national project in the past decades. The rural ICT offices were expected to benefit the rural people in various socio-economic dimensions such as health, social connectivity, crop diversity, agricultural productivity, occupational capability and the lifestyle in general. However, these middle range offices in Iran did not perform as expected, and thus they require an urgent restructuring to boost up their performances and to enhance their acceptability. This study investigates the effectiveness of the ICT systems and services in place in the Qazvin province of Iran with the purpose of identifying the major requirements needed to fix up the system. The focus of this study was around 10,000 people organised through rural ICT agents and their users in the rural area of Qazvin. The survey involves 138 rural ICT offices operated by 103 cooperative agents. Of them, 16 rural ICT offices were selected randomly, and 165 rural users connected with the selected offices were interviewed by the research team. Collected data have been analysed with structural equation modeling. The study shows that education, policy and management requirements deserve the highest attention, and therefore the best ways to improve the effectiveness of rural ICT offices. This study suggests that the effectiveness of rural ICT offices can be improved significantly through providing in-service education for ICT experts, arranging regular training programme for ICT office agents and using mass media to educate villagers on various aspects of ICTs.

Total factor productivity enablers in the ICT industry: A cross-country firm-level analysis

Advancements in productivity in the digital economy constitute an important engine for economic growth. What drives productivity dynamics in the information and communication technology (ICT) sector? This study examines the productivity dynamics of ICT firms across countries from the perspective of corporate balance sheets. We study the effects of intangible assets and leverage on productivity growth using firm-level panel data from five industrialized countries. We find that intangible assets positively affect the total factor productivity in the ICT sector. The positive effect of intangible assets on total factor productivity growth is larger for ICT manufacturing firms than for ICT service firms. We also find that leverage has a positive relationship with total factor productivity development in the ICT sector. In addition, our empirical results substantiated that productivity is catching up to the technological frontier. Furthermore, larger firms and/or younger firms generally show higher total factor productivity growth than their peers. Economies of scale are more prominent in the ICT service sector than in the ICT manufacturing sector. Our findings contribute to the understanding of cross-country productivity dynamics in the ICT sector at the firm level in the digital economy.

The Association between ICT-Based Mobility Services and Sustainable Mobility Behaviors of New Yorkers

The energy consumption and emissions in the urban transportation are influenced not only by technical efficiency in the mobility operations but also by the citizens’ mobility behaviors including mode choices and modal shift among sustainable and unsustainable mobility modes. Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) can play an important role in the mobility behaviors of citizens, and it is necessary to study whether ICTs support sustainable mode choices like public transport and nonmotorized modes, which increase the total energy efficiency in the urban mobility and reduce traffic congestion and related emissions. This paper focuses on the two most popular ICT services in the urban transport, which are ATIS (Advanced Traveler Information Systems), and ridesourcing services. This study used the New York Citywide Mobility Survey (CMS) findings with a sample of 3346 participants. The associations between using these two ICT services and the mobility behaviors (mode choice with ATIS and modal shift to ridesourcing) are analyzed through a multinomial logistic regression and descriptive statistics, and the results are compared with similar international studies. The findings indicate that the respondents who use ATIS apps more frequently are more likely to use rail modes, bicycles, bus/shuttles, and rental/car sharing than private cars for their work trips. Moreover, the findings of the modal shift to ridesourcing indicate that the most replaced mobility modes by ridesourcing services are public transport (including rail modes and buses), taxis, and private cars, respectively.

Competing logics in a hybrid organization: ICT service provision in the Italian health care sector

