Information And Communication Technology Investment Research Articles

ICT Use and Successful Learning: The Role of the Stock of Human Capital

Previous empirical studies have found a weak nexus between the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) for learning and students’ outcomes. However, this literature has not considered the role that the countries’ stock of human capital can have in the successful use of ICT for learning. In this paper, we test empirically the existence of complementarities between human capital and technology adoption for learning. We carry out an empirical analysis with PISA data from a large-scale sample of 363,412 students enrolled in 13,215 schools in 48 countries. We estimate a hierarchical linear model (HLM) of three levels: students, schools, and countries. Our results strongly support the evidence of a positive externality of the stock of human capital on ICT use for learning. When we consider the moderator-effect of the stock of human capital, we find that the negative outcome of ICT use on students’ outcomes in mathematics, reading and science turns positive (greater and more positive the higher the stocks of human capital are). The greater the stock of human capital an economy has, the more benefits it can get from investments in ICT for learning.

Evaluation of information and communication technology development in G7 countries: An integrated MCDM approach

Information and communication technology (ICT) contributes highly to various sectors of modern societies. Due to rapid growth of ICT and its spread into different sectors, ICT now has noticeable impacts on economic and social growth. Considering both positive and negative impacts, governments are continuously working on proposing better policies and recommendations to improve their ICT infrastructures. However, proposing better policies is highly depended on understanding past and current policies to have a complete overview of the situation. In this regard, evaluation of countries’ performance in terms of ICT development is of great significance. This paper attempts to evaluate the ICT development based on social and economic indicators using an integrated MCDM approach. To provide a real-life benchmark, G7 countries as major developed countries are investigated using real data from OECD datasets. For this purpose, six major indicators as ICT employment, ICT goods exports, ICT investment, ICT value-added, and internet access are considered to comparatively evaluate performance of G7 countries. Results indicate that United States of America along with Japan as top countries based on their ICT development while countries such as Italy and Canada are found to have the weakest performance which should upgrade their ICT policies to maximize their performance.

Green Information Technology in Indonesia– A Systematic Literature Review

In Indonesia, information and communication technology (ICT) is one of the most crucial economy accelerators, for every 10% increase in the ICT investment, the nation’s GDP grows as much as 1.87%. However, the use of ICT leaves adverse impacts on the environment, particularly carbon emission and toxic waste. This phenomenon has led to the proliferation of the topic of environmental sustainability, one of which is green information technology (GIT). GIT is defined as the utilization of ICT that can directly or indirectly reduce the adverse impact of business processes on the environment. This paper aims to evaluate GIT research to attain a better understanding of the field of GIT in Indonesia through a literature review. Published papers are categorized and a gap analysis is presented to reveal areas that need to be explored more. The results of this study potentially serve as a guide for future studies in GIT, particularly in Indonesia. This research finds that the topic has gained popularity in recent years. There are various research themes under the topic of GIT in Indonesia, with the most explored one being the design and implementation of GIT. The majority of the studies are case-based, limiting the research scope to one particular organization. This leaves broader research objects open to be explored more.

Empirical evaluation of basic Information and Communication Technology (ICT) skills of final year students of Federal College of Education (Technical), Omoku

This research work titled “Empirical Evaluation of Basic Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Skills of Final Year Students of Federal College of Education (Technical), Omoku” used UNESCO ICT-Competency Framework for Teachers version 3, 2018 as a conceptual framework to assess basic ICT skills and competency level of students. It employed evaluative survey design using questionnaire as the instrument of data collection, designed and administered to all the 51 Part-Time final year students. Analysis of the research result using SPSS Version 20 shows that 4 (7%) of the students lack basic ICT skills, 13 (25%) of them are average in the use of ICT tools and 14 (27%) of them have above average ICT skills. A mean of 3.7 shows that 74% of the students agree that their ICT Instructors possesses the requisite professional skills and competencies to teach. Since 25% of the students can averagely use ICT tools, the researcher recommends that the Government should implement the Monitory and Evaluation of its huge investment in ICT in Education by making sure ICT Facilities are used for teaching and learning in schools.

