James Muranga Njihia

The broader context for ICT4D projects: a morphogenetic analysis

This paper demonstrates the value of Archers morphogenetic approach (MA) in understanding and explaining the complexity of the broader context within which many developing country information and communication technology (ICT) projects are implemented. It does this by using MAs analytical and explanatory apparatus to examine the evolution of the context of public sector ICT provision in Kenya over the period 1963-2006. In addition to demonstrating the practical value of MA, the paper contributes to the Information Systems literature on ICT for development (ICT4D). The analysis identifies (1) global normative pressures, polity, the national socio-economic base, disruptive technology, and the emergence of multistakeholder networks as key forces in shaping the evolutionary trajectory, (2) the explicit treatment of time and temporality as key for understanding mechanisms underpinning the evolutionary process, and (3) the difficulty of cleanly isolating the implementation of individual public sector ICT projects from the broader context and ICT4D agendas. The discussion elaborates on the features of MA found to be particularly valuable in this study. The paper concludes that explicitly attending to time and temporality, and to the broader context for ICT4D projects, would contribute to the development of more nuanced accounts of such projects and a more emancipatory outlook for ICT4D research.

Cloud computing adoption in the Kenya's financial sector: An institutional perspective

While there is substantial literature on the adoption of various IT innovations based on utility computing, there is a dearth of empirical literature on cloud computing adoption by business organizations. Given that cloud computing adoption has been steadily increasing in Kenya, the current study aims at investigating the determinants of cloud computing adoption from an institutional perspective. Hypotheses were formulated to test the relationship between institutional forces and cloud computing adoption. SEM was used to analyse both the measurement and structural models. A firm level cross sectional survey was conducted on a sample of 60 financial institutions. The results indicate that mimetic and normative pressures have positive relationship with cloud computing adoption while the coercive pressures have a negative relationship. A major implication of this study is that professional and standards bodies do influence technology adoption through normative pressures.

The relationship between supply chain strategies and supply chain performance among large-scale manufacturing firms: the moderating effect of supply chain technology

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the moderating role of supply chain technology in the relationship between supply chain strategies and supply chain performance. A sample of 138 firms was drawn using proportionate sampling from a total population of 627 large scale manufacturing firms in Kenya firms. The descriptive statistics, reliability and validity tests of the constructs, correlation analysis and factor analysis and regression analysis models were used to test the hypotheses. The study findings indicate that there is a very strong significant relationship between supply chain strategies, supply chain technology, and firm supply chain performance outcome whereby the supply chain strategies and supply chain technology explain 92.9% of the changes in the firms supply chain performance outcome. This study cleared a number of contradictions to support the position that firms should invest in supply chain configurations and technologies that lead to improved service delivery accompanied with enhanced operational and supply performance.