Irwin Brown

University of Cape Town, Information Systems, Faculty Member

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Interrogating the effect of environmental factors on e-commerce institutionalization in Tanzania

by Salah Kabanda and Irwin Brown

(Print) 1554-0170 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/titd20 Interrogating ... more (Print) 1554-0170 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/titd20 Interrogating the effect of environmental factors on e-commerce institutionalization in Tanzania: a test and validation of small and medium enterprise claims Salah Kabanda & Irwin Brown To cite this article: Salah Kabanda & Irwin Brown (2017): Interrogating the effect of environmental factors on e-commerce institutionalization in Tanzania: a test and validation of small and medium enterprise claims, Information Technology for Development,

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Inductively Deriving an Organisational Information Security Risk Management Agenda by Exploring Process Improvisation

by Kennedy Njenga and Irwin Brown

A Decision Model of Kenyan SMEs' Consumer Choice Behavior in Relation to Registration for a Mobile Banking Service: A Contextual Perspective

Http Dx Doi Org 10 1080 02681102 2013 874320, Feb 13, 2014

Towards a research framework for a human development-based "bottom of the pyramid" ICT development strategy in South Africa

There is a wealth of knowledge linking Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs) to huma... more There is a wealth of knowledge linking Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs) to human development, but Africa's leaders have not used it well to develop its human capital. The continent has the lowest global levels of ICT diffusion and human development. This paper proposes a way of developing Africa's vital access to knowledge through ICT, by reviewing and using the human development record of South Africa to develop a research framework for a human developmentbased ICT development strategy. The framework comprises a research-based bottom-up participative action program that responds directly to the specific information needs of the country's socioeconomically marginalized communities, the so-called "Bottom of the Pyramid" (BOP), by ensuring their maximum participation in the research and development process. The proposed framework draws liberally from the vast accumulated knowledge about human development and its principal tool, the ICTs, especially from Asia where similar development activities are delivering impressive results. The multi-cultural and multi-lingual characteristic of South African society, including its recent sociopolitical history, presents numerous challenges for balanced human development, but also unique opportunities to build an effective model for improving the usefulness of ICTs for human development in the country and by extension, in Africa as a whole.

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Utilisation-Focused Evaluation of ICT in Education: The Case of DFAQ Consultation Space

Educational Technology Society, 2004

This paper describes an evaluation of a web-based consultation space (a dynamic frequently asked ... more This paper describes an evaluation of a web-based consultation space (a dynamic frequently asked questions environment -DFAQ) in which learners consult one another using questions, and in which both the flow of interaction and its artefacts become a resource available to a community of learners. The DFAQ is a special form of a Computer-Mediated-Communication tool specifically developed to facilitate questionbased interaction. We argue that education is too complex a social structure to be evaluated using deterministic positivist quantitative approaches. Given the volatility of determining what constitutes value, costs, inputs and outputs and the complexity of dynamics of socialization, a non-deterministic qualitative approach, utilisation-focused evaluation approach is used. Our conclusion is that the DFAQ does contribute to students' academic performance and frees the lecturer-learner consultation time.

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Investigating the Impact of ICT Investments on Human Development

The Electronic Journal of Information Systems in Developing Countries, Sep 4, 2011

In the last two decades, the worldwide information and communication technology (ICT) market has ... more In the last two decades, the worldwide information and communication technology (ICT) market has been growing at a rapid rate. This has led to a global net increase in ICT investments and usage. International organizations, ICT vendors and policy makers have been investigating whether such large investments are worthwhile. The results regarding this issue are inconclusive, for this research area is fraught with complexity, and existing empirical work is limited. This study investigates the impact of ICT investments on human development. Of particular interest are the relationships between different dimensions of ICT investment and the components of human development. ICT investments can be thought of as having four dimensions -hardware, software, internal spending and telecommunication investment, while typical human development indicators are standard of living (GDP per capita), education (literacy and school enrolments) and health (life expectancy). If these variables are not modelled correctly, their effect on each other can be either under-or overestimated. In this article, the line of enquiry from a study by Kim et al. (2008) is extended to investigate the relationship between the four aspects of ICT investments and the three key components of human development. The empirical analysis shows that the four dimensions of ICT investment have an impact in various ways on the components of human development, and that these impacts are different, in high income, mid income and low income countries. Based on these findings, this study suggests theoretical propositions to explain the impact of ICT investments on human development.

