Irwin Brown

Cell phone banking: predictors of adoption in South Africa-an exploratory study

Cell phone usage has grown phenomenally in Africa, and particularly in South Africa where initial growth forecasts have been greatly exceeded. This technology therefore provides opportunities for services such as banking to reach critical mass. All major retail banks in South Africa provide cell phone banking, but very few customers actually use it. This study examines the factors that influence the adoption of cell phone banking in South Africa, as a means of understanding how to possibly increase the rate of adoption. A framework developed in Singapore identifying factors influencing the adoption of Internet banking was used as a basis, and amended to assess cell phone banking. Factors identified as influences included relative advantage, trialability, and consumer banking needs, with perceived risk having a major negative influence.

Individual and Technological Factors Affecting Perceived Ease of Use of Web-based Learning Technologies in a Developing Country

Perceived ease of use has been shown to be an important factor in studies of information technology acceptance, with Internet and World Wide Web adoption being no exception. Many previous studies have looked at the perceived ease of use of technologies in a working or commercial environment in developed countries. This study therefore aimed to extend knowledge by examining perceived ease of use of web‐based technologies in a learning environment, rather than a working one, and in a developing country as opposed to a developed country. Through a survey of 78 first year South African University students with little prior experience of Internet technologies, it was found that the individual characteristics of self‐efficacy and computer anxiety significantly influenced perceived ease of use, as did the web site characteristics, ease of finding and ease of understanding. It was furthermore confirmed that in a developing country context, perceived usefulness might not predict adoption, thus amplifying the role of perceived ease of use as the main predictor of both usage and perceived usefulness.

The Impact of National Environment on the Adoption of Internet Banking: Comparing Singapore and South Africa

The widespread diffusion of the Internet globally has prompted most retail banks to offer Internet banking services. A recent study in Singapore identified attitudinal and perceived behavioural control factors as having an influence on consumer adoption of Internet banking. It is expected that the national environment will also impact this process. The aim of this study therefore was to replicate the Singapore study in South Africa, compare the results between the two countries and explain differences in adoption process in terms of the national environment. The results confirm that attitudinal and perceived behavioural control factors influence adoption in South Africa as in Singapore, but with differences in the number of determinants, and the degree of influence of certain determinants. These differences were explained in terms of three environmental dimensions-socio-economic conditions, the state of Internet diffusion and government ICT policies respectively.

Testing and Extending Theory in Strategic Information Systems Planning Through Literature Analysis

Strategic information systems planning SISP has been a perennial concern to information systems managers for the past two decades, and much research effort has been devoted to studying it. SISP has been theorised in terms of an input-process-output model, with well-defined components, and a set of hypotheses to be tested. Based on this theoretical framework, a literature review of research over the past decade is undertaken. The analysis reveals the extent to which the various components and hypotheses within this framework have been researched, as well as identifying additional hypotheses that are suggested from the literature.

Profiling Grounded Theory Approaches in Information Systems Research

Studies claiming to use the Grounded theory methodology (GTM) have been quite prevalent in information systems (IS) literature. A cursory review of this literature reveals conflict in the understanding of GTM, with a variety of grounded theory approaches apparent. The purpose of this investigation was to establish what alternative grounded theory approaches have been employed in IS, and to what extent each has been used. In order to accomplish this goal, a comprehensive set of IS articles that claimed to have followed a grounded theory approach were reviewed. The articles chosen were those published in the widely acknowledged top eight IS-centric journals, since these journals most closely represent exemplar IS research. Articles for the period 1985-2008 were examined. The analysis revealed four main grounded theory approaches in use, namely (1) the classic grounded theory approach, (2) the evolved grounded theory approach, (3) the use of the grounded theory approach as part of a mixed methodology, and (4) the application of grounded theory techniques, typically for data analysis purposes. The latter has been the most common approach in IS research. The classic approach was the least often employed, with many studies opting for an evolved or mixed method approach. These and other findings are discussed and implications drawn.

Mobile Banking Adoption in Nigeria

Several studies have affirmed that the adoption of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is culturally inclined. Mobile banking is an ICT application considered to be of vital use among people in various countries who are likely to have dissimilar cultural backgrounds. Research into the use and adoption of mobile banking has shown varied findings in different countries across the globe. This can be attributed to the diversity of the cultural landscape in different countries. The development of mobile banking in a country is likely to be determined by some characteristic factors which are unique to that country. This study conducted a cross‐sectional survey through a judgmental sampling procedure. The respondents were mobile banking customers that consisted of students, and workers from diverse fields of employment. A total of 231 questionnaires as well as interviews were collected from the sampled population of mobile banking customers. The data were analysed through statistics and qualitative techniques. This article explores the factors that influence adoption of mobile banking in Nigeria. The results show that culture is the most important factor influencing the adoption behaviour of users of mobile banking in Nigeria.

