Diffusion Of Information Technologies Research Articles

How do technology convergence and expansibility affect information technology diffusion? Evidence from the internet of things technology in China

Information technology diffusion (ITD) is essential for promoting the sustainable development of technologies and helping technology owners gain a competitive advantage. The web-based development of technology and the digital transformation needs of multidisciplinary markets simultaneously drive the increasing convergence and expansibility of information technology (IT). However, whether these two technological characteristics can contribute to the diffusion of early-stage IT and how they influence the further diffusion of IT that has already diffused on a large scale are yet to be thoroughly investigated. We argue that the impact of technology convergence on ITD is heterogeneous when distinguishing between low- and high-ITD scenarios, as is technology expansibility. Our quantile regression estimates use a dataset about Internet of Things (IoT) patents authorized by the Chinese Patent Office from 2009 to 2019. The results show that increased technology convergence benefits ITD in high-ITD scenarios but does not affect ITD in low-ITD scenarios. Technology expansibility negatively impacts ITD in high-ITD scenarios and positively impacts ITD in low-ITD scenarios. This study broadens the theoretical paradigm of “technological characteristics and ITD” from the domain perspective. It inspires information technology owners to formulate sustainable strategies related to ITD according to technology convergence and expansibility.

International capital flows and sustainable development goals: The role of governance and ICT diffusion

Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in developing economies, especially in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), has become a focal point of discussion. This study contributes to this discourse by investigating the effects of international capital flows on SDGs in SSA, with a specific focus on the moderating mechanisms that influence these effects. Using data from 41 SSA countries spanning 2000 to 2018, the findings emphasize the crucial role of governance quality and ICT diffusion as effective factors moderating the nexus between international capital flows and SDGs. The study reveals a nuanced impact of international capital flows on sustainable development, encompassing both positive and negative effects across economic, social, and environmental dimensions. However, the presence of good governance practices and widespread diffusion of information and communication technologies (ICTs) serves as crucial conditional factors, enhancing the positive effects of international capital flows on economic and social sustainability while simultaneously mitigating their potential adverse effects on environmental sustainability. Through improvements in governance structures and the promotion of ICT diffusion, policymakers can create an environment conductive to maximizing the benefits of international capital flows while minimizing their adverse repercussions, thereby fostering sustainable development in sub-Saharan Africa.

Innovation, researcher and creativity: A complex indicator for territorial evaluation capacity

Innovation, research, and creativity are crucial elements to guarantee countries' competitiveness and promote sustainable economic and social progress. The evolution of these elements influences and guides the strategic choices of policymakers to develop potential improvements. Measures of economic and social well-being are widely studied in the literature as essential tools for understanding and promoting more equitable, sustainable and inclusive social and economic progress; they provide a more complete and holistic view of people's well-being, enabling more informed policies and decisions that meet a country's needs.Investments in scientific research and innovation, the human capital available for knowledge economy processes and the diffusion of Information and Communication Technologies are fundamental elements of social well-being and economic development. The literature highlights the need for indicators that analyze the efficiency levels of innovation, research and creativity activities to guide policies that promote better resource use. In light of this, the study aims to formulate a composite index that summarizes the "Innovation, research and creativity" dimension of the Equitable and Sustainable Wellbeing (BES) Report. The analysis focuses on Italy and provides a detailed measure of the situation in research, creativity, and innovation, which are indirect determinants of well-being but fundamental to social and economic progress. The authors propose an index for classifying Italian Regions by utilizing indicators from the BES and the Agenda 2030 and employing hierarchical clustering analysis associated with an algorithm based on the P2 distance method.From a broader perspective, the work provides a robust tool that combines various measures into a single value. This offers a more comprehensive view of a complex situation and allows for the identification of general trends or changes over time. Furthermore, this enables a more targeted assessment of goal achievement than analysing isolated individual variables.The results show the goodness and robustness of the proposed index. Therefore, the proposed index is a valuable tool capable of providing a comprehensive view of the situation, identifying trends, regional or national patterns, and information essential for governments to formulate strategies.

