Identification and Relevance of E-readiness Assessment Tools for ICT Use in Agriculture

Abstract

Information and Communication Technology is an indispensable part of modern society. As with everything else, it has a profound impact on various activities in the agriculture sector like research, cyber-extension, marketing and transfer of technologies leading to its sustainable development. The concept of E-readiness provides a unified framework to evaluate ICT infrastructure and the ability of its consumers, businesses, and governments to use ICT to their benefit. E-readiness is a state of preparedness to comply and participate in a networked world, and its assessment is a novel concept that aims to understand the E-skill towards using ICT tools. Analysis of the past researches through journals, book chapters, Research Gate and relevant papers reveals various E-readiness assessment initiatives viz. E-commerce readiness assessment guide, Readiness for the networked world, E-readiness rankings, Ready Net Go, Network Readiness Index, Negotiating the digital divide. The paper aptly identifies and evaluates various tools available for assessing the E-readiness at macro and agricultural extension system. The kind of result tool will provide depends upon the researcher’s goal and comprehensive definition of E-readiness adopted by the user. Hence, the paper helps in understanding the importance of measurement tools of E-readiness so that it can leverage ICT integration in agriculture development and improves the exchange of information between the stakeholders of agriculture by using limited resources wisely.Information and Communication Technology is an indispensable part of modern society. As with everything else, it has a profound impact on various activities in the agriculture sector like research, cyber-extension, marketing and transfer of technologies leading to its sustainable development. The concept of E-readiness provides a unified framework to evaluate ICT infrastructure and the ability of its consumers, businesses, and governments to use ICT to their benefit. E-readiness is a state of preparedness to comply and participate in a networked world, and its assessment is a novel concept that aims to understand the E-skill towards using ICT tools. Analysis of the past researches through journals, book chapters, Research Gate and relevant papers reveals various E-readiness assessment initiatives viz. E-commerce readiness assessment guide, Readiness for the networked world, E-readiness rankings, Ready Net Go, Network Readiness Index, Negotiating the digital divide. The paper aptly identifies and evaluates various tools available for assessing the E-readiness at macro and agricultural extension system. The kind of result tool will provide depends upon the researcher’s goal and comprehensive definition of E-readiness adopted by the user. Hence, the paper helps in understanding the importance of measurement tools of E-readiness so that it can leverage ICT integration in agriculture development and improves the exchange of information between the stakeholders of agriculture by using limited resources wisely.

A Multi-Group Analysis of Salient Determinants of E-government Implementation Success in Developing Countries. A Study of Uganda and Tanzania

“…This study has acknowledged the incredible work done by previous scholars have continued to propose and develop e-government frameworks (Malodia et al, 2021;Ahmad et al, 2021;Singh et al, 2020;Roblek et al, 2020;Dias, 2020), e-government readiness assessment tools (Alghamdi, Goodwin & Rampersad, 2016;Assefa et al, 2021;Kagoya & Gilbert, 2020;Haydari, 2020;Pal, Singh & Dhaliwal, 2020). And other studies have suggested models for egovernment implementation (Elbahnasawy, 2021;Li & Xue, 2021;Sharma et al, 2021;Li, 2021;Alkraiji, 2020).…”

Relationship between Organisational E-readiness and E-Commerce Implementation in Developing Countries: Perspectives from Tanzania

“…Other factors perceived to offer greater advantage were greater top management support, greater organisational readiness and larger size. Equally important, several other studies also highlight the importance of technology (Hassen, Abd Rahim, & Shah, 2019;Yusif, Hafeez-Baig, & Soar, 2017;Pal, Singh, & Dhaliwal, 2020) in fostering e-commerce. As such, we hypothesise: H₂: Technological resources have an influence on e-commerce implementation.…”

Measuring the effects of different factors influencing on the readiness of SMEs towards digitalization: A multiple perspectives design of decision support system

“…MA is exemplified as external factors outside SMEs that covers opportunities and threats in Strength Weaknesses Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) analysis as well as demographic, economic, technology, environmental, political, government support, cultural, and broader competitor landscape (Kotler, 2000;Pal & Dhaliwal, 2020). For demographic, the deftness of digitalization is deliberated from personal internet users, particularly age, literacy rate, gender, income, culture, community, the population of locality, employment status, and domicile (Hanafizadeh et al, 2009;Pal & Dhaliwal, 2020). The government regulation that abutment the discharge of internet access and websites, the occasion of technical infrastructure also conferred in this schema (Vankudothu, 2014).…”