Sergey Samoilenko

Strategies for Telecoms to Improve Efficiency in the Production of Revenues: An Empirical Investigation in the Context of Transition Economies

Abstract Despite sharing a common label, Transition Economies (TE) do not constitute a homogenous group; rather, these countries differ in many ways, including the level of economic development. These differences preclude TEs from adapting a uniform strategy towards increasing the level of relative efficiency of production of revenues from investments in Telecoms. In this study, conducted in the context of 18 TEs, we address two research questions. The first involves the identification of strategies appropriate to each TE for increasing the level of the relative efficiency of the production of revenue from Telecoms. The second question involves the identification of the appropriate implementation routes of the identified strategy. In order to answer the research questions of this study, we draw theoretical support from the framework of Neoclassical Growth Accounting and employ a three-step methodology utilizing Decision Trees, Neural Networks, and Data Envelopment Analysis.

The spillover effects of investments in telecoms: insights from transition economies

For several years, researchers and practitioners have been concerned about the impact of investments in information and communication technologies (ICTs) on productivity. The research framework of neoclassical growth accounting is widely used in this area of research on information technology and productivity. While several studies have explored the relationship between investments in ICT and metrics such as GDP, the links between investments in ICT and total factor productivity (TFP) have received less attention, particularly for transition economies (TEs). While the data that we use in this study are directly related to TEs, our exploration can provide insights that are useful for understanding similarities and differences between developed and developing/emerging economies. In this study, we propose and illustrate a methodology for investigating the relationship between investments in ICT and TFP that is consistent with the framework of neoclassical growth accounting. Narcyz Roztocki and H. Roland Weistroffer are the accepting Guest Editors for this article.

Information systems fitness and risk in IS development: Insights and implications from chaos and complex systems theories

Information Systems Development often takes place within a complex and uncertain socio-technical environment. The use of methodologies is considered an appropriate way of reducing risks of failures of the ISD projects, allowing for managing of the complexity of the process and product of ISD. Traditional functionalist methodologies, however, are not adequately equipped for dealing with non-linear interactions endemic to such complex social systems as IS. This paper examines IS development from the perspective of the complex systems behavior and chaos theory. It offers insights and implications for augmenting traditional approaches to ISD that could lead to better strategies for managing complexities in the ISD process and the behavior of an IS.

Investigating factors associated with the spillover effect of investments in telecoms: Do some transition economies pay too much for too little?

One of the routes by which investments in information and communication technologies (ICT) could impact a macroeconomic bottom line of economies is by contributing to total factor productivity (TFP), an important component of economic growth. While the more traditional “investments to revenues” resource-intensive path has been well researched, the nature of the indirect “investments to TFP” link remains much less clear. Specifically, it is not well understood what conditions must be present for economies to exhibit the relationship between investments and TFP. In the current study, conducted in the context of 18 transition economies in Europe and the former Soviet Union, we aim to identify some of the factors associated with the presence of the relationship between the subset of investments in ICT, investments in telecoms, and two components of TFP – change in efficiency and change in technology. The results of the analysis of the data set spanning from 1993 to 2002 suggest that while the presence of the link between investments and change in technology was associated with the level of investments, the presence of the relationship between investments and change in efficiency was associated with the quality of a full-time telecom workforce. The consequent analysis of the data set spanning from 2003 to 2008 supports this finding and also provides evidence of the importance of the macroeconomic strategies that balance an increase in the levels of investments with the increase in the levels of efficiency of utilization of investments and the generation of revenues.One of the routes by which investments in information and communication technologies ICT could impact a macroeconomic bottom line of economies is by contributing to total factor productivity TFP, an important component of economic growth. While the more traditional “investments to revenues” resource-intensive path has been well researched, the nature of the indirect “investments to TFP” link remains much less clear. Specifically, it is not well understood what conditions must be present for economies to exhibit the relationship between investments and TFP. In the current study, conducted in the context of 18 transition economies in Europe and the former Soviet Union, we aim to identify some of the factors associated with the presence of the relationship between the subset of investments in ICT, investments in telecoms, and two components of TFP – change in efficiency and change in technology . The results of the analysis of the data set spanning from 1993 to 2002 suggest that while the presence of the link between investments and change in technology was associated with the level of investments, the presence of the relationship between investments and change in efficiency was associated with the quality of a full-time telecom workforce. The consequent analysis of the data set spanning from 2003 to 2008 supports this finding and also provides evidence of the importance of the macroeconomic strategies that balance an increase in the levels of investments with the increase in the levels of efficiency of utilization of investments and the generation of revenues.

Understanding the Human Capital Dimension of ICT and Economic Growth in Transition Economies

Abstract Human capital is one of the key factors affecting the expansion of ICT and the realization of macroeconomic outcomes in transition economies (TE). Research on ICT investments and their impact on the economic bottom-line have pointed to the shortage of technologically skilled ICT workers who can adopt, implement, innovate and maintain new information technologies in TEs. While ICT regulatory policies have shifted to encourage increased ICT investments, the ability to formulate and implement complementary practices to investments in ICT human capital development strategies remains a continuing problem. In this investigation we inquire into the relationship between investments in Telecoms (a subset of investments in ICT), and a full-time Telecom staff, and propose a two-phase approach allowing for formulating policy and strategies for complementary investments in the development of the ICT workforce. The proposed two-phase approach for formulating empirically-justifiable and theoretically sound HR strategies is then tested in the context of eight TEs. The framework of neoclassical growth accounting and the theory of complementarity provide the theoretical foundation for this inquiry, while multivariate regression and data envelopment analysis are utilized to conduct the data analysis.

Improving the relative efficiency of revenue generation from ICT in transition economies: a product life cycle approach

In order to attract domestic and international investors, transition economies (TE), i.e. economies in the transition from planned to market-driven, must demonstrate their ability to convert investments into revenues in an efficient and effective manner. In this study, conducted in the context of 18 TEs, we investigate strategies for increasing the relative efficiency of the production of revenues from information and telecommunications technologies (ICT). We use a four-step methodology incorporating data envelopment analysis and neural networks to determine the areas along the product life cycle curve where increased investments in ICTs will likely have the most macroeconomic impact in a resource-efficient manner. We use the framework of neoclassical growth accounting to support our inquiry. James Pick is the accepting Associate Editor for this article.

Investigating the Impact of Investments in Telecoms on Microeconomic Outcomes: Conceptual Framework and Empirical Investigation in the Context of Transition Economies

We propose and test a conceptual model allowing for the investigation of the microeconomic impact of investments in telecoms. While the impact of investments in telecoms on the macroeconomic outcomes has been previously investigated, there seems to be no published research that looked at the microeconomic impact of telecom investments. The proposed conceptual model links investments in telecoms with microeconomic constructs that are closely associated with such measure of macroeconomic bottom line as GDP; this allows us to outline a more detailed path traversed by the impact of investments. We use structural equation modeling to test the proposed model in the context of a sample of transition economies comprising two groups differing in terms of economic development. The results suggest the existence of the context-independent paths that are common to both groups; however, there is evidence that some of the impacts of investments in telecoms are dependent on the level of economic development. The results of the investigation offer valuable insights to decision and policy makers tasked with the responsibility of improving the micro- and macroeconomic impacts of investments in telecoms.