IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jbrese/v97y2019icp268-280.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Bridging technology divide to improve business environment: Insights from African nations

Author

Listed:
  • You, Kefei
  • Dal Bianco, Silvia
  • Lin, Zhibin
  • Amankwah-Amoah, Joseph

Abstract

Bridging the technology divide remains one of the contemporary business issues, yet limited scholarly attention has been devoted to exploring the gap between regional developing nations. This study examined the state of technological progress in Africa by applying an innovative two-step total factor productivity (TFP) analysis. We first estimated the TFP for 21 African countries with reference to South Africa (regional leader) and the United States (US) (international leader). We then applied the Phillips and Sul (2007) panel convergence tests. We found three convergence clubs with TFP levels relative to South Africa, where only most developed African countries have been able to catch-up. For TFP levels relative to the US, we found two convergence clubs and only a couple of countries have managed to make short-lived progress of catching-up. Our analysis has implications in terms of capitalising on new technology to create platforms for new businesses to flourish in Africa.

Suggested Citation

  • You, Kefei & Dal Bianco, Silvia & Lin, Zhibin & Amankwah-Amoah, Joseph, 2019. "Bridging technology divide to improve business environment: Insights from African nations," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 97(C), pages 268-280.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jbrese:v:97:y:2019:i:c:p:268-280
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2018.01.015
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0148296318300158
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jbusres.2018.01.015?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Buckley, Peter J. & Hashai, Niron, 2014. "The role of technological catch up and domestic market growth in the genesis of emerging country based multinationals," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 43(2), pages 423-437.
    2. Diewart, W Erwin & Morrison, Catherine J, 1986. "Adjusting Output and Productivity Indexes for Changes in the Terms of Trade," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 96(383), pages 659-679, September.
    3. Ariel Burstein & Javier Cravino, 2015. "Measured Aggregate Gains from International Trade," American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 7(2), pages 181-218, April.
    4. Durlauf, Steven N & Johnson, Paul A, 1995. "Multiple Regimes and Cross-Country Growth Behaviour," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 10(4), pages 365-384, Oct.-Dec..
    5. Caves, Douglas W & Christensen, Laurits R & Diewert, W Erwin, 1982. "The Economic Theory of Index Numbers and the Measurement of Input, Output, and Productivity," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 50(6), pages 1393-1414, November.
    6. Bernard, Andrew B & Jones, Charles I, 1996. "Technology and Convergence," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 106(437), pages 1037-1044, July.
    7. Diewert, W. E., 1976. "Exact and superlative index numbers," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 4(2), pages 115-145, May.
    8. Silvia Dal Bianco, 2016. "Going clubbing in the eighties: convergence in manufacturing sectors at a glance," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 50(2), pages 623-659, March.
    9. Massimo Del Gatto & Adriana Di Liberto & Carmelo Petraglia, 2011. "Measuring Productivity," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 25(5), pages 952-1008, December.
    10. Barro, Robert J. & Lee, Jong Wha, 2013. "A new data set of educational attainment in the world, 1950–2010," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 104(C), pages 184-198.
    11. Dowrick, Steve & Nguyen, Duc-Tho, 1989. "OECD Comparative Economic Growth 1950-85: Catch-Up and Convergence," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 79(5), pages 1010-1030, December.
    12. Garrick Blalock & Daniel H Simon, 2009. "Do all firms benefit equally from downstream FDI? The moderating effect of local suppliers’ capabilities on productivity gains," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 40(7), pages 1095-1112, September.
    13. International Monetary Fund, 2009. "Spillovers From the Rest of the World Into Sub-Saharan African Countries," IMF Working Papers 2009/155, International Monetary Fund.