Role of ICT Investment and Diffusion in the Economic Growth: A Threshold Approach for the Empirical Evidence from Pakistan

This study investigates the role of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) investment and diffusion on Pakistan’s economic growth by proposing the threshold level of ICT investment. At our proposed level, the ICT imports significantly enhance the intermediate inputs to capital goods, ultimately enhancing economic growth. For this empirical investigation, we use the maximum available data on technological innovation and investment, ranging from 2003 to 2018. Incorporating the structural breaks, the results of regression analysis reveal that Pakistan’s economic growth is unaffected by ICT development. However, we observe the mixed shreds of evidence on the ICT investment. Following existing literature, we use ICT goods exports and imports as a proxy for ICT investment. Interestingly, the economic growth of Pakistan is again unaffected by the ICT goods exports. However, we observe that a one percent increase in ICT goods imports enhances economic growth by 1.73 percent. Then, we extend this analysis to the threshold approach, which reveals that ICT imports affect the overall economic growth when the ICT goods imports reach the level of 4.13 percent of the total imports. At this threshold, the ICT goods import significantly enhances the intermediate input to the capital goods, leading to higher economic growth. Therefore, the policymakers should ensure that the ICT goods import must be greater than the 4.13 percent of Pakistani imports.

Examining the link between information and communication technologies and the UN Sustainable Development Goals

This study examines the empirical link between information and communication technologies (ICTs) and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in 143 countries for 2016. The adoption of the 2030 agenda of the SDGs has prompted the creation of research streams across disciplines, including the information systems discipline. Despite these, extant literature since the adoption of the SDGs has sought to highlight the importance of ICTs in achieving the 2030 milestones. Whilst many of these studies proffer the ICT–SDG linkage, there is no empirical evidence that examines this linkage. This study draws on archival data and structural equation modelling to empirically show the relationship between ICTs and the SDGs, on one hand, and the mediating role of human development, on the other. Our findings show that there is a direct significant relationship between ICTs and the SDGs and that investment in ICTs will significantly accelerate the achievement of the 2030 targets of the SDGs. Further, human development plays a significant mediating role in this relationship. The policy implications are discussed.

The Return on Information Technology: Who Benefits Most?

Information and communication technology (ICT) has continuously reshaped the way in which businesses operate. Yet opinions among economists about the returns to ICT, especially at the aggregate level, are divided. We exploit business-to-business transaction panel data from ICT producers to construct ICT capital stocks for a large sample of Belgian firms. This allows us to estimate the returns to ICT at the firm level and to investigate how firm-level ICT investments affected aggregate gross domestic product and productivity. We find large returns to ICT—more precisely, a firm investing an additional euro in ICT—increases value added by 1 euro and 35 cents on average. This marginal product of ICT investment increases with firm size and varies across sectors. Although we find substantial returns to ICT at the firm level, returns are much lower at the aggregate level. This is due to underinvestment in ICT (ICT capital deepening is low) and because firms with especially high returns are underinvesting.

How Information and Communication Technology Shapes the Influence of Culture on Innovation: A Country-level Analysis

ABSTRACT Advances in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and the distributed nature of innovation in a culturally heterogeneous world raise an important question about how ICT and culture jointly influence innovation. We argue that ICT shapes the influence of culture dimensions on national innovation in nuanced ways, depending on the nature of the dimensions. In particular, cultural dimensions that pertain to norms, formality, and structure (e.g., power distance and uncertainty avoidance) are often considered detrimental to innovation, whereas culture dimensions that pertain to the pursuit of goals and achievement (e.g., individualism, masculinity, and long-term orientation) are often considered conducive for innovation. We hypothesize that ICT amplifies the positive effects of individualism, masculinity, and long-term orientation on national innovation—and, attenuates the negative effects of power distance and uncertainty avoidance on national innovation. Our analyses of data on 66 countries from 2007 to 2015 broadly support our hypotheses about ICT amplifying the positive effects of individualism and long-term orientation, as well as our hypotheses about ICT attenuating the negative effects of power distance and uncertainty avoidance on national innovation. The findings suggest that ICT amplifies the effects of culture dimensions related to the pursuit of goals and helps overcome barriers to innovation that arise from a culture’s focus on norms, formality, and structure. In turn, these findings can help managers and policy makers to make judicious decisions regarding ICT investments to transcend or leverage the country’s cultural characteristics for innovation.