Towards ICT diffusion and trade liberalisation on inclusive growth in Sub-Saharan Africa

AbstractWhile the debate over the nexus between trade liberalization and inclusive growth is progressively reaching some consensus in emerging and developing economies, the empirical findings are mixed for sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries. Some of the SSA countries experience rapid growth in information and communication technology (ICT) diffusion manifesting in increased green wealth via the invention of new ideas, access to wider markets like the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), promoting accountability, social inclusion, and e-governance among others. The present study critically assesses how ICT diffusion modulates trade liberalization on inclusive growth throughout the 2005–2020 periods for 48 SSA countries. This study contributes empirically and methodologically to literature, specifically on the construction of the ICT index, inclusive growth index, and adoption of a better befitting econometric model. The study explores the direct impacts of ICT diffusion and trade liberalization, and their indirect impacts using an interaction term on inclusive growth. Contrary to the prior expectations, trade liberalization does not lead to inclusive growth in the SSA region, but ICT diffusion has a positive and significant impact on inclusive growth. However, the interaction term of ICT and trade liberalization improves inclusive growth. Therefore, the study advocates for policies that would build a knowledge-based human capital, stimulate innovation in socio-economic systems, and develop ICT infrastructure and its penetration among others, with the expectation that as AfCFTA takes effect, ICT diffusion will facilitate intra-regional trade, enhancing inclusive growth in the African region among other sound policy suggestions.

Linkages between ICT diffusion, renewable energy consumption, and carbon emissions: a comparative analysis of SAARC, MENA, and OECD countries.

This paper examines the linkages between information and communication technology (ICT) diffusion, renewable energy consumption (REC), and carbon (CO2) emissions across three distinct regions: the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), Middle East and North Africa (MENA), and Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) nations. We explore the causal pathways linking these variables and perform a comparative assessment of region-specific patterns with their policy implications. Utilizing a panel dataset of 28 countries from 1998 to 2019, we employ panel ARDL, FMOLS, DOLS, and D-H causality tests. The comprehensive analysis of the sample reveals that ICT development enhances CO2 emissions, whereas REC reduces emissions. However, the comparative analysis suggests a positive linkage between ICT diffusion and CO2 emissions in MENA and OECD countries but a negative linkage in SAARC countries. Further, REC substantially reduces emissions in MENA and OECD countries but has an insignificant effect in SAARC countries. Our findings corroborate the first-order effect of ICT (negative environmental impact) in MENA and OECD countries, with contextual variations attributed to economic structure, financial sector growth, trade openness, and industrialization. These findings offer pivotal insights for policymakers to leverage ICT capabilities and REC to attain sustainable development and mitigate climate change consequences.

The Matthew effect: Evidence on firms’ digitalization distributional effects

This paper explores the relationship between Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) diffusion and labor productivity at the firm level. We propose a model that explains labor productivity based on firm-specific characteristics (sector, size, location and year fixed effects), on the level of diffusion of digital technologies, and on human capital. We use quantile regression techniques to gain a more precise understanding of the association between ICT's diffusion and labor productivity for a heterogeneous firm landscape. Our results show that more productive firms are able to extract higher gains from digitalization than low productive ones, which exacerbates productivity differences between them. This requires from a tailor-made policy agenda to promote firm convergence, focused on helping firms to extract the most of digitalization.

How to manage massive spatiotemporal dataset from stationary and non-stationary sensors in commercial DBMS?

AbstractThe growing diffusion of the latest information and communication technologies in different contexts allowed the constitution of enormous sensing networks that form the underlying texture of smart environments. The amount and the speed at which these environments produce and consume data are starting to challenge current spatial data management technologies. In this work, we report on our experience handling real-world spatiotemporal datasets: a stationary dataset referring to the parking monitoring system and a non-stationary dataset referring to a train-mounted railway monitoring system. In particular, we present the results of an empirical comparison of the retrieval performances achieved by three different off-the-shelf settings to manage spatiotemporal data, namely the well-established combination of PostgreSQL + PostGIS with standard indexing, a clustered version of the same setup, and then a combination of the basic setup with Timescale, a storage extension specialized in handling temporal data. Since the non-stationary dataset has put much pressure on the configurations above, we furtherly investigated the advantages achievable by combining the TSMS setup with state-of-the-art indexing techniques. Results showed that the standard indexing is by far outperformed by the other solutions, which have different trade-offs. This experience may help researchers and practitioners facing similar problems managing these types of data.

Alcohol consumption in developing countries: Does information and communication technology (ICT) diffusion matter?

AbstractThe use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) has generated a rich literature. In this paper, we examine the effect of ICT use on alcohol consumption in a sample of 120 developing countries. To do so, we specify and estimate a panel data model first by pooled ordinary least squares (POLS) and second by feasible generalised least squares (F‐GLS) over the period 2000–2020. The robustness of the results is tested by using the system generalised method of moments (S‐GMM), taking into account regional specificities and cultural variables. The main result reveals that ICT use significantly reduces alcohol consumption. However, the effects of ICTs are mediated by economic, political and institutional governance. We suggest qualitative improvements in technological infrastructure for continued mitigation of alcohol consumption in developing countries.

