Mehruz Kamal

Meeting the challenges of ICT adoption by micro‐enterprises

Purpose – Information and communication technologies (ICTs) open new opportunities for micro‐enterprises to improve their businesses. However, challenges to using ICTs impede these businesses from growing into drivers for development. This paper seeks to investigate the adoption of ICTs in 11 micro‐enterprises in an underserved community of Omaha, Nebraska.Design/methodology/approach – Following an action research study, this research provides insight into the key challenges and opportunities facing micro‐enterprises in their use of ICTs to create value for their businesses.Findings – The process of “IT therapy” provides individualized technology‐related assistance, with an emphasis on relationship‐building, customized training, context sensitivity, and solutions that target strongly‐perceived needs of the businesses studied.Originality/value – The papers contribution is in the methodology for facilitating the adoption of ICTs in micro‐enterprises.

Knowledge Networking for Development: Building Bridges across the Digital Divide

As the dependencies between developed and developing countries increase with the globalization of the world economy, the need to access and use dispersed knowledge and skills are at a premium. As the costs of skill sets increase in the developed world, organizations are turning to the developing world to cater for their knowledge resources. The sharing and use of diverse and disparate knowledge has become a key engine for development. This paper investigates how knowledge networking can enable the digital divide to be overcome. Following a phenomenological analysis of knowledge activation through information and communication technologies, this paper provides insight into the development processes that are driven by knowledge networking. The contribution of this paper is in the discovery of the ways knowledge networking can be used to bridge the digital divide

Sustainability of Information Technology Therapy on Micro-enterprise Development

The use of information technology in micro- enterprises has been shown to bring about improvements in accessing new markets, in achieving administrative efficiencies, increased productivity and competitiveness. To benefit from IT, micro-enterprises require specialized intervention and support. At the same time these micro-enterprises require skill sets that can translate their unique needs to IT solutions. This paper provides an IT Therapy approach to addressing micro-enterprise needs through IT. Following an action research approach to investigating micro-enterprises, this paper provides insights into how IT can bring about sustained improvements in micro-enterprises. The contribution of this paper is in guidelines of how IT can bring about development in micro-enterprises. This has implications for IT interventions to support micro- enterprises to achieve broader goals of sustainable development.

Knowledge Networking to overcome the Digital Divide

As organizations become increasingly extended across global boundaries, their reliance on information and communication technologies (ICTs) to support their processes increases. The use of ICTs to activate dispersed knowledge within complex webs of human networks can enable the gap between the information rich and information poor to be overcome. This paper develops a new concept called knowledge networking and investigates how this process enables the digital divide to be overcome. Following a phenomenological analysis of knowledge networking using a selection of vignettes, this paper provides a conceptual model describing the ways in which knowledge networking enables the digital divide to be overcome.

Assessment of Micro-Enterprise Development through IT Adoption

While prior work has focused on the process through which IT may be adopted by micro-enterprises, this research takes it one step further by assessing the outcomes from IT adoption in micro-enterprises that have undergone technology, training and trust building interventions. It analyzes these using a systematic evaluation model that ties in the key components of development. The contribution of this paper is in providing insights into how researchers and practitioners can better stimulate micro-enterprise growth and economic development through IT adoption.

A roadmap for microenterprise growth through Information Technology

Information Technology (IT) opens new opportunities for microenterprises to improve their businesses. However, challenges to using IT impede these businesses from growing into drivers for socio-economic development. This paper investigates the adoption of IT in two microenterprises in an underserved community of Omaha, Nebraska. Following a case study approach using action research methodology, this research provides insight into the key challenges and opportunities facing micro-enterprises in their use of IT to create value for their businesses. This study outlines an innovative process with an emphasis on relationship-building, customised training, context sensitivity, and solutions that target strongly-perceived needs of the businesses studied to help facilitate technology adoption. The papers contribution is in the methodology for facilitating the adoption of IT in micro-enterprises and also discusses effects on socio-economic development resulting from the adoption of technology. The paper concludes with guidelines for practitioners in assisting microenterprises with technology.

Development Outcomes from IT Adoption in Micro-Enterprises

The ability of micro-enterprises to adopt IT can potentially increase their growth by 3.4% according to a World Bank expert. However these gains do not always take place as the challenges are many. In order to identify how IT adoption can lead to growth in micro-enterprises, this paper develops upon the IT adoption categories discovered in a prior research effort in order to arrive at development outcomes. Following an open coding analysis of the results of a focus group session in which a group of micro-enterprises participated, this paper discovers the relationships between the IT adoption categories and development outcomes. The contribution of this paper is in the discovery of the relationships between IT adoption and development outcomes in the form of a conceptual model.

Information Technology Interventions for Growth and Competitiveness in Micro-Enterprises

The use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) by Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs) have the potential to enable these businesses to grow through access to new markets and administrative efficiencies. However, the growth of the smallest of these SMEs which are micro-enterprises is hindered by their inability to adopt ICTs. This article investigates how micro-enterprises can adopt ICTs to grow and achieve competitiveness. It investigates a set of seven micro-enterprises through an interpretive field study in which action research was used to diagnose and treat the micro-enterprises. This was done using interventions through a process called “Information Technology (IT) Therapy†. This process involved providing individualized IT solutions to pressing problems and opportunities. The increase in competitiveness of these micro-enterprises was assessed using the Focus Dominance Model and their growth through a modified model of micro-enterprise growth. This research contributes to assisting micro-enterprises achieve sustained growth and competitive advantage.