Međusobna povezanost između digitalnih tehnologija i poslovnih performansi u bankarskoj industriji - globalna i regionalna perspektiva

In order to remain competitive on both domestic and global market as well as to satisfy evolving consumers' needs, modern banks must not ignore the potential of digital and smart technologies. Taking into consideration the importance of digitalization as a new standard in business practice, the aim of this paper is to evaluate the impact of digitalization on the performance of banking sector globally and in SEE region. The main purpose of this paper is to test if the investments in information and communication technologies (ICT) contribute to the growth of profitability of banking sector as well as to the reduction of OPEX. In order to test the influence of investments in ICT on banking performance adequately, the static panel data models of fixed effects models were used. The results indicate that the influence of investments in ICT on OPEX defers on global and regional level. The results also indicate statistically significant positive relationship between investments in ICT and banks' profitability in SEE region.

How ICT and R&D affect productivity? Firm level evidence for China

Based on an extended three-step CDM model, this paper addresses the impacts of research and development (R&D) and information and communication technology (ICT) on firm productivity for the World Bank innovation survey data of China. The study includes ICT investment and R&D as the two main inputs into innovation and productivity. We find that R&D and ICT investments positively affect product innovation and process innovation, with R&D being more important for innovation and productivity, and ICT being more important for innovation and no direct effect on productivity. We conclude that R&D and ICT investments increase the probability of product innovation and process innovation, which increase firm’s productivity, suggesting that R&D and ICT investments indirectly affect productivity through innovation.

The Impact of ICT on Labour Productivity – Europe vs. U.S.

Research background: The European economy has been experiencing declining productivity growth rates since the 1970s despite high investments in information and communication technologies (ICT). Investments in ICT are considered a key driver of productivity growth that serves as a basis for further improvements in living standards. However, despite the emergence of new technologies and industries, especially after 1995, European productivity growth has slowed and lagged behind the United States. The critical question is why? Purpose of the article: This article aims to examine the effects of ICT on the European labour market in the period when machines and systems such as artificial intelligence, new information technologies, the Internet of things, and other technologies are becoming increasingly interconnected and intertwined. Additionally, the article examines the key reasons why European productivity lags behind the U.S. and explains them. Methods: The panel regression method analyzes the productivity lag of selected European developed countries and emerging markets in 2007-2019. The article additionally makes a qualitative analysis of the benefits of new technologies on productivity in Europe compared to the U.S. Findings & Value added: The results of the econometric analysis applied in this article confirm the positive but insignificant impact of ICT investments on the labour productivity of the case of European developed countries in the post-Great Recession period. Thus, the article fills the gap in the research literature regarding the relationship between ICT investments and the labour productivity of selected European countries.

Information & Communication Technology(ICT) Adoption in Nigerian Ports Terminal Operations

Most ports around the globe have adopted ICT in a bid to improve their operational performance and remain competitive in the industry. However, ports in developing economies still grapple with challenges associated with manual terminal operation. This paper evaluated the level of application and integration of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) and factors limiting their use in terminal operations in Nigerian seaports. The data for the study were obtained from copies of structured Likert scaled questionnaire administered to a random sample of terminal operators, stevedores, shipping companies’ agents, Customs licensed Clearing and Forwarding agents (C&F) operating in Apapa and Tincan Island ports in Nigeria. Specifically, opinion of these respondents was sought on extent of ICT application, integration and perceived constraints to ICT use in port terminal operations. Based on our findings using statistical model tests of proportion, the respondents stated that significant level of ICT procedures and processes have been adopted in port terminal operations. In terms of ICT applications, we found that electronic data and communication exchange applications were available in the terminals for use by the respondents. There are also in place ICT applications for warehouses and storage facilities management and e-payment systems. However, significant constraining factors were found to be: low ICT investment budgetary allocation, lack of e-skilled manpower and poor equipment maintenance culture. Other limiting factors were lack of integrated ICT facilities operated by other port stakeholders and absence of Port Community Systems network (PCS) linking all other relevant interests connected to terminal operations. Policy implications of our findings were discussed.

Is innovation in ICT valuable for the efficiency of Italian museums?