Technological Strategies and Performance of the Judicial Sector in Kenya: A Case of Nairobi City County

Purpose: Innovations and rapid diffusion of information and communication technologies in institutions are currently experiencing revolutionizing organizational processes. Globalization equally fuels the adoption of the ICT as the basis for digital operations are changing the way organizations operate. Studies on various countries’ courts show that the judicial efficiency affects a country ‘s entrepreneurial activities; this reduces as the level of inefficiency increases. Thus, the study sought to analyze the influence technological strategies on performance of judicial sector in Kenya. Specifically, the study proposed to determine the influence of technological sourcing; technology posture; technological culture change; technological capacity on the performance of the judicial sector in Kenya.
 Methodology: By adopting descriptive research design, the study targeted all the five magistrate courts in Nairobi City County and purposively targeted nine offices per station, comprising (magistrate, court clerk, court accountant, court secretaries, court Archivist, HR and Administration officer, ICT officer, Procurement officer, and Library assistant, yielding a total of 45 sample size respondents for the study. Primary data was collected through structured questionnaires, which was piloted to ascertain its reliability and validity. Data was analyzed both descriptively as well as inferentially with the help of SPSS program (v.25.0) and MS Excel 10 softwares; and results presented using tables and charts for interpretation.
 Findings: From the study results, all the technological strategies variable had a positive and significant relationship with performance of the judicial sector in Nairobi City County in Kenya.
 Unique Contribution to Theory, Practice and Policy: The study was formed by the following theories: Transactional Cost, knowledge based; Stakeholders; Culture theory as well as the Task-technology fit theory. The study recommended that magistrate courts in Nairobi City County in Kenya should enhance their technological strategies since the strategies have been shown to bear a positive and significant effect on performance. The magistrate courts can achieve this through adopting advance technological orientations, especially where sourcing and culture of operations are concerned.  

Information technology maturity and acceptance models integration: the case of RDS

Purpose/Thesis: This article presents three methods for evaluating technological innovations, with a particular focus on information technology innovations such as information systems and services. These methods include assessing maturity, the diffusion of innovative information technologies, and their acceptance. The aim is to indicate the complementarity of these methods, which makes their integrated application appropriate.
 Approach/Methods: There are two types of theories that take into account the perspectives of both the creators of information technologies (technology maturity models) and their users (technology acceptance models). The article attempts to identify the commonalities between these models to enable their joint use. The joint application of these models is demonstrated through an example using research data services (RDS) maturity models. Six RDS maturity models known from the literature were analyzed from the perspective of their completeness using the technology acceptance model (TAM).
 Results and conclusions: This approach enables the assessment of maturity models from the perspective of RDS users’ needs, affecting the level of their acceptance. The results indicate that existing RDS maturity models do not sufficiently consider the needs and perspectives of their users, hindering the acceptance of the technology.
 Originality/Value: The article demonstrates a new point of view on information systems assessment, which serves to integrate two previously used methods of assessing the IS: maturity models and innovative information technologies acceptance models. The article proposes combining both methods to obtain a more coherent and universal research tool.

Impacts of digitalization and societal changes on energy transition: a novel socio-techno-economic energy system model

The increased diffusion of information and communication technologies (ICTs) impacts daily life and economic growth. It introduces new social practices for households and business models for companies that influence society and energy infrastructure development. A framework capable of quantifying and analyzing the impact of digitalization on achieving energy and climate targets, with a focus on behavioral changes induced by ICT, is currently lacking. In this paper, a new framework is developed that is technology-rich and captures the preferences and behaviors of households and firms in the energy system to assess sustainable energy system configurations that are technically and socially feasible. The framework is designed and demonstrated for Switzerland. We find, for example, that teleworking in Switzerland reduces commuting demand by 10%, and the savings in transport expenses can favor the investment in efficient and clean residential technologies to compensate for the increased residential energy demand due to working at home. This manuscript contributes to the growing literature of suitable frameworks and case studies to account for the co-evolution of society and energy systems in achieving the transition to low-carbon economies.

ICT, Financial Inclusion and the Informal Economy: Evidence from Selected Latin American and Caribbean Countries

ABSTRACT Exploring effective tools to control the rampant expansion of the informal economy is critical to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Based on balanced panel data for 19 selected Latin American and Caribbean countries for the period 2008–2017, this study employs fixed-effects estimation, limited information maximum likelihood estimation, and system generalized method of moments estimation to investigate the direct and indirect effects of information and communication technologies (ICT) diffusion on the size of the informal economy. The findings suggest that ICT diffusion can significantly reduce the size of the informal economy in LAC. Moreover, the dampening effect of ICT on the informal economy is more significant in countries with lower levels of financial inclusion. Accordingly, we recommend strengthening ICT sector development to enhance financial deepening and government efficiency and thus reduce informality in LAC.