    14. Castellacci, Fulvio, 2006. "Innovation, diffusion and catching up in the fifth long wave," MPRA Paper 27521, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    15. Lawrence Edwards & StephenS. Golub, 2003. "South African Productivity And Capital Accumulation In Manufacturing: An International Comparative Analysis," South African Journal of Economics, Economic Society of South Africa, vol. 71(4), pages 659-678, December.
    16. Costas Azariadis & Allan Drazen, 1990. "Threshold Externalities in Economic Development," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 105(2), pages 501-526.
    17. Warren Boeker & Robert Wiltbank, 2005. "New Venture Evolution and Managerial Capabilities," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 16(2), pages 123-133, April.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Amankwah-Amoah, Joseph, 2020. "Stepping Up and Stepping Out of COVID-19: New Challenges for Environmental Sustainability Policies in the Global Airline Industry," MPRA Paper 101491, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    2. Simplice A. Asongu & Joseph Amankwah‐Amoah & Rexon T. Nting & Godfred Adjapong Afrifa, 2021. "Information Technology and Gender Economic Inclusion in Sub-Saharan Africa," Journal of Global Information Technology Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 24(2), pages 120-133, April.
    3. Zhou, Xiaoxiao & Cai, Ziming & Tan, Kim Hua & Zhang, Linling & Du, Juntao & Song, Malin, 2021. "Technological innovation and structural change for economic development in China as an emerging market," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 167(C).
    4. Chatzistamoulou, Nikos, 2023. "Is digital transformation the Deus ex Machina towards sustainability transition of the European SMEs?," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 206(C).
    5. You, Kefei & Bianco, Silvia Dal & Amankwah-Amoah, Joseph, 2020. "Closing Technological Gaps to Alleviate Poverty: Evidence from 17 Sub-Saharan African Countries," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 157(C).
    6. Adomako, Samuel & Amankwah-Amoah, Joseph & Chu, Irene, 2020. "Entrepreneurs’ passion, home country’s institutional voids and small firm internationalization," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 53(C).
    7. Lopez-Vega, Henry & Tell, Fredrik, 2021. "Technology strategy and MNE subsidiary upgrading in emerging markets," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 167(C).
    8. Atiase, Victor Yawo & Kolade, Oluwaseun & Liedong, Tahiru Azaaviele, 2020. "The emergence and strategy of tech hubs in Africa: Implications for knowledge production and value creation," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 161(C).
    9. Chanyuan Liu & Long Xin & Jinye Li & Huaping Sun, 2022. "The Impact of Renewable Energy Technology Innovation on Industrial Green Transformation and Upgrading: Beggar Thy Neighbor or Benefiting Thy Neighbor," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(18), pages 1-28, September.
    10. McWalter, Thomas A. & Ritchken, Peter H., 2022. "Black economic empowerment regulation and risk incentives," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 139(C).
    11. Wan, Qunchao & Chen, Jin & Yao, Zhu & Yuan, Ling, 2022. "Preferential tax policy and R&D personnel flow for technological innovation efficiency of China's high-tech industry in an emerging economy," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 174(C).
    12. Adomako, Samuel & Amankwah-Amoah, Joseph & Tarba, Shlomo Y. & Khan, Zaheer, 2021. "Perceived corruption, business process digitization, and SMEs’ degree of internationalization in sub-Saharan Africa," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 123(C), pages 196-207.
    13. Nyame-Asiamah, Frank & Amoako, Isaac Oduro & Amankwah-Amoah, Joseph & Debrah, Yaw A., 2020. "Diaspora entrepreneurs’ push and pull institutional factors for investing in Africa: Insights from African returnees from the United Kingdom," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 152(C).
    14. Di Vaio, Assunta & Hassan, Rohail & Alavoine, Claude, 2022. "Data intelligence and analytics: A bibliometric analysis of human–Artificial intelligence in public sector decision-making effectiveness," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 174(C).
    15. Arakpogun, Emmanuel Ogiemwonyi & Elsahn, Ziad & Nyuur, Richard B. & Olan, Femi, 2020. "Threading the needle of the digital divide in Africa: The barriers and mitigations of infrastructure sharing," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 161(C).