ABSTRACT This paper investigates the influence of information and communication technologies (ICT) on the efficiency in attracting visitors of Italian museums. Notwithstanding the extensive literature on museum performance measurement, the analysis of the role of technological innovation is relatively neglected. As a first attempt to fill this lacuna, this study presents a two-stage analysis of a novel sample of Italian state-owned museums built by merging information drawn from different sources. In the first stage, we use bootstrapped Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) to measure the efficiency of museums. In the second stage, we use a bootstrap truncated regression approach to test the extent to which different forms of ICT affect museum efficiency. We distinguish the ICT investments into ‘in situ’ and online services, since the former improve the visitors’ experience on site, while the latter can prepare for the visit or, even, be a substitute of the visit. The results reveal that the use of ICT is generally associated with better performances but ‘in situ’ services show to play a major role.

Impact of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Investment on different Components of Human Development in Developing Countries

ICT investment is the key factor of human development in developing countries. Human development has three main components such as GDP, health and education. The current study explores the impact of ICT investment on the components of human development in 67 selected developing countries. Selected developing countries are divided into four panels on the basis of income as lower, lower middle, upper middle and high income countries. Data were collected from World Bank, ITU and Word Information Technology and Services Alliances website for the period of 2000 to 2018. Pesaran, Friedman and Frees CSD tests confirmed the presence of cross-sectional dependency in the variables and consequently, CIPS second generation unit root test were used for stationarity. Kao and Pedroni test and ARDL model were employed to check the long-run cointegration and regression analysis respectively. The regression results showed the mixed findings in different panels. The results explored that ICT investment have different impacts on the components of human development in four panels of the developing countries. Communication investment, software and hardware investment have positive impact on the components of human development in all panels. It is recommended that government should focus on ICT investment to increase GDP, level of education index, life expectancy index and HDI. Keywords: ICT Investment, Human Development, Developing Countries, Panel Data.

Factors influencing the deployment of innovative (ict) facilities by construction organisations in port Harcourt, Nigeria

Data management and exchange of information within contractor organization or between contractors and/or consultant or clients are facilitated through effective information and communication technologies (ICTs) facility provisions. Information exchange happens in real time and jobs made easier through the use of electronic devices. In spite of the huge data generation and information exchange needs of construction contractors, they are still faced with the challenge of adopting ICT in their daily transactions. Thus, this research set out to assess the factors influencing innovative ICT facilities deployment in contracting firms in Port Harcourt. The study adopted a survey approach, in which quantitative data were gathered from construction professionals within the study area, using of a well-structured questionnaire. With a response rate of 68.28%, the data gathered were analyzed using percentage and factor analysis. The study reveals that the factors influencing the deployment of ICT in construction are; Change related issues, Security related concerns, Human and management related Concerns, and Cost related Concerns. Key among these factors are satisfaction with existing method of working, inadequate trained ICT professionals, inadequate knowledge about return on ICT investment, virus attack, security breach and fear of piracy, and lack of legal support for use of ICT. It was recommended that government should put legislation in place to make it mandatory for construction firms to make ICT an integral part of their service delivery.

Beyond profitability: ICT investments and financial institutions performance measures in developing economies

PurposeThe national and global digital transformation makes investments in information and communications technology (ICT) by financial institutions a necessity, not only for gaining a competitive advantage but also for expanding their knowledge and learning about their customers. This study assesses the business value of ICT investments by financial institutions using a mixed-method approach.Design/methodology/approachThis study adopted a mixed-method approach. First, financial data were gathered from Omani banks' annual financial reports and through a longitudinal quantitative analysis in order to assess the value of ICT in financial institutions' profitability performances. Second, a Delphi qualitative approach was utilized in order to further assess how top managers view the impact of ICT investments in different aspects of business. We used an extended balanced scorecard (finance, customer, internal process and learning and growth) and a sector perspective to address how future ICT investments can offer value that goes beyond traditional metrics of profitability.FindingsThe results of the longitudinal study demonstrated significant evidence of the impact of ICT investment on finance performance indicators; ICT value is significantly positive. Furthermore, the results indicated that there is an acceptable consensus among business and ICT managers that ICT is linked to performance indicators beyond financial; ICT value is linked also to customer indicators, internal process indicators and learning and growth indicators in addition to sector indicators.Originality/valueICT is vital for a diversified and knowledge-based economy, especially for developing countries, because modern banking and financial institutions are relatively new in economies such as those that had previously relied on cash and informal financing institutions. Therefore, continued ICT investments face challenges and may not succeed. Most of the existing literature on ICT value has focused on tangible financial performance indicators. The financial evaluation of intangible performance indicators of ICT investments still remains a problematic area of high relevance to decision-makers. The present study provides an integrated assessment that enables financial institutions to develop their strategies and assessments in terms of ICT investments and to go beyond typical, tangible financial profitability indicators. Furthermore, it integrates assessment indicators that are beyond organizations themselves and reaches sectors and countries. This type of investigation is limited in the literature yet important for the financial sector as it is highly integrated by nature and critical to the development of a nation's economy.

