PurposeThe purpose of this article is to investigate the factors that explain the reasons why customers may be willing to use chatbots in Zimbabwe as an e-banking customer service gateway, an area that remains under researched.Design/methodology/approachThe research study applied a cross-sectional survey of 430 customers from five selected commercial banks conducted in Harare, the capital city of Zimbabwe. Hypotheses were tested using structural equation modelling.FindingsThe research study showed that a counterintuitive intention to use chatbots is directly affected by chatbots' expected performance, the habit of using them and other factors.Research limitations/implicationsTo better appreciate the current research concept, there is a need to replicate the same study in other contexts to enhance generalisability.Practical implicationsChatbots are a trending new technology and are starting to be increasingly adopted by banks and they have to consider that customers need to get used to them.Originality/valueThis study contributes to bridging the knowledge gap as it investigates the factors that explain why bank customers may be willing to use chatbots in five selected commercial Zimbabwean banks. This is a pioneering study in the context of a developing economy such as Zimbabwe.
This chapter explores the use of emerging ICT technologies for agriculture in Zimbabwe, a developing country in sub-Saharan Africa. It investigates the concept of ICT technologies and their potential impact on agriculture. The chapter then brings the background and context of the study. The chapter is premised on a qualitative approach which fuses a literature review to situate the chapter and eight (8) in-depth interviews and a ten (10) member focus group discussion to gather empirical data. The findings reveal that there are emerging ICT technologies in Zimbabwe which include artificial intelligence, drone technology, IoT, robots, and big data. However, the application and use of these technologies are still very localized and limited to big and highly capacitated commercial farmers, with very few smallholder farmers using the technology because of challenges that impede the adoption and use of these emerging ICT technologies for agriculture by the bulk of farmers. The chapter submitted measures that could be implemented to try and increase the adoption and increased use of these technologies.
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