IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/inm/orisre/v24y2013i2p239-260.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Digital Divide Initiative Success in Developing Countries: A Longitudinal Field Study in a Village in India

Author

Listed:
  • Viswanath Venkatesh

    (Department of Information Systems, Walton College of Business, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Arkansas 72701)

  • Tracy Ann Sykes

    (Department of Information Systems, Walton College of Business, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Arkansas 72701)

Abstract

Digital divide initiatives in developing countries are an important avenue for the socioeconomic advancement of those countries. Yet little research has focused on understanding the success of such initiatives. We develop a model of technology use and economic outcomes of digital divide initiatives in developing countries. We use social networks as the guiding theoretical lens because it is well suited to this context, given the low literacy, high poverty, high collectivism, and an oral tradition of information dissemination in developing countries. We test our model with longitudinal data gathered from 210 families in a rural village in India in the context of a digital divide initiative. As theorized, we found that the social network constructs contributed significantly to the explanation of technology use ( R 2 = 0.39). Also as we predicted, technology use partially mediated the effect of social network constructs on economic outcomes ( R 2 = 0.47). We discuss implications for theory and practice.

Suggested Citation

  • Viswanath Venkatesh & Tracy Ann Sykes, 2013. "Digital Divide Initiative Success in Developing Countries: A Longitudinal Field Study in a Village in India," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 24(2), pages 239-260, June.
  • Handle: RePEc:inm:orisre:v:24:y:2013:i:2:p:239-260
    DOI: 10.1287/isre.1110.0409
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1287/isre.1110.0409
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1287/isre.1110.0409?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
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Andrew Burton-Jones & Detmar W. Straub, 2006. "Reconceptualizing System Usage: An Approach and Empirical Test," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 17(3), pages 228-246, September.
    2. Costanza, Robert & Fisher, Brendan & Ali, Saleem & Beer, Caroline & Bond, Lynne & Boumans, Roelof & Danigelis, Nicholas L. & Dickinson, Jennifer & Elliott, Carolyn & Farley, Joshua & Gayer, Diane Elli, 2007. "Quality of life: An approach integrating opportunities, human needs, and subjective well-being," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 61(2-3), pages 267-276, March.
    3. Sanjeev Dewan & Kenneth L. Kraemer, 2000. "Information Technology and Productivity: Evidence from Country-Level Data," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 46(4), pages 548-562, April.
    4. Kwok Leung & Rabi S Bhagat & Nancy R Buchan & Miriam Erez & Cristina B Gibson, 2005. "Culture and international business: recent advances and their implications for future research," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 36(4), pages 357-378, July.
    5. William H. DeLone & Ephraim R. McLean, 1992. "Information Systems Success: The Quest for the Dependent Variable," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 3(1), pages 60-95, March.
    6. Fagerberg, Jan & Mowery, David C. & Nelson, Richard R. (ed.), 2006. "The Oxford Handbook of Innovation," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780199286805.
    7. Mark Granovetter, 2005. "The Impact of Social Structure on Economic Outcomes," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 19(1), pages 33-50, Winter.
    8. Ran Lachman & Albert Nedd & Bob Hinings, 1994. "Analyzing Cross-National Management and Organizations: A Theoretical Framework," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 40(1), pages 40-55, January.
    9. Yael V. Hochberg & Alexander Ljungqvist & Yang Lu, 2007. "Whom You Know Matters: Venture Capital Networks and Investment Performance," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 62(1), pages 251-301, February.
    10. V. Rao, 2001. "Celebrations as Social Investments: Festival Expenditures, Unit Price Variation and Social Status in Rural India," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 38(1), pages 71-97.
    11. Stephen P. Borgatti & Rob Cross, 2003. "A Relational View of Information Seeking and Learning in Social Networks," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 49(4), pages 432-445, April.
    12. Richard Heeks, 2002. "i-development not e-development: special issue on ICTs and development," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 14(1), pages 1-11.
    13. Behrman, Jere R & Wolfe, Barbara L, 1984. "The Socioeconomic Impact of Schooling in a Developing Country," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 66(2), pages 296-303, May.
    14. Lan Anh Hoang & Jean-Christophe Castella & Paul Novosad, 2006. "Social networks and information access: Implications for agricultural extension in a rice farming community in northern Vietnam," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 23(4), pages 513-527, December.
    15. Ajay Mehra & Andrea L. Dixon & Daniel J. Brass & Bruce Robertson, 2006. "The Social Network Ties of Group Leaders: Implications for Group Performance and Leader Reputation," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 17(1), pages 64-79, February.
    16. Leo Katz, 1953. "A new status index derived from sociometric analysis," Psychometrika, Springer;The Psychometric Society, vol. 18(1), pages 39-43, March.