Accounting for Cloud Computing in the National Accounts

Digitalization and the innovative use of digital technologies is changing the way we work, learn, communicate, buy and sell products. One emerging digital technology of growing importance is cloud computing. More and more businesses, governments and households are purchasing hardware and software services from a small number of large cloud computing providers. This change is having an impact on how macroeconomic data are compiled and how they are interpreted by users. Specifically, this is changing the information and communication technology (ICT) investment pattern from one where ICT investment was diversified across many industries to a more concentrated investment pattern. Additionally, this is having an impact on cross-border flows of commercial services since the cloud service provider does not need to be located in the same economic territory as the purchaser of cloud services. This paper will outline some of the methodological and compilation challenges facing statisticians and analysts, provide some tools that can be used to overcome these challenges and highlight some of the implications these changes are having on the way users of national accounts data look at investment and trade in commercial services.

Accounting for Cloud Computing in the National Accounts

Digitalization and the innovative use of digital technologies is changing the way we work, learn, communicate, buy and sell products. One emerging digital technology of growing importance is cloud computing. More and more businesses, governments and households are purchasing hardware and software services from a small number of large cloud computing providers. This change is having an impact on how macroeconomic data are compiled and how they are interpreted by users. Specifically, this is changing the information and communication technology (ICT) investment pattern from one where ICT investment was diversified across many industries to a more concentrated investment pattern. Additionally, this is having an impact on cross-border flows of commercial services since the cloud service provider does not need to be located in the same economic territory as the purchaser of cloud services. This paper will outline some of the methodological and compilation challenges facing statisticians and analysts, provide some tools that can be used to overcome these challenges and highlight some of the implications these changes are having on the way users of national accounts data look at investment and trade in commercial services.

Information and communication technology (ICT) and environmental sustainability: a panel data analysis.

This study investigates the impact of information and communication technology (ICT) on carbon dioxide emissions for a panel of 91 countries over the period 1990 to 2017. The study constructs an ICT index through principal component analysis and tests for the presence of cross-sectional dependence (CSD) in the data. The study employs pooled ordinary least squares, fixed-effects model, and system-generalized method of moments estimation techniques with panel-corrected standard errors (PCSE) to tackle the issues of CSD in the data. The findings of the study show that ICT reduces CO2 emissions for the full sample of countries. However, the comparative study of developed and developing countries depicts that ICT encourages environmental sustainability in developed countries whereas opposite results are found for developing countries. Moreover, presence of the environmental Kuznets curve is confirmed for the full sample as well as for developed and developing countries. It suggests that with higher levels of development of a country, it would be possible to contribute towards environmental sustainability along with ICT diffusion. Therefore, the outcome of this study may be helpful for policymaker and policies may be designed to encourage ICT investments in developing countries, as ICT will take care of environmental sustainability with higher levels of development.

Information and Communication Technologies Adoption in Small Firms

Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) can provide a set of benefits to companies, such as efficiency gains in managerial activities, cost reduction and faster communication with consumers. The ICT literature has studies showing the positive impact that the IT adoption can generate on the company’s performance. ICT benefits are also extensive to small business, but their particular characteristics do not always support their adoption by these enterprises, especially when they are enterprises situated in developing countries. In this context, the aim of this paper was to identify how the ICT adoption and the ICT intention of use are in Brazilian small firms. We have used a case study and we have collected data from four enterprises. In order to collect the data, we used qualitative interviews, direct observation and documental analysis. The main results have shown that the owner’s characteristics, the understanding of the ICT benefits, the ICT complexity and the costs/time related to training people are factors associated with the ICT adoption and intention of use. Based on the literature review and on the empirical evidence, we have found that there is an opportunity cost related to postponing the decision of the ICT investments. We also discuss the role of geographical localization of the enterprises, which can contribute to the ICT literature.