The purpose of this paper is to provide guidance for researchers and analysts on when, why, and how to apply Porter's competitive advantage theory to analysis of IT sectors in developing countries. To date, this theory has been rather poorly applied in such analysis, yet the question of how developing countries—as latecomers—can create competitive advantage in IT industries remains one of critical interest to policy makers, entrepreneurs, and international agencies. Understanding of IT sector growth is particularly important, in light of its significant potential contribution to economic development. From the five IT sectors—goods, software, infrastructure, services, and content— this paper focuses on software. Having provided a thorough explanation of competitive advantage theory, it applies this theory to the case of India's software industry, which it finds does have a competitive advantage, based on variables such as ever-increasing advanced skills, domestic rivalry, clustering, and government policy/vision. To assist researchers, the paper identifies emergent challenges to Porter's theory that can be resolved relatively easily but also some less tractable problems around the issues of government policy, processes of upgrading/innovation, and local/global linkages. All these require some identified amendments to Porter's original ideas. Nonetheless, Porter's theory is seen to be a valuable tool for development informatics/ICT4D research, applicable to a variety of IT sectors—not just software—and offering answers to questions about whether sectors are competitive, why they are or are not competitive, and what should be done to improve or sustain competitive advantage.
{"title":"Using Competitive Advantage Theory to Analyze IT Sectors in Developing Countries: A Software Industry Case Analysis","authors":"Richard Heeks","doi":"10.1162/ITID.2007.3.3.5","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1162/ITID.2007.3.3.5","url":null,"abstract":"The purpose of this paper is to provide guidance for researchers and analysts on when, why, and how to apply Porter's competitive advantage theory to analysis of IT sectors in developing countries. To date, this theory has been rather poorly applied in such analysis, yet the question of how developing countries—as latecomers—can create competitive advantage in IT industries remains one of critical interest to policy makers, entrepreneurs, and international agencies. Understanding of IT sector growth is particularly important, in light of its significant potential contribution to economic development. From the five IT sectors—goods, software, infrastructure, services, and content— this paper focuses on software. Having provided a thorough explanation of competitive advantage theory, it applies this theory to the case of India's software industry, which it finds does have a competitive advantage, based on variables such as ever-increasing advanced skills, domestic rivalry, clustering, and government policy/vision. To assist researchers, the paper identifies emergent challenges to Porter's theory that can be resolved relatively easily but also some less tractable problems around the issues of government policy, processes of upgrading/innovation, and local/global linkages. All these require some identified amendments to Porter's original ideas. Nonetheless, Porter's theory is seen to be a valuable tool for development informatics/ICT4D research, applicable to a variety of IT sectors—not just software—and offering answers to questions about whether sectors are competitive, why they are or are not competitive, and what should be done to improve or sustain competitive advantage.","PeriodicalId":45625,"journal":{"name":"Information Technologies & International Development","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2007-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"64556898","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2007-03-01DOI: 10.1162/ITID.2007.3.3.61
S. Bailur
Involving stakeholders is often seen as a means to more successful information and communication technologies for development (ICT4D) projects. Hence, it can be appropriate to research ICT4D projects by taking both the perspective of stakeholder theory and using the tools of stakeholder analysis. This paper uses the example of telecenter projects to illustrate the application of a stake- holder perspective, selecting the specific case of the Gyandoot telecenters in Madhya Pradesh, India. It finds stakeholder analysis can be used both as a best practice template to assess what has been done with stakeholders on an ICT4D project and as an analytical tool to understand who stakeholders are, their behaviors, and the ways in which they are managed. However, it also finds there are problems with applying a stakeholder perspective that must be understood including lack of openness among stakeholders, the problems of identifying who stakeholders are, and the subjectivity of stakeholder classification.