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The Impact of Information and Communications Technology Infrastructure and Complementary Factors on Intra-African Trade

Http Dx Doi Org 10 1080 02681102 2013 832128, Dec 8, 2014

ABSTRACT Trade is one of the cornerstones of socio-economic development for Africa. Intra-contine... more ABSTRACT Trade is one of the cornerstones of socio-economic development for Africa. Intra-continental trade stimulates productive capacity and competitiveness in nations through exposing domestic industries to competition. The purpose of this study was to investigate how information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure impacts on intra-African trade, taking into account other relevant factors that also influence trade such as Institutional Quality and Educational Attainment. Archival data about Telecommunications Infrastructure (a key indicator of ICT infrastructure), Institutional Quality and Educational Attainment and Trade Flows (Export and Import) from 28 African countries were used as empirical evidence. The research employed structural equation modeling with partial least squares to analyze data. The empirical analysis shows that the Telecommunications Infrastructure has a major impact on intra-African trade. Interacting factors such as Institutional Quality and Educational Attainment also play a role in influencing intra-African trade.

Customer Satisfaction with Cell Phone Banking in South Africa

Exploring the Impacts of ICT Investments on Dimensions of Human Development in Different Contexts: A Regression Splines Analysis

communication technology (ICT), it is not clear whether or not any impacts are the same for count... more communication technology (ICT), it is not clear whether or not any impacts are the same for countries at different levels of economic development. International organizations, ICT vendors and policy makers have been investigating whether such large investments are worthwhile. ICT investments can be thought of as having four components: Hardware, Software, Internal IS and Telecommunication investment respectively. Of particular interest are the relationships between the interactions of the different components of ICT investment and the dimensions of human development. In this paper we explore the impacts of ICT investments on two dimensions of Human Development (Standard of Living and Health) within three contexts (i.e. High, Medium and Low income countries). Our results suggest among other things that: 1) impact of investments in the ICT components vary with context; 2) impacts are in many cases conditional and complex; and 3) the directions of impacts of investments in ICT on Standard of Living may be different from the corresponding directions of impacts on Health. It is therefore necessary to do in-depth trade off analysis in order to determine an appropriate allocation of ICT investments.

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Inductively Deriving an Organisational Information Security Risk Management Agenda by Exploring Process Improvisation

Cell Phone Banking: Revisiting Predictors of Adoption in South Africa

South African cell phone users are increasingly turning their cell phones into platform for finan... more South African cell phone users are increasingly turning their cell phones into platform for financial transactions. The penetration of cell phone banking has reportedly more than doubled in the past few years. This study provides an update to an earlier study conducted by Brown, Cajee, Davies and Stroebel on the predictors of cell phone banking adoption in South Africa. A cross-sectional survey was conducted among cell phone banking users that consisted of students, and workers from various fields of employment. A total of 220 responses were gathered from the sampled population of cell phone banking customers. The data were analysed through partial least squares with structural equation modeling, as well as regression splines. This article identifies the most important predictors influencing cell phone banking adoption in South Africa. The results show that utility expectancy and user satisfaction play a key determinant role in the adoption behaviour of users in South Africa.

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Strategic business-IT alignment, and factors of influence : a case study in a public tertiary education institution : reviewed article

Sa Computer Journal, 2005

________________________________________________________________________________________________ ... more ________________________________________________________________________________________________ Alignment between business and information technology (IT) strategies has been a key concern for both IT and business managers for several decades. It is recognised that achieving alignment contributes immensely to ensuring that investments in IT result in improvements in organisational performance. Alignment is a concern, not only for commercial organisations, but also for tertiary-level educational institutions, many who have invested heavily in IT for teaching and educational purposes, as well as to improve efficiency and effectiveness of administrative processes. It is therefore necessary for research on alignment to be conducted in such institutions, as much of the literature assumes a commercial organisational context. In this paper, a case study is reported in which it was found that integration between business and information systems (IS) planning, rational-adaptation in IS planning, IT managerial resources, and IT implementation success are all factors likely to influence alignment. Their relative importance, however, is very much dependent on the organisational context, the timing of the study, and on whose perspective is being sought.

