IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/taf/titdxx/v27y2021i1p91-110.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

From national to sector level biometric systems: the case of Ghana

Author

Listed:
  • John Effah
  • Emmanuel Owusu-Oware

Abstract

Biometric systems offer opportunities for developing countries to address citizen identification challenges. In recent years, biometric systems have been deployed at the national and sector levels or both. However, related information systems research has focused on either the national or sector levels. Less knowledge thus exists on the relationship between the two levels. To address this gap, this study employs interpretive case study methodology and activity theory to investigate a failed national biometric project in Ghana and its relationship with emergent sector level biometric systems. The findings show that lack of political consensus and conflicting laws can lead to national biometric system failure and multiple sector level systems. Moreover, implementation of multiple biometric systems leads to duplication of resources, infrastructure, and biometric data for individuals. Based on the findings, the paper discusses implications for theory, research, and national development.

Suggested Citation

  • John Effah & Emmanuel Owusu-Oware, 2021. "From national to sector level biometric systems: the case of Ghana," Information Technology for Development, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 27(1), pages 91-110, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:titdxx:v:27:y:2021:i:1:p:91-110
    DOI: 10.1080/02681102.2020.1818543
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1080/02681102.2020.1818543
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1080/02681102.2020.1818543?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.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:taf:titdxx:v:27:y:2021:i:1:p:91-110. 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.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using 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 Longhurst (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.tandfonline.com/titd20 .

    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.