PurposeThis paper reports an investigation of a hybrid ex-state-owned enterprise (ex-SOE) providing ICT (Information and Communication Technology) services in the Italian healthcare sector (in-house provision). The authors aim to offer a framing that reflects the concerns expressed in the interdisciplinary literature on hybrid SOEs from management, public administration and, more recently, accounting.Design/methodology/approachThis study operationalizes Besharov and Smith’s (2014) theoretical model on multiple logics to analyze institutional structures and organizational outcomes at an ICT in-house provider. It builds on extensive textual analysis of regulatory, archival, survey and interview data.FindingsThe study results show that the combination of hybridity in the form of layering of multiple logics in the health care sector (Polzer et al., 2016) creates problems for the effectiveness of ICT provision. In particular, the hybrid organization the authors study remained stuck in established competing relationships despite a restructure of regional health care governance. The study findings also reflect on the design of organizational control mechanisms when balancing different logics.Research limitations/implicationsThe identified case-study accountability practices and performance system add to the debate on hybrid organizations in the case of ex-SOEs and facilitate the understanding and management of hybrids in the public sector. The authors note policymaking implications.Originality/valueThe authors’ operationalization of Besharov and Smith's (2014) model adds clarity to key elements of their model, notably how to identify evidence in order to disentangle notions of centrality and compatibility. By doing this, the authors’ analysis offers potential insights into both managerial design and policy prescription. The authors provide cautionary tales around institutional reorganization regarding the layered synthesis of logics within these organizations.

Towards the industry 4.0: Have ICT services improved the position of Central and Eastern Europe in global production linkages?

Preparing for introduction industry 4.0 requires well-developed areas of services, especially in information and communication technologies (ICT). Therefore, this article identifies the changes of participation in global value chains (GVCs) of manufacturing and services, especially in ICT, in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). This study led to the verification of the hypotheses: 1) manufacturing has become an activity that has been losing its position in GVCs steadily; 2) services, especially ICT services, have become a new channel of improvement in CEE countries’ relative positions in GVCs.

Intra-EU vs. extra-EU trade in ICT services

Abstract The position of information and communication technology (ICT) services is growing in the European Union (EU) trade, however to different extend in different EU countries. The article aims to identify trade positions of the EU Member States in intra-EU trade and extra-EU trade in ICT services and to assess changes that have taken place in the years 2013–2018. The importance of the EU Member States in trade in ICT services is assessed, followed by the analysis of their trade positions in terms of selected indices. We discovered that countries of the highest importance for the intra-EU and extra-EU trade in ICT services are not holding the best positions in trade in this area, except for Ireland. Additionally, leaders in ICT services trade do better in extra-EU trade rankings than in the EU Internal Market, since the distance does not matter to business operations consequent to the digitalization of economic activities.

ПРОБЛЕМЫ ИНФОРМАЦИОННО-КОММУНИКАЦИОННЫХ ТЕХНОЛОГИЙ В ПЕРИОД СТАНОВЛЕНИЯ ЦИФРОВОЙ ЭКОНОМИКИ И ОБЩЕСТВА

Modern society develops under the influence of scientific and technological progress. New relationships in economy, production, education, personal life, new financial instruments and new threats arise. Relevant issues are identifying problems and prospects of development of information and communication technologies (ICT) during the formation of the digital economy and society. The purpose of the article is to systematize the major problems that arise in the development of ICT during the formation of the digital economy and to identify possible consequences of this process. It is proved that introduction of the newest ICT and digital services leads to significant changes in the quantitative and qualitative indicators of the life of the society and are of an institutional nature. Singled out a number of problems during the development of ICT in the digital society, including: digital divide; lack of funds for innovative upgrades; inconsistency of modern education and public administration with the requirements of a new society; shortage of skilled personnel; contradictions between traditional and up-to-date management practices and corruption; activation of cybercrime; the need to create a list of social digital services; international migration of highly skilled personnel. Positive signs in ICT: the continuation of old social and labor activity of citizens; change the semantic content of work towards its intellectualization with the possibility of additional income; increase of ecological economy; creation of new remote jobs; new opportunities for education, tourism, medicine, etc. Systematized negative consequences, namely the growth of cybercrime increasing psychological problems of personality, dependent on ICT networks and energy efficiency, the lack of security of personal space, the need for rapid response to innovative replacement. The proposed measures are aimed at transforming Ukraine into a center of information and communications and digital services for Eastern Europe that can lead to economic breakthrough and overcoming the existing socio-economic crisis. In further studies are planned to develop a model depending on the pace of digitalization processes of society on the pace of economic development.