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E-Commerce Enablers and Barriers in Tanzanian Small and Medium Enterprises

Ejisdc the Electronic Journal on Information Systems in Developing Countries, Feb 7, 2015

The purpose of this study is to identify enablers of and barriers to E-Commerce in Tanzanian smal... more The purpose of this study is to identify enablers of and barriers to E-Commerce in Tanzanian small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Tanzania is classified as a least developed country (LDC) and has received relatively little research attention with respect to E-Commerce in the SME sector. The study is qualitative in nature and a set of semi-structured interviews were used to collect data. 32 SMEs were interviewed. A thematic analysis approach was used for reporting SME's experiences, perspectives, and meanings, whilst examining the ways in which events, realities, meanings, and experiences come about. The study unearthed contextual understanding of E-Commerce and the challenges faced by Tanzanian SMEs. Factors perceived to be conducive for E-Commerce, include the availability of business resources, specifically business relationships with ICT foreign companies; top management support; the use of mobile technology for interactive and transactive purposes with consumers and suppliers; and the strategic use of mobile phones to avoid ICT-related challenges such as those associated with fixed line telephone and Internet-enabled desktop computing.

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Conceptualising the Influence of Tacit Knowledge in Security Risk Management Activities

Issa, 2006

The concept of tacit knowledge is introduced and explored particularly by examining how it influe... more The concept of tacit knowledge is introduced and explored particularly by examining how it influences an organisation's security risk management activities. This exploration lends credit to validating the "soft" discursive attributes of security risk management within organisations. The theme focuses on the general aspects of information systems' exposure to security risk and conceptualises the process of capturing extemporaneous human activities that guide the security risk mitigation process. The underlying primary proposition is twofold; firstly, that there are multiple approaches to security risk management each unique in its own way that is impacted by tacit awareness, and secondly, that the risk management process is a contextual, free floating and independent construction shaped by improvised actions and tacit knowledge. What is finally outlined is that the patterns of insights that subconsciously evolve within the frame of tacit knowledge continually guide the risk mitigation process. It is proposed that the best way to capture tacit knowledge is through a security knowledge repository (SecBase) designed to map cognitive extemporaneous activities into this repository using an algorithm.

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A Structurational View of E-Commerce in SMES in Least Developing Countries

Abstract E-Commerce studies in small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Least Developing Countries ... more

Internet Diffusion in Kenya and Its Determinants: A Longitudinal Analysis

This paper assesses Internet diffusion and its determinants in Kenya using the Global Diffusion o... more This paper assesses Internet diffusion and its determinants in Kenya using the Global Diffusion of the Internet (GDI) framework. Kenya was selected due to its strategic importance for the economic progress of the great lakes region of Africa. An understanding of Internet diffusion in Kenya provides preliminary insight into how the process might unfold in Eastern Africa.

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Does Investments in ICT Impact Trade in Africa? A trend analysis of trade flows in Africa

Bankole, Felix Olu; Brown, Irwin; and Osei-Bryson, Kweku-Muata, "Does investments in ICT impact T... more

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

Http Dx Doi Org 10 1080 1097198x 2003 10856358, Sep 9, 2014

A cross-cultural investigation into customer satisfaction with internet banking security

Proceedings of the 2005 Annual Research Conference of the South African Institute of Computer Scientists and Information Technologists on It Research in Developing Countries, Jul 20, 2005

Abstract Consumer Internet banking has been fairly successful in South Africa, with all major ret... more

Collective Improvisation: Complementing Information Security Frameworks with Self-Policing

Issa, 2008

The approach to information security governance has predominantly followed a functionalist paradi... more The approach to information security governance has predominantly followed a functionalist paradigm with emphasis placed on formalized rule structures and policy frameworks. The alternative socio-organisational (reflexive) approach has in the recent past grown in prominence due to the emergent socio-organizational aspect of technologies and processes. This paper challenges the epistemology of the functionalist approaches which assumes predictability. Information security practitioners realize that much of their activities are adapted to fit emergent changes. The aim of this paper is to explore an antidote to functionalist structured approaches by conceptualizing collective improvisation and self-policing. A case study approach that incorporates grounded theory techniques is employed for this purpose. Tentative findings reveal that collective improvisation is most pronounced in activities related to operational activities in governance. The implications of these and other findings are also discussed.

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