{"title":"Using Stakeholder Theory to Analyze Telecenter Projects","authors":"S. Bailur","doi":"10.1162/ITID.2007.3.3.61","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1162/ITID.2007.3.3.61","url":null,"abstract":"Involving stakeholders is often seen as a means to more successful information and communication technologies for development (ICT4D) projects. Hence, it can be appropriate to research ICT4D projects by taking both the perspective of stakeholder theory and using the tools of stakeholder analysis. This paper uses the example of telecenter projects to illustrate the application of a stake- holder perspective, selecting the specific case of the Gyandoot telecenters in Madhya Pradesh, India. It finds stakeholder analysis can be used both as a best practice template to assess what has been done with stakeholders on an ICT4D project and as an analytical tool to understand who stakeholders are, their behaviors, and the ways in which they are managed. However, it also finds there are problems with applying a stakeholder perspective that must be understood including lack of openness among stakeholders, the problems of identifying who stakeholders are, and the subjectivity of stakeholder classification.","PeriodicalId":45625,"journal":{"name":"Information Technologies & International Development","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2007-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"64556945","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2007-01-01DOI: 10.1162/ITID.2007.3.2.57
R. Samarajiva
Wireless technologies play an enormously important role in extending access to voice and data communications by hitherto excluded groups in society, especially in the world's most populated region and now the largest mobile market, the Asia-Pacific. The present rates of growth and levels of connectivity could not have been achieved without wireless in the access networks, for mobile as well as for fixed, and in the backbone networks. But the solution is not simply wireless; it is wireless combined with new investment; it is wireless combined with other inputs and systems. Participation in the supply of services to meet pent up demand must be enabled by the removal of barriers to entry to hitherto monopolized markets. More than half the Asia-Pacific countries now allow some form of market entry in basic services (higher in mobile). However, even where entry is allowed, conditions are not optimal for investment. For innovations using wireless, the creation of a better telecom regulatory environment constituted by better policies, regulation, and implementation with regard to market entry, management of scarce resources, interconnection and access, and the enforcement of regulatory and competition rules is essential. In sum, wireless matters, but only when policy and regulatory preconditions allow it to matter.
{"title":"Preconditions for Effective Deployment of Wireless Technologies for Development in the Asia-Pacific","authors":"R. Samarajiva","doi":"10.1162/ITID.2007.3.2.57","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1162/ITID.2007.3.2.57","url":null,"abstract":"Wireless technologies play an enormously important role in extending access to voice and data communications by hitherto excluded groups in society, especially in the world's most populated region and now the largest mobile market, the Asia-Pacific. The present rates of growth and levels of connectivity could not have been achieved without wireless in the access networks, for mobile as well as for fixed, and in the backbone networks. But the solution is not simply wireless; it is wireless combined with new investment; it is wireless combined with other inputs and systems. Participation in the supply of services to meet pent up demand must be enabled by the removal of barriers to entry to hitherto monopolized markets. More than half the Asia-Pacific countries now allow some form of market entry in basic services (higher in mobile). However, even where entry is allowed, conditions are not optimal for investment. For innovations using wireless, the creation of a better telecom regulatory environment constituted by better policies, regulation, and implementation with regard to market entry, management of scarce resources, interconnection and access, and the enforcement of regulatory and competition rules is essential. In sum, wireless matters, but only when policy and regulatory preconditions allow it to matter.","PeriodicalId":45625,"journal":{"name":"Information Technologies & International Development","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2007-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"64556770","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2007-01-01DOI: 10.1162/ITID.2007.3.2.73
H. Galperin, F. Bar
ICT networks and services are not effectively reaching the poor, particularly those living in rural areas. Public subsidies for traditional operators to cover the difference between tariffs and cost-recovery levels have proved limited in addressing this continuing gap. This article explores the role that could be played by a largely unnoticed set of actors we call microtelcos—small-scale telecom operators that combine local entrepreneurship, innovative business models, and low-cost technologies to offer ICT services in areas of little interest to traditional operators. Through a series of case studies from Latin America, we document how microtelcos combine organizational and informational advantages that allow them to service the poor effectively and with limited access to public subsidies. In fact, we show that they have done so despite a less than favorable regulatory environment. The article examines the case for microtelcos as an effective alternative to address the ICT needs of the poor and suggests how existing regulatory obstacles may be removed so that microtelcos could be more effectively harnessed to bridge continuing access gaps.