Evaluating non-market costs of ICT involving data transmission in smart cities

ABSTRACT Smart cities are spurred by rapid development of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs). Cost justification has been a challenging but essential decision-making aspect for smart city projects. Whilst market costs are measurable, non-market costs are often obscure and even intangible. The adverse effects on individuals arising from ICT services are usually underestimated due to the exclusion of intangible elements. This study is devoted to the non-market costs of ICT to users (i.e. Privacy leak, Cyber-attack, Non-availability, and Impediment) and non-users (due to Digital divide) in smart cities. Contingent Valuation is conducted on representative ICT services in Hong Kong which is an emerging smart city. Ordinal regression is adopted to calculate Willingness-to-Pay (WTP) for avoiding detriments as the proxy of non-market cost. The results indicate that the WTPs increase with data input needs. Information overload is remarkable in smart cities. Age is identified as a significant determinant through a discussion of influential factors of WTP. The impacts of Age on digital divide are studied with further insights through supplementary interviews. The estimated non-market costs should be incorporated into the Cost–Benefit Analysis of smart city projects for decision-making. Accordingly, policy recommendations on ICT use and security are provided for smart city managers.

ICT Services Exports and Labour Demand: A Global Perspective and the Case of Israel

In recent decades, economic growth around the world has mostly been driven by technological acceleration, along with growing consumer demand for information and communications technology (ICT) products and services. These developments have pushed ICT services exports to the forefront of the global trading system. However, overall employment in the ICT sector has not shown a similar expansion. This asymmetry could be partially explained by different employment trends prevailing in each ICT sub-sector, due to a shift in specialisation from manufacturing-intensive exports towards services-oriented exports. A particularly interesting country to examine in this regard is Israel, which has demonstrated outstanding performance in ICT services exports since the early 1990s, accompanied by a surge in demand for high-skilled employees. This article aims to identify the main determinants of labour demand in the ICT service sector across different country income groups and genders. The empirical cross-country panel analysis validates the positive contribution of ICT services exports to employment in the ICT service sector, particularly in high-income countries and among female employees. The article further highlights the considerable role of public policies in boosting labour demand in the ICT services sector, predominantly through funding for ICT research and development and tertiary education.

Evaluating the benefits of Cloud Computing in Small, Medium and Micro-sized Enterprises (SMMEs)

Abstract Cloud computing is becoming an essential tool in lowering Information Technology (IT) costs amongst Small, Medium and Micro-sized Enterprises (SMMEs). As such amongst a myriad of challenges, SMMEs are faced with a general lack of resource capability including the lack of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) infrastructure and skills. This further disables the SMMEs ability to compete with big business and industry peers. As such cloud computing offers SMMEs the ability to access high level ICT services either through SaaS (Software-as-a-Service), PaaS (Platform-as-a-Service) or IaaS (Infrastructure-as-a-Service) service delivery models. Cloud computing adoption amongst SMMEs is relevant in the sense that SMMEs can realise the full benefits of reduced capital expenditure, improved access to ICT systems, heightened security of data and low costs for agile development amongst a myriad of cloud computing benefits. The overall intention is to ensure that SMMEs always have access to updated ICT services through the cloud, without having the burden of maintaining ICT infrastructure in-house. Based on this interpretation, this study analysed factors affecting cloud computing adoption amongst SMMEs, by use of a Conceptual Research Model based on the Technology-Organization-Environment (TOE) framework. This was informed by a survey distributed to SMMEs within the Ngaka Modiri Molema and Bojanala Platinum Districts of the North West Province. The results of this study will assist SMMEs to make informed decisions on adopting cloud computing practices in their organisations.

