IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/jglont/v9y2019i1d10.1186_s40497-019-0145-7.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The use of ict by sme’s in Zambia to access business information services and investments: barriers and drivers

Author

Listed:
  • Martin Mwila

    (University of Zambia)

  • Luka Ngoyi

    (University of Zambia)

Abstract

The research aimed at answering key questions regarding the use of ICTs among SMEs in their businesses with an analysis and consideration of the possible factors that enable ICTs to be valued, as drivers and the possible factors that deter them not to be recognised as business development agents to be the barriers. The research was conducted on a sample of 60 SMEs with no formal business registration and 40 SMEs with formal business registration with a response of 76.7% and 87.5% respectively. Results disclosed that ICTs are a major aspect in business operations, formally and informally with the major drivers happening to be the reduction in cost and ease of doing business. The major challenges were the expense at which ICTs come with and the poor ICT infrastructure. There is a relation between the investment in ICTs in businesses with the increase in productivity as 67.04% of the respondents confirming the effect of implementation. The study recommends that Government fully implements the framework for ICTs laid in its Seventh National Development Plan (7NDP) to make ICTs available for socio-economic development through infrastructure development, reduction on taxes laid on ICT related goods and through Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) that seek to enhance the communication.

Suggested Citation

  • Martin Mwila & Luka Ngoyi, 2019. "The use of ict by sme’s in Zambia to access business information services and investments: barriers and drivers," Journal of Global Entrepreneurship Research, Springer;UNESCO Chair in Entrepreneurship, vol. 9(1), pages 1-16, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:jglont:v:9:y:2019:i:1:d:10.1186_s40497-019-0145-7
    DOI: 10.1186/s40497-019-0145-7
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1186/s40497-019-0145-7
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1186/s40497-019-0145-7?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. Oecd, 2001. "Understanding the Digital Divide," OECD Digital Economy Papers 49, OECD Publishing.
    2. Plumb Ion & Zamfir Andreea, 2008. "Use Of Ict In Smes Management Within The Sector Of Services," Annals of Faculty of Economics, University of Oradea, Faculty of Economics, vol. 4(1), pages 481-487, May.
    3. Yoshino, Naoyuki & Taghizadeh-Hesary, Farhad, 2016. "Major Challenges Facing Small and Medium-sized Enterprises in Asia and Solutions for Mitigating Them," ADBI Working Papers 564, Asian Development Bank Institute.
    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. Karim, Mohammed Shamsul & Nahar, Sharmin & Demirbag, Mehmet, 2022. "Resource-Based Perspective on ICT Use and Firm Performance: A Meta-analysis Investigating the Moderating Role of Cross-Country ICT Development Status," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 179(C).