{"title":"The Microtelco Opportunity: Evidence from Latin America","authors":"H. Galperin, F. Bar","doi":"10.1162/ITID.2007.3.2.73","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1162/ITID.2007.3.2.73","url":null,"abstract":"ICT networks and services are not effectively reaching the poor, particularly those living in rural areas. Public subsidies for traditional operators to cover the difference between tariffs and cost-recovery levels have proved limited in addressing this continuing gap. This article explores the role that could be played by a largely unnoticed set of actors we call microtelcos—small-scale telecom operators that combine local entrepreneurship, innovative business models, and low-cost technologies to offer ICT services in areas of little interest to traditional operators. Through a series of case studies from Latin America, we document how microtelcos combine organizational and informational advantages that allow them to service the poor effectively and with limited access to public subsidies. In fact, we show that they have done so despite a less than favorable regulatory environment. The article examines the case for microtelcos as an effective alternative to address the ICT needs of the poor and suggests how existing regulatory obstacles may be removed so that microtelcos could be more effectively harnessed to bridge continuing access gaps.","PeriodicalId":45625,"journal":{"name":"Information Technologies & International Development","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2007-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"64556779","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
This issue of ITID brings together ave perspectives on the role wireless technologies can play in the deployment of communication infrastructure and services throughout developing regions. They were selected from the papers presented at the workshop Wireless Communication and Development: A Global Perspective, organized by the Annenberg Research Network on International Communication, at the University of Southern California, in October 2005.1 Historically, considerable hopes have been placed on the promise of wireless technologies to help bring communication networks to underserved areas. Because they do not require the deployment of expensive wire networks—with the attendant need for rights of way—wireless networks have been seen as the best way to bring communication access to remote areas quickly. With the advent of relatively inexpensive and broadly available wireless technologies, connectivity seemed within economic reach of poor regions. And because the new wireless devices are increasingly based on advanced digital technologies, this suggested possibilities for the developing world to leapfrog some of the evolutionary steps taken in the developed world. Wireless thus promised to enable rapid, low-cost deployment of an advanced communication infrastructure. The articles in this issue offer a timely examination of how these hopes are working out in practice. They span a variety of geographies, examining cities, regions, and countries in Latin America, Africa, and Asia. They focus on several applications of wireless technologies, ranging from cellular telephony to satellite and Wi-Fi. They examine wireless deployment and the associated economic and policy issues at a variety of levels of analysis, spanning a range of disciplinary approaches. The papers by Jonathan Donner, and Judith Mariscal and Eugenio Rivera examine the driving forces behind the cellular telephony boom in Africa (speciacally in Rwanda) and Latin America, respectively. Donner’s article discusses the microlevel impact of mobile phones on the social and business networks of microentrepreneurs in Kigali, Rwanda. Based on a detailed survey of calling patterns, it shows how access to a mobile phone is critical for small business owners to expand existing business relations. The article further suggests that access to this technology is key to the sustainability and success of microenterprises. Mariscal and Rivera offer a macrolevel perspective on the evolution of the mobile telephony market in Mexico since the 1990s. The authors document the successful diffusion of mobile services among the poor (and the business and regulatory strategies driving this growth) but raise signiacant concerns about the current market evolution toward the formation of a regional duopoly.
{"title":"Wireless Communication and Development: Micro and Macro Linkages","authors":"F. Bar, H. Galperin","doi":"10.1162/ITID.2007.3.2.1","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1162/ITID.2007.3.2.1","url":null,"abstract":"This issue of ITID brings together ave perspectives on the role wireless technologies can play in the deployment of communication infrastructure and services throughout developing regions. They were selected from the papers presented at the workshop Wireless Communication and Development: A Global Perspective, organized by the Annenberg Research Network on International Communication, at the University of Southern California, in October 2005.1 Historically, considerable hopes have been placed on the promise of wireless technologies to help bring communication networks to underserved areas. Because they do not require the deployment of expensive wire networks—with the attendant need for rights of way—wireless networks have been seen as the best way to bring communication access to remote areas quickly. With the advent of relatively inexpensive and broadly available wireless technologies, connectivity seemed within economic reach of poor regions. And because the new wireless devices are increasingly based on advanced digital technologies, this suggested possibilities for the developing world to leapfrog some of the evolutionary steps taken in the developed world. Wireless thus promised to enable rapid, low-cost deployment of an advanced communication infrastructure. The articles in this issue offer a timely examination of how these hopes are working out in practice. They span a variety of geographies, examining cities, regions, and countries in Latin America, Africa, and Asia. They focus on several applications of wireless technologies, ranging from cellular telephony to satellite and Wi-Fi. They examine wireless deployment and the associated economic and policy issues at a variety of levels of analysis, spanning a range of disciplinary approaches. The papers by Jonathan Donner, and Judith Mariscal and Eugenio Rivera examine the driving forces behind the cellular telephony boom in Africa (speciacally in Rwanda) and Latin America, respectively. Donner’s