Arquétipos de decisão na governança de tecnologia da informação: Reflexões em pequenas e médias empresas

Objectives of the study: to understand and analyze the configuration of decision archetypes, proposed by Weill and Ross (2004), in the context of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). The study is justified by the increased organizational dependence on Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) and its high costs, which requires a close alignment between business strategies and the adoption of these technologies. Methodology / Approach: qualitative approach, under an inductive logic; and data collected through semi-structured and in-depth interviews, involving five owner-managers of ICT service providers and 16 directors / managers of Information Technology (IT), in SMEs. Main results: it was observed that SMEs have characteristics that facilitate the integration between business and IT, with the duopoly decision archetype prevailing. The greater concentration of power in the owner-manager or the absence of structural power of the key IT professional in these companies can, however, favor archetypes of the type of federalism or monarchy, influencing misaligned decisions between IT and business. Theoretical / methodological contributions: the findings of the study suggest that, within the organizational structures of SMEs, key IT professionals with decision-making power are supported by metrics based on quantitative aspects, supported by business intelligence systems and empirical knowledge of those involved in the process. Relevance / Originality: by proposing mechanisms for configuring decision archetypes in the Information Technology Governance (ITG) of SMEs, this study contributes significantly to the advancement of this theme, still incipient in the literature, as well as supporting new research.

Moderating Effect of Race and Ethnicity Between Technology Use and Social Isolation

Social isolation among older adults has brought about poor outcomes of their health and well-being. Information and Communication technology (ICT) is known to alleviate social isolation of older adults. However, it is unknown how ICT access and use are associated with social isolation by race. This study examined the association of ICT and social isolation from the National Health and Aging Trends Study (NHATS), estimating moderating effects of race and ethnicity. The sample for this study was community dwelling Medicare beneficiaries aged 65+ (n=5,567). An index for ICT was formed from five domains: social network websites, email and texting, working cellphone, tablet devices and online computer use (range 1-5, mean=3.96, SD=0.927), and social isolation was derived from responses to five areas: living arrangement, attending religious activities, numbers of important people to talk with, attending other activities such as club participation and volunteer work (range=0-2, mean=1.74, SD=0.927). Race and ethnicity included White (69.6%), African-American (20.7%), Hispanic (5.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.5%). Multiple linear regression was used using a moderating effect of race/ethnicity, including relevant covariates. Findings revealed increased ICT use was associated with lower social isolation (b=0.05, p<0.05), and race/ethnicity was a significant moderator in the association between ICT and social isolation for African-Americans (b=0.08, p<0.05) and Hispanics (b=0.15, p<0.05) compared to White older adults. The findings indicate that racial differences should be considered when applying technology use to reduce older adults’ social isolation. Practitioners can provide racially competent ICT services for older adults interested in tech-based communication.

INTERNATIONAL TRADE IN ICT SERVICES: THE CASE OF UKRAINE

Background. Today, the information and communications technology (ICT) sector is one of the most dynamic sectors of the world economy. Since IT services are the second largest export sector in Ukraine, the study of the impact of international trade in ICT services on economic growth becomes relevant. Analysis of recent research and publications. Numerous papers have shown the positive impact of international trade in ICT goods and services on production volumes, employment and productivity of national economies. In particular, UNCTAD data show that the ICT services sector shows an increase in employment and international trade in all geographical regions and provides most of the added value in the ICT sector. The aim of the article is to study the impact of international trade in ICT services on the development of economies of different levels of development, taking into account national policies of ICT sector, and to develop recommendations for Ukrainian policy of ICT sector, taking into account the experience of analyzed countries. Materials and methods. The information base for the study was data from UNCTAD, OECD, Eurostat, and the State Statistics Service of Ukraine. Methods of statistical, structural, regression, comparative analysis are used. Results. Regression analysis was used to identify the relationship between GDP and the volume of exports and imports of ICT services in the analyzed countries. The results showed that in order to ensure economic development through trade in ICT services, countries need to pursue a stimulating policy, which includes measures in three main areas: support for innovation (R&amp;D funding and startup ecosystems); education and training of ICT specialists; and support for investments in ICT services (through preferential taxation and grant schemes). Conclusion. In order to support the growth of the national IT industry, the Ukrainian government is proposed to legalize existing schemes of cooperation of IT companies with private individuals, to avoid additional regulation of the industry, and to develop schemes to financially support innovation in science and business.