Exploring Differences in Internet Adoption and Usage between Historically Advantaged and Disadvantaged Groups in South Africa

Abstract Theories of technology adoption and usage behaviour have generally been crafted and tested in developed countries. This study therefore aimed to extend knowledge by examining Internet adoption and usage behaviour in a developing country (South Africa). Differences in Internet adoption between those from a group previously advantaged by apartheid and those from a group previously disadvantaged were speciJically examined. For the previously advantaged, Perceived Usefulness, Perceived Enjoyment, and Long-term Consequences of Use were found to influence Internet adoption. For the previously disadvantaged, the main influence was Perceived Usefulness, with Perceived Ease of Use having an indirect effect through Perceived Usefulness. DtfSerences in Internet experience and exposure to technology largely explained the observed results as a result of varying socio-economic backgrounds between the majorities in the two groups. The implications of these findings in respect of the digital divide are discussed.

Enhancing Team Performance Through Tool Use: How Critical Technology-Related Issues Influence the Performance of Virtual Project Teams

Research problem: The project management of virtual teams differs from that of traditional ones. Traditional project risks, such as complexity, the uncertainty of factors influencing the project, and the high interdependency of project tasks must be managed alongside changed temporal, geographic, and cultural dimensions. Only a few studies have investigated the effect of critical technological issues, such as wrong tool selection or limited internet access on performance as well as team and team member satisfaction in virtual work settings. Research questions: How do critical technology-related issues concerning the selection and use of web-based tools influence the performance and satisfaction of virtual project teams? Literature review: Instead of categorizing virtual teams as a type of team that contrasts with traditional or face-to-face teams, the focus has shifted to virtualness as a characteristic present in all teams. Project teamwork is often integrated in university degree programs in order to prepare students appropriately for real-life projects. While these student teams are often not geographically spread across countries, they have a high degree of virtualness because of their diverse team composition, the necessity for working at different places, and the limited face-to-face meeting opportunities. Performance, effectiveness, and satisfaction are central issues in the evaluation and measurement of project teams: Team performance is often evaluated on the basis of acceptance of a specified output by a customer. Through specific mediating processes, team performance can alternatively be assessed by inquiring the teams perception on their performance. Effectiveness can be defined as the achievement of clear goals and objectives and it is often related to the teams performance. Finally, satisfaction can be defined as having three dimensions-satisfaction with the team, the satisfaction of meeting customer needs, and general satisfaction with extrinsic rewards and work. Technology use is substantial for distributed teamwork and can be assessed by the extent to which it supports communication, collaboration, and project-management tasks. Methodology: Fifteen teams were observed and interviewed over a two-year period. The resulting data were analyzed using a Grounded Theory approach, which revealed how the selection and use of tools for communication, collaboration, and project management in the different project activities influenced the teams performance. Results and conclusions: Our results contribute to practice by providing a number of guidelines for the management of virtual teams as well as knowledge required by companies wishing to launch projects with virtual teams. Differing performances of teams can, in many cases, be attributed to such conditions as: internet availability and bandwidth; lack of training for certain tools; the selection and appropriate use of tools; integrated tool support for task management; as well as the promotion of transparency about progress made. It was found that restrictions in internet access of even a single member within a team limited the teams technological choices, which affected the teams performance.

Conceptualising Improvisation in Information Systems Security

Information Systems Security (ISS) has constantly been ranked as a key concern for Information Systems (IS) managers. Research in the field has largely assumed rational choice (functional) approaches to managing ISS. Such approaches do not give due recognition to the role of improvisation in ISS work. Empirical evidence in organisations suggests that in the context of dynamic, volatile and uncertain environments practitioners are both rational and adaptive (a manifestation of improvisation). In this paper, we conceptualise and demonstrate the manifestation of improvisation in ISS. In order to develop a better understanding of improvisation in ISS activities, hermeneutical and exegetical techniques were employed. Empirical data were collected through in-depth interviews in a single case study. The data obtained were analysed and interpreted hermeneutically. Generally it was found that improvisation is manifested in ISS activities. Implications of these and other findings for the scholarly community and for practical use are discussed.

Investigating the impact of the external environment on strategic information systems planning: a qualitative inquiry

Strategic information systems planning (SISP) is a key issue to IS managers. The SISP approach employed by organizations is very much dependent on the internal and external environment. Recent research points to a gap between the manner in which IS researchers and practitioners perceive SISP. In this paper we aim to elucidate this gap by comparing the way in which researchers and practitioners view the external environment and its impact on SISP. The researcher perspective was established through literature review. For the practitioner view, data was gathered through semi-structured interviews with 7 IS professionals who had experience of SISP. The interview data was analysed using techniques borrowed from the grounded theory methodology. Through this analysis it was found that practitioners, while recognizing the impact of the general external environment on SISP, are especially cognisant of the external IT environment and its impact. Academic literature, on the other hand, tends to focus on the external business environment, with very little research conducted on the external IT environment in the context of SISP. The implications of these and other findings are discussed in the paper.