article discusses the microlevel impact of mobile phones on the social and business networks of microentrepreneurs in Kigali, Rwanda. Based on a detailed survey of calling patterns, it shows how access to a mobile phone is critical for small business owners to expand existing business relations. The article further suggests that access to this technology is key to the sustainability and success of microenterprises. Mariscal and Rivera offer a macrolevel perspective on the evolution of the mobile telephony market in Mexico since the 1990s. The authors document the successful diffusion of mobile services among the poor (and the business and regulatory strategies driving this growth) but raise signiacant concerns about the current market evolution toward the formation of a regional duopoly.","PeriodicalId":45625,"journal":{"name":"Information Technologies & International Development","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2007-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"64556632","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2007-01-01DOI: 10.1162/ITID.2007.3.2.21
Francisco J. Proenza
The Road to Broadband Development in Developing Countries Is through Competition Driven by Wireless and Internet Telephony
发展中国家的宽带发展之路是通过无线和互联网电话驱动的竞争
{"title":"The Road to Broadband Development in Developing Countries Is through Competition Driven by Wireless and Internet Telephony","authors":"Francisco J. Proenza","doi":"10.1162/ITID.2007.3.2.21","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1162/ITID.2007.3.2.21","url":null,"abstract":"The Road to Broadband Development in Developing Countries Is through Competition Driven by Wireless and Internet Telephony","PeriodicalId":45625,"journal":{"name":"Information Technologies & International Development","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2007-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"64556717","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2007-01-01DOI: 10.1162/ITID.2007.3.2.III
M. Best, E. J. Wilson
{"title":"In Celebration of the Gray Zone","authors":"M. Best, E. J. Wilson","doi":"10.1162/ITID.2007.3.2.III","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1162/ITID.2007.3.2.III","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":45625,"journal":{"name":"Information Technologies & International Development","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2007-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"64556793","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
A survey in Kigali, Rwanda, suggests that mobiles are allowing microentrepreneurs to develop new business contacts. The results detail the impact of mobile ownership on the social networks of microentrepreneurs in lowteledensity areas, focusing on the evolving mix of business and personal calls made by users. The study differentiates between the contacts amplified through mobile ownership (friends and family ties) and those enabled by mobile ownership (new business ties). The article discusses applicability of the results to settings beyond Rwanda.
{"title":"The Use of Mobile Phones by Microentrepreneurs in Kigali, Rwanda: Changes to Social and Business Networks","authors":"J. Donner","doi":"10.1162/ITID.2007.3.2.3","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1162/ITID.2007.3.2.3","url":null,"abstract":"A survey in Kigali, Rwanda, suggests that mobiles are allowing microentrepreneurs to develop new business contacts. The results detail the impact of mobile ownership on the social networks of microentrepreneurs in lowteledensity areas, focusing on the evolving mix of business and personal calls made by users. The study differentiates between the contacts amplified through mobile ownership (friends and family ties) and those enabled by mobile ownership (new business ties). The article discusses applicability of the results to settings beyond Rwanda.","PeriodicalId":45625,"journal":{"name":"Information Technologies & International Development","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2007-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"64556728","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2007-01-01DOI: 10.4018/978-1-4666-8239-9.CH087
J. Mariscal, Eugenio Rivera
The Latin American region has embraced the zeal for mobile technology that is sweeping the world. Indeed, the use of mobile telephony has increased dramatically, vastly surpassing all expectations for the industry. The level of mobile penetration in Latin America has grown so rapidly and in such magnitude in the past few years that it has left axed telephony behind: today, the penetration of mobile telephony is twice that of axed telephony and projections for growth point toward a further widening in the gap between the two. Although the tendency observed in the region mirrors a worldwide trend, the way mobile services are used in a developing region such as Latin America is very different from the developed regions of the world. Access to telecommunications is largely mobile and not axed; mobile services are a substitute—not a complement—to other services. While during the mid-eighties mobile telephony was considered a device to be used by the richest segments of the population, today mobile telephones reach into the poorest segments of the population, providing their only source of access.1 In fact, for some of the poorest segments of the population mobile telephony has become the central mode of communications in Latin America. In the region, despite several economic slumps, the number of mobile subscribers increased from 4 million in 1995 to almost 200 million at the end of 2005. One factor that has contributed to the expansion of the mobile network is the relatively more competitive market context in which it has developed. Compared to axed telephony, mobile has since its inception faced less regulatory restraints and has a signiacantly higher number of operators. Competition between mobile carriers has encouraged innovation, expanded the network, and reduced prices. Indeed, innovative pricing strategies such as prepaid subscription and calling party pays have contributed very signiacantly to the dramatic growth in mobile subscription. Today, however, this more competitive market structure appears to be confronted with the increasing market concentration the telecommunications sector is experiencing in Latin America. Despite the implementation of numerous promarket reforms whose objective was to promote the entrance of new players into the market, Latin America may be heading toward a duopoly market. Today, the Spanish arm Telefonica and the Mexican corporation Grupo Carso Telecom, owners of Telmex and Amer-
