This study aims to investigate the effect of the usage of e-HRM on HRM system effectiveness and organizational effectiveness. The dearth of empirical studies in developing countries, especially in Ghana, warranted this study. The study adopts a quantitative cross-sectional approach and uses descriptive and inferential research approaches. The targeted population was employees, HR professionals, and line managers at Tata Africa Holdings (Ghana) Limited, Alliance Motors (Ghana) Limited, and MTN Ghana Limited (N = 610). The sample size was determined using Cochran's (1977) sample size formula (n = 236). Data was collected using a structured questionnaire constructed in Likert-scale style and self-administered. The sampling technique was stratified random sampling. Data were analyzed using structural equation model-partial least square (version 3.0). The results revealed that e-HRM tools have statistical significance for policy-level effectiveness, technical effectiveness, strategic effectiveness, and human resource management effectiveness. There is a positive relationship between policy-level effectiveness and organizational effectiveness and between strategic-level effectiveness and organizational effectiveness. However, there is a negative relationship between technical effectiveness and organizational effectiveness and between HRME and OE. It was recommended that management introduce e-HRM technologies since they have a positive relationship between HRM effectiveness and organizational effectiveness.
The COVID-19 pandemic has changed many aspects of the economy. The situation has notably been more challenging for small businesses in developing countries which tend to operate with limited funding and a lack of social and human capital. In these contexts, technology has been argued to be an important resource to allow businesses to adapt and recover from the crisis. In line with this narrative, the pandemic has been linked to growing technology adoption within small firms in developing countries. However, little is known about how small businesses are using such technology as part of strategies: to survive, reposition themselves in the market and potentially “spring back” from the pandemic to thrive in a fundamentally changed environment. In this study, to fill this gap we look to the concept of resilience to examine how technology was adopted to help build resilience. The study focused on small businesses in Kenya and uses in-depth qualitative analysis to unpack the processes of adoption and use. The study findings suggest that the pandemic created an incentive for many small businesses to engage with digital technology, enabling them to stay operational. The study evidenced specific coping strategies that incorporated technology to support resilience, including exploiting demand, acquiring new capabilities, expanding existing capacities, making data-driven decisions, fostering social networks and freezing operations. Consequently, we argue for the need to unpack the processes of technology adoption and the links between technology and economic growth in such settings. During the pandemic, small businesses have typically adopted technology to build resilience appropriate to their context.
Like other developing countries, the Indonesian government is pursuing digital transformation to achieve good governance at the central and micro levels. One of the strategies for achieving digital government transformation at the micro level is implementing village information systems (VIS), information systems that village officials manage. Unfortunately, not all villages in Indonesia are thriving in adopting VIS. Therefore, this study aims to answer an overarching puzzle: Why did some village governments successfully adopt VIS while others failed? Using a case-study approach to VIS adoption in Gunungkidul Regency, Indonesia, this study fills the gap in the literature from the technological-organizational–environmental perspective that affects e-government adoption at the village government level. We found four main factors that influence the success or failure of village information systems adoption: (1) VIS interoperability (technology context), (2) the workload of village officers (organizational context), (3) the role of civil society, and (4) the role of a vendor (environmental context). This research enriches the literature by identifying these four factors within the TOE framework, still rarely present in e-government adoption studies, especially in the context of village governments in developing countries. This research has practical implications for the successful adoption of VIS as a village government effort to gain data sovereignty.
Designing and implementing health information systems (HISs) in developing-country settings is challenging. Many HISs do not go beyond the pilot stage and tend to vanish when external funding is over. In other cases, multiple fragmented HISs remain, but these are unable to talk to each other. And more often than not, data collected by HISs are not used in decision making. To better understand and address these problems, this article employs an information infrastructure (II) perspective and views HISs as parts of larger and complex social-technical networks. This article contributes to the current knowledge with a set of rich empirical descriptions of the design and implementation of HISs in Vietnam. Theoretically, it contributes to II discussions in the information systems domain by presenting four design problems and suggesting five design principles and 15 design rules to meet them. These design principles and rules also offer practical guidance for managers and designers involved in the design and implementation of HISs in developing countries.
Whilst extant literature on Open Government Data (OGD) focuses upon value creation and innovation, there is scant emphasis upon the Value Co-Creation (VCC) that might result with the engagement of the public sector agencies and the users at large. The present study seeks to appreciate the barriers towards OGD VCC by adopting a qualitative research methodology wherein interviews are being conducted with key personnel manning the OGD initiatives in Brazil. Impediments veering around VCC may be counted the internal, social and cultural and data factors. Findings from the present study lend credence to the fact that a systematic strategizing is important for the success of OGD VCC lest Value Co-Destruction (VCD) happen. From a developing country's perspective, the present study acts as a sounding-board for bearing in mind the caveats deduced vis-a-via the success of the VCC processes.