Digital sustainability: Ethics, epistemology, complexity and modelling

The growing attention to digital sustainability can arguably be linked to climate change and digital transformations as major megatrends rapidly altering our collective present and future. The current Russian-Ukrainian war and the recent pandemic, however, have both raised uncertainty over the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) achievement and the role of technology and innovation for sustainability. Without ignoring the dramatic consequences for people, the Ukrainian war can be deemed as a significant shift in geopolitics and global energy policies, with a short-term return to fossil fuel and commitments to renewable and clean energy transitions. At the same time, the COVID-19 pandemic acted as a catalyst for a more pervasive diffusion and adoption of information and communication technologies (ICTs) transforming our lives and notions of sustainability. By considering the disruptive impact triggered by the pandemic, this paper aims at advancing awareness and knowledge of digital sustainability and at drawing a coherent framework of arguments including ethical and epistemological issues, taking into account the approach of complexity science. This will be essentially carried out by considering digital sustainability as “the convergence of digital and sustainability imperatives that involves a trans-disciplinary approach of deploying digital technologies in tackling sustainability issues” (Pan and Zhang, 2020). Across different interpretations reflected within business and management debates (Sharma, et al., 2021), this definition gives meaning to the concept or construct by specifying operations that must be performed in order to measure or manipulate the concept (Berrío-Zapata, et al., 2021). This paper will focus on the profound transformations of our view of reality by ICTs acting as instrumentarian technologies, and the need to avoid determinism, rethink science-technology relations, and consider the distributed morality of multi-agent ecosystems as significant aspects to further a debate on the trans-disciplinary nature of digital sustainability, including the potential negative impacts of digital technologies on society, economy and environment.

Does social media improve women's political empowerment in Africa?

The use of social media has grown significantly in Africa over the past two decades and is the subject of recent literature. In this article, we examine its direct and indirect effects on women's political empowerment (WPE) in Africa. Based on a sample of 45 African countries, we specify and estimate a panel data model using the Pooled Ordinary Least Squares (POLS) method and the System Generalized Method of Moment (S-GMM) over the period 2009–2019. Our results show that social media, as measured by the Facebook penetration rate, significantly increases WPE. Their effects are channeled through the diffusion of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), electricity consumption, human capital and political stability. The robustness of the results is proven by alternative measures of WPE and social media. In order to strengthen WPE, public policies must increase women's access to social media.

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.

Popular diffusion as an instrument for overcoming barriers to digital health in Iran: the critical role of the pandemic

PurposeThe importance of champion leaders including tech-savvy leaders to digital government has been highlighted in the literature. Meanwhile, what was in the authors’ interest to explore was the role of business-savvy leaders or non-governmental digital champions as units of analysis, those who mobilized people's interest in digitalization and bypassed governmental barriers through this popular mobilization. They could be considered policy entrepreneurs for understanding policy change in the digitalization of the health sector. This study sought to shed light on the barriers and drivers of digital health in Iran.Design/methodology/approachThe researchers conducted interviews with actors of digital health businesses in Iran, including the Health Information Technology Center affiliated to the Ministry of Health and Medical Education (MOHME) administrative body and authorities, private companies active in digital health and health service providers. The purposive sampling method was applied, and 15 experts with relevant and valuable experiences as well as maximum variation to obtain representativeness and rich data were interviewed. Trustworthiness criteria were also used to assure the quality of the results. The data were analyzed based on directed content analysis using the MAXQDA10 software.FindingsIt was found out how popular diffusion was effective to overcome barriers to health digitalization. Access to the internet and diffusion of information technology helped the net-enabled businesses to connect directly to people and provide services to them. Diffusion of these services forced the public sector to adjust itself, and thus MOHME banned digital consultation services because of the so-called “insecure and unknown physicians”, following the increased popularity of digital services diffusion, but they were not able to resist popular diffusion of new technology. Hence, it was allowed to work. The main barriers to telemedicine spreading in Iran have been divided into five main categories including government incapacity for digital health governance, conflict of interest, professional obligations for information transparency, protection of patients' rights and data security and privacy.Originality/valueAs a game changer in digital health governance in Iran, popular diffusion will determine the future of digital health. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is among the first ones to explore digital health governance in relation to the private digital health business in Iran with a public policy approach.

