Investigating information and communication technology‐enabled national development as a multi‐level social process

Abstract

Are centralised or decentralised strategies more suitable to address a developing nation's socio-economic challenges through information and communication technology (ICT)?We respond to this long-standing question by conceptualising ICT-enabled national development as a multilevel social process and by drawing on empirical findings from a natural experiment set in the context of health information system projects in Indonesia. Our study demonstrates that successful ICT-enabled national development is not contingent on pursuing one strategy or the other but on how micro-level actors interpret, and subsequently respond to, these strategies and the local changes they trigger. Our findings indicate that centralisation and decentralisation are complementary rather than competing strategies to ICTenabled national development because, if integrated into a hybrid strategy, decentralisation enables local communities to achieve national development outcomes commonly attributed to centralisation. As such, our work provides empirical evidence, explanations and new theoretical insight into the wider 'centralisation versus decentralisation' debate, while also outlining avenues for future research and guidelines for policymakers.

Moving away from trading on the margins: Economic empowerment of informal businesses through FinTech

“…Thus, this study shows that fundamental shifts at the institutional level (Rao & Kelleher, 2005) shaped opportunities for informal small businesses that interpreted and took advantage of opportunities. By doing so, we add new insights to the ICT4D literature on the formal‐informal and macro–micro dynamics that underpin technology‐mediated change (Coleman, 1990; Ramadani et al, 2022; Rao & Kelleher, 2005). We also show that, as for formal small businesses (Koomson et al, 2022; Wirdiyanti et al, 2022), mobile money can lead to benefits for informal businesses.…”

“…Previous research (Amoah et al, 2020; Finau et al, 2016; Koomson et al, 2022; Senyo & Osabutey, 2020) has conceptualised the outcomes of mobile money at a single level without considering the interdependencies between levels. By doing so, we contribute to the literature on the relationships between macro‐level processes and micro‐level actions in technology‐driven development (Ramadani et al, 2022) which may be difficult to theoretically grasp without considering how broad social conditions affect individual social environments. While other studies have been able to trace government ICT strategies to micro‐level actions, which in turn can be observed as macro‐level outcomes (Ramadani et al, 2022), our data only lends itself to understanding the micro‐level actions spurred by the changes in macro–meso logics rather than greater societal outcomes.…”

“…We articulate a model that explains the layers of logics, practices, and emerging opportunities, and how they shape the potential for economic empowerment. The study also contributes to scholarly discourse that addresses the role of technology in societal change (Andrade et al, 2019; Majchrzak et al, 2016) and centralised versus decentralised national technology strategies implemented for socio‐economic development (Ramadani et al, 2022). Our research also aligns with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 1, 8 and 9 3 and the need to further our understanding of the role of technological innovations for the betterment of society.…”

“…From an informal cultural norm perspective, informal businesses are considered enterprises that should remain small, conduct business physically, and operate in local markets (Slavova & Karanasios, 2018). As such, it is necessary to examine the interdependency between a social system's macro and micro levels to understand how a social system changes (Coleman, 1990; Ramadani et al, 2022). In other words, it is necessary first to explore how macro‐level social conditions affect micro‐level social environments and how these, in turn, influence actions performed by individuals, which then aggregate into macro‐level outcomes (Coleman, 1990).…”

“…Businesses in informal economies operate in institutional complexity shaped by actors at different levels of the economy (e.g., macro, meso, and micro) and with different logics. Thus, to fully understand how changes at the macro‐level (e.g., to the financial sector structure) may impact the informal economy, we depart from FinTech research that focuses on one level (e.g., government or FinTech firms or individuals), and follow scholars that accommodate multiple levels of analysis when studying technology‐driven development (Avgerou, 2010; Njihia & Merali, 2013; Ramadani et al, 2022) that brings together both formal institutions and informal economy actors. In turn, this perspective helps our understanding of the economic empowerment of informal businesses but also how FinTech firms, banks, central banks, and MNOs create mobile money services and an environment that can deliver favourable conditions (or not) for economic empowerment (Lagna & Ravishankar, 2022).…”