Socio‐economic factors in the application of information and communication technologies in Nigerian print media

Information and communication technologies (ICTs) have opened up new opportunities for the Nigerian print media to improve on their products and services. This study explores the socio‐economic factors associated with the adoption and use of ICTs by the media. Of a total of 54 socio‐economic factors considered, exactly 50% were found to have significant influence on the adoption and success of ICT applications. The factors that have the greatest positive influence on adoption of ICTs include organizational goal, profitability, organizational image, communication in the organization, productivity, and openness of workers to change. They also constitute success factors in the use of these technologies. The factors that constrained adoption and also successful application include high rate of inflation, unfavourable exchange rate of the naira to the dollar, low wage level, huge costs, low gross national product, inadequate funding, and unstable political situation. These constraining factors are indicators of economic weakness and political uncertainty. It seems that the significance of such factors, which are completely external to a business organization, was often underestimated in studies of organizational performance in developing countries.