    17. David Dekker & David Krackhardt & Tom Snijders, 2007. "Sensitivity of MRQAP Tests to Collinearity and Autocorrelation Conditions," Psychometrika, Springer;The Psychometric Society, vol. 72(4), pages 563-581, December.
    18. Ernst, Dieter & Kim, Linsu, 2002. "Global production networks, knowledge diffusion, and local capability formation," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 31(8-9), pages 1417-1429, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Gerald C. Kane & Maryam Alavi, 2008. "Casting the Net: A Multimodal Network Perspective on User-System Interactions," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 19(3), pages 253-272, September.
    2. Fu, Fanjie & Fang, Jing & Zhang, Fan & Yao, Shujie & Ou, Jinghua, 2024. "CEOs' hometown connections and corporate risk-taking: Evidence from China," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 60(C).
    3. Li, Lu & Li, Yihang & Wang, Xueding & Xiao, Tusheng & Zhu, Hongjun, 2022. "Hedge fund networks, information dissemination, and stock price comovement: Evidence from China," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    4. Zhepeng Li & Xiao Fang & Xue Bai & Olivia R. Liu Sheng, 2017. "Utility-Based Link Recommendation for Online Social Networks," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 63(6), pages 1938-1952, June.
    5. Starling David Hunter & Henrik Bentzen & Jan Taug, 2020. "On the “missing link” between formal organization and informal social structure," Journal of Organization Design, Springer;Organizational Design Community, vol. 9(1), pages 1-20, December.
    6. Chahine, Salim & Fang, Yiwei & Hasan, Iftekhar & Mazboudi, Mohamad, 2019. "Entrenchment through corporate social responsibility: Evidence from CEO network centrality," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    7. V. Kumar & Vikram Bhaskaran & Rohan Mirchandani & Milap Shah, 2013. "Practice Prize Winner ---Creating a Measurable Social Media Marketing Strategy: Increasing the Value and ROI of Intangibles and Tangibles for Hokey Pokey," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 32(2), pages 194-212, March.
    8. Sharath Sasidharan & Radhika Santhanam & Daniel J. Brass & Vallabh Sambamurthy, 2012. "The Effects of Social Network Structure on Enterprise Systems Success: A Longitudinal Multilevel Analysis," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 23(3-part-1), pages 658-678, September.
    9. Claudio Vitari & Aurelio Ravarini & Bernard Fallery, 2006. "The Kms Recommending Experts In The Communities: Proposition Of A Theory On Their Success," Post-Print halshs-01924301, HAL.
    10. Pescher, Christian & Spann, Martin, 2014. "Relevance of actors in bridging positions for product-related information diffusion," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 67(8), pages 1630-1637.
    11. James R. Barth & Sunghoon Joo & Kang‐Bok Lee, 2022. "Bank–client cross‐ownership of bank stocks: A network analysis," Journal of Financial Research, Southern Finance Association;Southwestern Finance Association, vol. 45(2), pages 280-312, June.
    12. Katharina Srnka & A. Gegez & S. Arzova, 2007. "Why Is It (Un-)ethical? Comparing Potential European Partners: A Western Christian and An Eastern Islamic Country – On Arguments Used in Explaining Ethical Judgments," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 74(2), pages 101-118, August.
    13. repec:dau:papers:123456789/7962 is not listed on IDEAS
    14. Engelen, Andreas & Brettel, Malte & Wiest, Gregor, 2012. "Cross-functional Integration and New Product Performance — The Impact of National and Corporate Culture," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 18(1), pages 52-65.
    15. Jani Merikivi & Antti Salovaara & Matti Mäntymäki & Lilong Zhang, 2018. "On the way to understanding binge watching behavior: the over-estimated role of involvement," Electronic Markets, Springer;IIM University of St. Gallen, vol. 28(1), pages 111-122, February.
    16. Lorenz Graf-Vlachy & Katharina Buhtz & Andreas König, 2018. "Social influence in technology adoption: taking stock and moving forward," Management Review Quarterly, Springer, vol. 68(1), pages 37-76, February.
    17. Fuchs-Schündeln, N. & Hassan, T.A., 2016. "Natural Experiments in Macroeconomics," Handbook of Macroeconomics, in: J. B. Taylor & Harald Uhlig (ed.), Handbook of Macroeconomics, edition 1, volume 2, chapter 0, pages 923-1012, Elsevier.
    18. Hideki Fujiyama, 2020. "Network centrality, social loops, and utility maximization," Evolutionary and Institutional Economics Review, Springer, vol. 17(1), pages 39-70, January.
    19. Griffin, Paul A. & Hong, Hyun A. & Liu, Yun & Ryou, Ji Woo, 2021. "The dark side of CEO social capital: Evidence from real earnings management and future operating performance," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    20. Fuchs, Florian & Fuess, Roland & Jenkinson, Tim & Morkoetter, Stefan, 2017. "Winning a Deal in Private Equity: Do Educational Networks Matter?," Working Papers on Finance 17155, University of St. Gallen, School of Finance.
    21. Peters, Twan & Işık, Öykü & Tona, Olgerta & Popovič, Aleš, 2016. "How system quality influences mobile BI use: The mediating role of engagement," International Journal of Information Management, Elsevier, vol. 36(5), pages 773-783.

    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:inm:orisre:v:24:y:2013:i:2:p:239-260. 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: Chris Asher (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/inforea.html .

    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.