The integration of isolated software components into large-scale and complex information systems is a topic that attracts the interest of many information systems practitioners and researchers. However, less attention is given to the intricate processes by which these infrastructures are built using multiple independent software components. Different actors introduce these components, which can lead to a “battleground of functional roles” where components are replacing and blocking each other. To better understand this phenomenon, we conducted multiple case studies involving the development of a large-scale information system for communicable disease detection, prevention, and control in Vietnam. We collected empirical data through various methods, including interviews, focus groups, and participation observation. We identified different strategies employed by actors to block, remove, or replace other software components, protect their position, and find a way to join the existing and established systems. This paper contributes to this topic by theorizing a strategy called “hybrid vigor,” which allows for the combination of the strengths of individual software components and enables sustainable evolution.
At the beginning of 2020, the world came to a stand-still when governments across the globe decided to enter states of ‘emergency’ or ‘disaster’ over the breakout of the COVID-19 pandemic. The responses to the pandemic included stringent movement restrictions and hygiene advice preventing face-to-face interactions. As a result, many activities, including schooling, working, and shopping were moved online, drastically increasing exposure to cyber threats and risks. It is unclear if and how the rapid increase in internet use corresponded to an improvement in cybersecurity mindset development in countries of the Southern African Development Community (SADC). This paper explores the effect of the increase in digital technology usage due to the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions on the relationship between cybersecurity awareness-raising initiatives and the development of higher levels of cybersecurity mindset in Botswana, Lesotho, and Malawi. These three countries have a similar cybersecurity footprint and an average cybersecurity capacity level for the region. The research applies a comparative multiple case study approach relying on a thematic review of the literature and related documents, supported by in-depth interviews with purposefully selected key informants from the three selected SADC countries. Findings suggest that since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, awareness-raising programs have gained some momentum in our selected countries, but the cybersecurity mindset has not improved. That was attributed to low frequency and poor quality of campaigns added to the lack of training, education and lived experience. The paper highlights the need to increase the frequency and improve the quality of programmes, for greater impact on the development of local cybersecurity mindsets.
In the safety 4.0 era, occupational health and safety (OHS) related data has become one of the most valuable assets for organizations. Risk Management in the OHS field is a data-driven process. However, geospatial data has not been fully considered and few works have used visualization for decision-making purposes. Our research was conducted using a design science research methodology. It is a methodology for creating and evaluating IT artifacts to solve identified organizational problems. We used Wang's safety intelligence framework and the recommendations of the ISO 45001 model from extant literature to inform the Design. While creating our artifact, we chose to make an inventory of occupational risk prevention practices in Algeria. A qualitative study using interviews with experts in the field consolidated the requirements for such a system. The key findings from the analysis of collected data state that the development of safety data-driven decision-making requires top management support and involvement, which is in line with previous studies. A second concern is the availability of spatial data. The designed artifact is an approach called spatial data integration and visualization approach for occupational health and safety management systems (SDIVA-OHSMS). SDIVA-OHSMS provides a practical approach for organizations in charge of OHS services to implement OHS data-driven decision-making solutions highlighting spatial and semantic dimensions. The evaluation was performed through a representative case study within the Algerian electricity and gas company (Sonelgaz), employing expert opinion and software implementation. As a result, experts concluded that such systems could provide a more comprehensive and accurate view of occupational health issues and guide further prevention policies.
This study assessed the quality and challenges of health data before and after the implementation of the Hospital Information System (HIS) for the fistula program at the Comprehensive Community-based Rehabilitation Hospital in Tanzania. This was a mixed methods study. Data were collected at baseline and end-line (before and after the implementation of the HIS) study using quantitative Data Quality Assessment (DQA) checklists and individual interviews. At the baseline, the DQA checklists were assessed using files registered from 2017 to May 2019. At the end-line, the DQA checklists used data for a patient registered at the established HIS from June 2019 to December 2020. Interviews with clinical and non-clinical staff were conducted at both baseline and end-line studies. The study found that data quality improved after the implementation of the HIS. At baseline, data completeness declined from 85% in 2017 to 44.9% in 2019 while accuracy declined from 44% in 2017 to 31% in 2019. At the end-line, data completeness and accuracy were >80% and 100% annually respectively. Data preciseness increased from 0% at baseline to 100% at the end-line. Both data completeness and accuracy had inconsistent tend over months, although preciseness could not be evaluated at baseline as no breakdown of indicators was reported. The major challenges related to data quality included language barrier, incompleteness of data, incorrect data entry, use of both manual and electronic systems, as well as unreliable electricity and network. In general, the HIS had improved rates of data quality in terms of completeness, accuracy, and preciseness of data as compared to the manual system. Policy-makers and hospital administrators should ensure that the HIS are integrated into national hospital information systems, build staff capacity, ensure reliable sources of electrical power, and regular training on data collection.