The ICT strategy of Italian museums: institutional, supply and demand side drivers

ABSTRACT It is common wisdom that the diffusion of information and communication technology (ICT) in cultural institutions can influence their mission and activities, reshaping their role as producers and distributors of cultural content. Nevertheless, the extent of ICT facilities in European museums has been rather scarce, although recently it has grown faster in response to the new challenges brought up by the COVID-19 crisis. This paper aims at exploring the drivers of the ICT strategy adopted by museums and similar institutions (in terms of both in situ and online services), considering not only supply-side but also demand-side characteristics. To the best of our knowledge, such an issue has not been investigated so far in a systematic way. We use a novel dataset based on three waves (2011, 2015, 2018) of a census survey carried out by the Italian National Statistical Office on all the cultural institutes spread over the Italian territory. Results show that supply-side, demand-side and contextual factors are significantly associated with the use of ICT by museums and similar institutions. Interestingly, we find that the relationship between demand features and museums’ digital strategy is closely related to the type of services and to the presence of financial incentives.

Impact of ICT diffusion and financial development on economic growth in developing countries

PurposeThe present study aimed to examine the relationship between information and communication technologies (ICT) diffusion, financial development and economic growth in the panel of developing countries for 2005–2019.Design/methodology/approachThe study employed the principal component analysis (PCA) to extract the index of ICT diffusion. First-generation panel unit root tests such as Levine Lin Chu (LLC), Im Pesaran Shin (IPS), Augmented Dickey-Fuller (ADF) and Phillips and Perron (PP) were employed to check the stationarity of the variables. Pedroni and Kao co-integration techniques were used to examine the existence of the long-run relationship, and co-integration coefficients were estimated using FMOLS and dynamic ordinary least squares (DOLS). The panel Granger causality approach examined the short-run and long-run causality.FindingsThe results confirmed that ICT diffusion, financial development and trade openness accelerate growth, whereas inflation dampens economic growth. Further, the causality test showed bidirectional causality between ICT growth and financial development growth but a unidirectional causality from financial development to ICT diffusion in developing countries.Originality/valueThe study recommends synchronizing public and private sector investment for a synergistic effect on ICT infrastructure and adequate investment in the financial sector to increase the growth rate in developing countries. Economic policies should be adopted toward incentives and subsidies to ensure affordable ICT services for disadvantaged communities. Also, training programs focussing on enhancing digital literacy to enable all segments of the population to use digital platforms for financial services are recommended.

Does value co-creation matter? Assessing consumer responses in the sharing economy

PurposeThe sharing economy has evolved as a result of the diffusion of information and communication technology and facilitates collaborative consumption and production otherwise known as value co-creation. The present research aims to explore the consumer responses to value co-creation in sharing economy such as satisfaction, brand preference and enduring buyer–platform relationships, amid consumer's CSR concerns.Design/methodology/approachDrawing on the sharing economy and value co-creation literature and rooted in the stimulus-organism-response framework, an online panel data provider was employed to recruit 393 actual sharing economy consumers from the United States. Empirical analyses are performed using structural equation modeling through Amos, version.27.FindingsFindings confirm that value co-creation intentions contribute to consumers' satisfaction, brand preference and sustainable social relationships in the sharing economy. As expected, heightened concerns of corporate social responsibility (CSR) led to decreased consumer satisfaction with the sharing economy platform.Originality/valueThe study contributes to the digital sharing economy literature by emphasizing the role of CSR perceptions for building long-term relationships (buyer–platform relationships) where value co-creation is crucial.

A flexible approach to select road traffic counting locations: System design and application of a fuzzy Delphi analytic hierarchy process

Although the diffusion of Information and Communication Technologies provided transportation analysists with new data sources (such as Floating Car and mobile devices), the use of permanent sensors installed on roads is still of paramount importance for traffic analysis. Continuous count stations are one of the main components of a road traffic monitoring program, which could fulfil several aims: (1) planning of a transportation system, (2) traffic management and operations, (3) improvement of road safety, (4) special monitoring for planned/emergency events, and (5) estimation of environmental impacts. In this research activity a Fuzzy Delphi Analytic Hierarchy Process (FDAHP) was applied to select the best locations for a fixed number of permanent count stations, as the basis of a traffic monitoring program that can reach the previously described targets. A real case study was developed in the Città Metropolitana di Venezia (Italy), where budget limitations imposed the need for a scientific and sound framework to decide where new sensors should be installed. Specific objectives and criteria were defined, as well as proper indicators to quantify them using available data. Their relative importance was evaluated by a panel of experts belonging to several agencies, therefore with different perspectives. The information obtained was analysed following the FDAHP approach to produce a ranking of the potential locations. The proposed holistic approach can be considered as a reference framework for a system to support local authorities in creating a traffic monitoring system and can be easily applied to other study areas.