Agro-information Service and Information-seeking Behaviour of Small-scale Farmers in Rural Bangladesh

Agriculture is the mainstay of Bangladesh’s economy, accounting for 15.89% of its GDP and 45.1% of its labour employment. Efficiency of economic activities in agriculture crucially depends on the flow of information relating to farming decisions, as well as on demand for such information by farmers. This study examines the information needs and information-seeking behaviour of small-scale farmers in rural Bangladesh. Opinions and feedback of farmers were collected through mini–focus group discussions (MFGD) and in-depth interviews (IDI) in seven districts across Bangladesh. The study finds that many farmers lack awareness of where and how to obtain agro-information. The priority areas on which farmers typically seek information include seeds, fertilisers, agriculture credit, irrigation, disease and pest management. The information-seeking behaviour of the farmers depends on two variables: the nature of the crisis and the reliability of the information available. Farmers rely on personal experience and informal networks when the nature of crisis is familiar or non-critical; they rely on multiple external sources when the nature of crisis is critical and personal knowledge proves inadequate. The use of information and communications technology (ICT) (such as Union Digital Centers and Agricultural Helplines) in this regard is minimal, and the potential of utilisation of the office of agriculture extension remains untapped. The major constraints faced by the farmers in seeking information using modern ICT include farmers’ prevailing norms and perceptions (e.g., resistance to change and adoption of new technology), relatively high costs of and low awareness regarding agro-information, poor infrastructure to be able to support ICT services, spatial inconvenience, in terms of location and availability of ICT facilities, and low literacy among the farmers.

Exploring How Persons with Dementia and Care Partners Collaboratively Appropriate Information and Communication Technologies

Persons with dementia and their care partners have been found to adapt their own technological arrangements using commercially available information and communication technologies (ICTs). Yet, little is known about these processes of technology appropriation and how care practices are impacted. Adopting a relational perspective of care, we longitudinally examined how four family care networks appropriated a new commercial ICT service into their existing technological arrangements and care practices. Cross-case analysis interpreted collaborative appropriation to encompass two interrelated processes of creating and adapting technological practices and negotiating and augmenting care relationships . Four driving forces were also proposed: motivating meanings that actors ascribe to the technology and its use; the learnability of the technology and actors’ resourcefulness ; the establishment of responsive and cooperative care practices ; and the qualities of empathy and shared power in care relationships . The importance of technological literacy, learning, meaning-making, and the nature and quality of care relationships are discussed. Future work is urged to employ longitudinal and naturalistic approaches, and focus design efforts on promoting synergistic care relationships and care practices.

Total Factor Productivity Changes in Japanese Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises in 1982–2016: Suggestive Indications of an IT Revolution?

Since the information technology revolution in 2000, businesses worldwide have adopted information and communication technology (ICT) and big data. Recent studies attribute the origin of productivity growth in Europe and the United States to the depth of ICT utilization. We investigate whether that is the case in Japan. We measure the productivity of five manufacturing and eleven services industries in Japan and observe how it changed before and after 2000. Our results suggest that productivity increased for providers of ICT products but not for providers of ICT services. Moreover, productivity rose after 2000 in seven services industries that are users of ICT. Japanese firms are predominantly small and medium-sized and we conclude that the productivity findings for western countries are also observed for Japanese small and medium-sized enterprises.

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Governance Processes: A Case Study

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Governance is increasingly necessary and present in organizations aiming to improve the maturity of their ICT processes. This paper presents an analysis of the ICT Governance processes of a Brazilian Federal Public Administration agency. To assess the maturity of the ICT Governance processes, we surveyed and diagnosed the processes performed by the agency and organized a series of meetings/discussions to assist in the improvement and modeling of the processes related to the ICT Contract Planning process. As a result, we proposed improvements and identified the maturity level of the existing ICT processes, also assessing the awareness of employees of the General Coordination of Information Technology regarding these processes. Our findings reveal that the agency still needs to implement the following processes: (1) ICT People Management; (2) Business Process Modeling (Automated/to Automate); (3) Change Management; (4) Execution Monitoring of the ICT Projects and Services Portfolio; and (5) ICT Service Continuity Management. We also identified several artifacts that need to be implemented by the agency in different processes and collected survey participants’ suggestions about new processes to improve the maturity in ICT Governance.