{"title":"Mobile Communications in Mexico in the Latin American Context","authors":"J. Mariscal, Eugenio Rivera","doi":"10.4018/978-1-4666-8239-9.CH087","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-4666-8239-9.CH087","url":null,"abstract":"The Latin American region has embraced the zeal for mobile technology that is sweeping the world. Indeed, the use of mobile telephony has increased dramatically, vastly surpassing all expectations for the industry. The level of mobile penetration in Latin America has grown so rapidly and in such magnitude in the past few years that it has left axed telephony behind: today, the penetration of mobile telephony is twice that of axed telephony and projections for growth point toward a further widening in the gap between the two. Although the tendency observed in the region mirrors a worldwide trend, the way mobile services are used in a developing region such as Latin America is very different from the developed regions of the world. Access to telecommunications is largely mobile and not axed; mobile services are a substitute—not a complement—to other services. While during the mid-eighties mobile telephony was considered a device to be used by the richest segments of the population, today mobile telephones reach into the poorest segments of the population, providing their only source of access.1 In fact, for some of the poorest segments of the population mobile telephony has become the central mode of communications in Latin America. In the region, despite several economic slumps, the number of mobile subscribers increased from 4 million in 1995 to almost 200 million at the end of 2005. One factor that has contributed to the expansion of the mobile network is the relatively more competitive market context in which it has developed. Compared to axed telephony, mobile has since its inception faced less regulatory restraints and has a signiacantly higher number of operators. Competition between mobile carriers has encouraged innovation, expanded the network, and reduced prices. Indeed, innovative pricing strategies such as prepaid subscription and calling party pays have contributed very signiacantly to the dramatic growth in mobile subscription. Today, however, this more competitive market structure appears to be confronted with the increasing market concentration the telecommunications sector is experiencing in Latin America. Despite the implementation of numerous promarket reforms whose objective was to promote the entrance of new players into the market, Latin America may be heading toward a duopoly market. Today, the Spanish arm Telefonica and the Mexican corporation Grupo Carso Telecom, owners of Telmex and Amer-","PeriodicalId":45625,"journal":{"name":"Information Technologies & International Development","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2007-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"70429056","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Many developing countries around the world are frequently confronted with a dual challenge of simultaneously developing IT infrastructure and implementing software solutions. Some countries have successfully created extensive information technology infrastructures, yet software use continues to be reliant on pirated sources. The experiences of licensing regulation violations and increasing virus attacks indicate that part of the problem is a consequence of dependencies created by the use of proprietary software within resource-scarce economies. Recent growth in the use of free and open-source software (FOSS) by various public- and private-sector agencies suggests an alternative path to software self-sufficiency for a resource-scarce country like Cuba. There is, however, an interesting background to current software use within Cuba that makes it unique among several less-developed countries. Apart from the well-known advantages, FOSS use could be essential to shape the future scenario of Cuba. The present paper first delineates some of the Cuban background, basically characterized by lack of freedom in technology ownership and access to external information. The potential of FOSS use within existing conditions in Cuba is then analyzed. Finally, conclusions are provided on the basis of a survey carried out in Cuba, arguing that there needs to be stronger political will to reduce gaps between goals and implementation reality to achieve intrinsic advantages of FOSS use successfully.
{"title":"Imperatives of Free and Open Source Software in Cuban Development","authors":"A. García-Pérez, A. Mitra, Alfredo Somoza-Moreno","doi":"10.1162/ITID.2006.3.1.1","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1162/ITID.2006.3.1.1","url":null,"abstract":"Many developing countries around the world are frequently confronted with a dual challenge of simultaneously developing IT infrastructure and implementing software solutions. Some countries have successfully created extensive information technology infrastructures, yet software use continues to be reliant on pirated sources. The experiences of licensing regulation violations and increasing virus attacks indicate that part of the problem is a consequence of dependencies created by the use of proprietary software within resource-scarce economies. Recent growth in the use of free and open-source software (FOSS) by various public- and private-sector agencies suggests an alternative path to software self-sufficiency for a resource-scarce country like Cuba. There is, however, an interesting background to current software use within Cuba that makes it unique among several less-developed countries. Apart from the well-known advantages, FOSS use could be essential to shape the future scenario of Cuba. The present paper first delineates some of the Cuban background, basically characterized by lack of freedom in technology ownership and access to external information. The potential of FOSS use within existing conditions in Cuba is then analyzed. Finally, conclusions are provided on the basis of a survey carried out in Cuba, arguing that there needs to be stronger political will to reduce gaps between goals and implementation reality to achieve intrinsic advantages of FOSS use successfully.","PeriodicalId":45625,"journal":{"name":"Information Technologies & International Development","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2006-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"64556605","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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