    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. Olimpia NEAGU, 2019. "Digital Divide Gap Convergence Across European Union: The Role Of Urbanisation," Contemporary Economy Journal, Constantin Brancoveanu University, vol. 4(1), pages 43-48.
    2. Akos Jakobi, 2013. "Space and virtuality: new characteristics of inequalities in the information society and economy," Review of Applied Socio-Economic Research, Pro Global Science Association, vol. 5(1), pages 4-14, June.
    3. Mendoza-Lozano, Frederick Andrés & Quintero-Peña, Jose Wilmar & García-Rodríguez, Jose Felix, 2021. "The digital divide between high school students in Colombia," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(10).
    4. Ventura, Eva & Satorra, Albert, 2015. "A multiple indicator model for panel data: an application to ICT area-level variation," 26th European Regional ITS Conference, Madrid 2015 127191, International Telecommunications Society (ITS).
    5. Adel Ben Youssef & Ludovic Ragni, 2008. "Uses of Information and Communication Technologies in Europe's Higher Education Institutions: From Digital Divides to Digital Trajectories," Post-Print halshs-00937212, HAL.
    6. Shanika Thathsarani & Wei Jianguo & Mona Alariqi, 2023. "How Do Demand, Supply, and Institutional Factors Influence SME Financial Inclusion: A Developing Country Perspective," SAGE Open, , vol. 13(3), pages 21582440231, July.
    7. Jamil Paolo Francisco & Tristan Canare & Jean Rebecca Labios, 2018. "Obstacles and Enablers of Internationalization of Philippine SMEs Through Participation in Global Value Chains," Working Papers id:12905, eSocialSciences.
    8. repec:pri:cpanda:wp15%20-%20dimaggio%2bhargittai is not listed on IDEAS
    9. Pelzer, B. & Eisinga, R. & Franses, Ph.H.B.F., 2002. "Ecological panel inference in repeated cross sections," Econometric Institute Research Papers EI 2002-22, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Erasmus School of Economics (ESE), Econometric Institute.
    10. Cigan, Heidi, 2002. "The internet's contribution to progress and growth in Germany: The economic impact of the internet and the price structure of access," HWWA Reports 216, Hamburg Institute of International Economics (HWWA).
    11. Ivan Kuyumdzhiev, 2022. "Digitization Levels - the Path of Digital Transformation of Administrative Services in Higher Education," Izvestia Journal of the Union of Scientists - Varna. Economic Sciences Series, Union of Scientists - Varna, Economic Sciences Section, vol. 11(2), pages 133-139, August.
    12. Menzie D. Chinn & Robert W. Fairlie, 2007. "The determinants of the global digital divide: a cross-country analysis of computer and internet penetration," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 59(1), pages 16-44, January.
    13. Bera, Subhasis, 2019. "Club convergence and drivers of digitalization across Indian states," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 43(8), pages 1-1.
    14. Maria Rosalia Vicente & Ana Jesus Lopez, 2008. "Some empirical evidence on Internet diffusion in the New Member States and Candidate Countries of the European Union," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 15(13), pages 1015-1018.
    15. Lamberti, Giuseppe & Lopez-Sintas, Jordi & Sukphan, Jakkapong, 2021. "The social process of internet appropriation: Living in a digitally advanced country benefits less well-educated Europeans," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(1).
    16. RPIR Prasanna & JMHM Upulwehera & BDTN Senarath & GAKNJ Abeyrathne & PSK Rajapakshe & JMSB Jayasundara & EMS Ekanayake & Sisira Kumara Naradda Gamage, 2021. "Factors Determining the Competitive Strategic Positions of the SMEs in Asian Developing Nations: Case Study of SMEs in the Agricultural Sector in Sri Lanka," Economies, MDPI, vol. 9(4), pages 1-24, December.
    17. Chang, Younghoon & Shahzeidi, Mehri & Kim, Hyerin & Park, Myeong-cheol, 2012. "Gender digital divide and online participation: A cross-national analysis," 19th ITS Biennial Conference, Bangkok 2012: Moving Forward with Future Technologies - Opening a Platform for All 72506, International Telecommunications Society (ITS).
    18. Hildegunn Kyvik NordÅs, 2001. "Patterns of foreign direct investment in poor countries," The Journal of International Trade & Economic Development, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 11(3), pages 247-265.
    19. Sayyid Ali Banihashemi & Zahra Rejaei, 2015. "Analysis of the Digital Divide in Asia-Islamic Countries: A TOPSIS Approach," Journal of Asian Scientific Research, Asian Economic and Social Society, vol. 5(4), pages 165-176, April.
    20. Colin Lindsay, 2005. "Employability, Services for Unemployed Job Seekers and the Digital Divide," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 42(2), pages 325-339, February.
    21. Hiroshi Ono & Madeline Zavodny, 2004. "Gender differences in information technology usage: a U.S.-Japan comparison," FRB Atlanta Working Paper 2004-2, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta.

    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:spr:jglont:v:9:y:2019:i:1:d:10.1186_s40497-019-0145-7. 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: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    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.