    16. Machokoto, Michael & Areneke, Geofry & Ibrahim, Boulis Maher, 2020. "Rising corporate debt and value relevance of supply-side factors in South Africa," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 109(C), pages 26-37.
    17. Amankwah-Amoah, Joseph, 2020. "Talent Management and Global Competition for Top Talent: A Co-Opetition-Based Perspective," MPRA Paper 101113, University Library of Munich, Germany.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. You, Kefei & Bianco, Silvia Dal & Amankwah-Amoah, Joseph, 2020. "Closing Technological Gaps to Alleviate Poverty: Evidence from 17 Sub-Saharan African Countries," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 157(C).
    2. Silvia Dal Bianco, 2016. "Going clubbing in the eighties: convergence in manufacturing sectors at a glance," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 50(2), pages 623-659, March.
    3. Walheer, Barnabé, 2021. "Labor productivity and technology heterogeneity," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    4. Walheer, Barnabé, 2023. "Meta-frontier and technology switchers: A nonparametric approach," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 305(1), pages 463-474.
    5. Stöllinger, Roman, 2013. "International spillovers in a world of technology clubs," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 27(C), pages 19-35.
    6. Castellacci, Fulvio, 2008. "Technology clubs, technology gaps and growth trajectories," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 19(4), pages 301-314, December.
    7. Ghali, Sofiane & Mohnen, Pierre, 2010. "Economic restructuring and total factor productivity growth: Tunisia over the period 1983-2001," MERIT Working Papers 2010-033, United Nations University - Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (MERIT).
    8. Fox, Kevin J. & Grafton, R. Quentin & Kirkley, James & Squires, Dale, 2003. "Property rights in a fishery: regulatory change and firm performance," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 46(1), pages 156-177, July.
    9. Nicholas Oulton, 2021. "The effect of changes in the terms of trade on GDP and welfare: a Divisia approach to the SNA," Discussion Papers 2126, Centre for Macroeconomics (CFM).
    10. Robert Inklaar & Marcel P. Timmer, 2012. "Productivity Convergence Across Industries and Countries: The Importance of Theory-based Measurement," Chapters, in: Matilde Mas & Robert Stehrer (ed.), Industrial Productivity in Europe, chapter 11, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    11. W. Erwin Diewert & Kevin J. Fox, 2017. "Decomposing Value Added Growth into Explanatory Factors," Discussion Papers 2017-02, School of Economics, The University of New South Wales.
    12. Mizobuchi, Hideyuki, 2010. "New indices of labour productivity growth: Baumol’s disease revisited," MPRA Paper 31151, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    13. Benos, Nikos & Karagiannis, Stelios, 2013. "Do Cross-Section Dependence and Parameter Heterogeneity Matter? Evidence on Human Capital and Productivity in Greece," MPRA Paper 53326, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    14. Ulrich Kohli, 2004. "An Implicit Törnqvist Index of Real GDP," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 21(3), pages 337-353, May.
    15. Bernard, Andrew B. & Durlauf, Steven N., 1996. "Interpreting tests of the convergence hypothesis," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 71(1-2), pages 161-173.
    16. W. Erwin Diewert & Kevin J. Fox, 2021. "The Difference Approach to Productivity Measurement and Exact Indicators," Springer Proceedings in Business and Economics, in: Christopher F. Parmeter & Robin C. Sickles (ed.), Advances in Efficiency and Productivity Analysis, pages 9-40, Springer.
    17. Roman Matousek & Nickolaos G. Tzeremes, 2021. "The asymmetric impact of human capital on economic growth," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 60(3), pages 1309-1334, March.
    18. Kohli, Ulrich, 2004. "Real GDP, real domestic income, and terms-of-trade changes," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 62(1), pages 83-106, January.
    19. Bos, J.W.B. & Economidou, C. & Koetter, M. & Kolari, J.W., 2010. "Do all countries grow alike?," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 91(1), pages 113-127, January.
    20. Walheer, Barnabé, 2016. "Growth and convergence of the OECD countries: A multi-sector production-frontier approach," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 252(2), pages 665-675.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:jbrese:v:97:y:2019:i:c:p:268-280. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/jbusres .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.