Market influencers for ICT advancement in small states – a comparative analysis

ABSTRACT This paper analyzes the relationship between Information and Communications Technology (ICT) market drivers and the level of ICT usage in small states. Main arguments in the literature review refer to institutional, socioeconomic, and demographic factors to explain ICT usage. Through a multi-method approach, this paper takes a dataset of small states to explore the relationship between ICT market variables and Internet usage. Findings highlight the importance of underlying digital platforms. A typology of small states is provided for ICT market influencers and usage, showing a varying degree of heterogeneity. Given that the sample size available to study small states limits the use of traditional analytical techniques, this paper utilizes Qualitative Comparative Analysis and demonstrates that high usage levels of digital applications for businesses, consumers, and social-media are conditions that are sufficient, but not necessary, for ICT advancement to occur. Implications for theory development and policy making are discussed in terms of market incentives.

[1]  A. Woodside.  Moving beyond multiple regression analysis to algorithms: Calling for adoption of a paradigm shift from symmetric to asymmetric thinking in data analysis and crafting theory , 2013 .

[2]  Bear F. Braumoeller.  Guarding Against False Positives in Qualitative Comparative Analysis , 2015, Political Analysis.

[3]  G. Hickey,et al.  Factors affecting the innovation potential of smallholder farmers in the Caribbean Community , 2015, Regional Environmental Change.

[4]  Rob Kling,et al.  IT and organizational change in digital economies: a socio-technical approach , 1999, CSOC.

[5]  Sajda Qureshi,et al.  Emerging Technology Use in Very Small Island States: A Tenuous Relationship between Average Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Usage and Per Capita Gross Domestic Product (GDP) Growth , 2016, 2016 49th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS).

[6]  Anteneh Ayanso,et al.  Information and Communications Technology Development and the Digital Divide: A Global and Regional Assessment , 2014, Inf. Technol. Dev..

[7]  T. Crowards.  Defining the category of ‘small’ states , 2002 .

[8]  S. Karanasios.  Framing ICT4D Research Using Activity Theory: A Match Between the ICT4D Field and Theory? , 2014 .

[9]  Donna Lee,et al.  Small State Discourses in the International Political Economy , 2010 .

[10]  Sajda Qureshi,et al.  Are we making a Better World with Information and Communication Technology for Development (ICT4D) Research? Findings from the Field and Theory Building , 2015, Inf. Technol. Dev..

[11]  M. Tiits.  TECHNOLOGY-INTENSIVE FDI AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN A SMALL COUNTRY – THE CASE OF ESTONIA , 2007, Trames. Journal of the Humanities and Social Sciences.

[12]  Paul Sutton,et al.  The Concept of Small States in the International Political Economy , 2011 .

[13]  Small states, smart solutions improving connectivity and increasing the effectiveness of public services , 2008 .

[14]  S. Dutta,et al.  The Global Information Technology Report , 2003 .

[15]  Fred Gault,et al.  THE DESIGN APPROACH TO SOCIO-ECONOMIC MODELLING , 1987 .

[16]  Deryck R. Brown.  Institutional Development in Small States: Evidence from the Commonwealth Caribbean , 2010 .

[17]  Ojelanki K. Ngwenyama,et al.  Factors affecting ICT expansion in emerging economies: An analysis of ICT infrastructure expansion in five Latin American countries , 2009, Inf. Technol. Dev..

[18]  A. Narlikar.  Editorial: Small States in Multilateral Economic Negotiations , 2011 .

[19]  Kurt Dopfer,et al.  The Evolutionary Foundations of Economics: Evolutionary economics: a theoretical framework , 2005 .

[20]  M. Castells.  Rise of the Network Society: The Information Age: Economy, Society and Culture , 1996 .

[21]  Matthew A. Barsalou,et al.  Root Cause Analysis , 2014 .

[22]  P. Tõnurist.  What Is a “Small State” in a Globalizing Economy? , 2010 .

[23]  H. Armstrong,et al.  Trade and Growth in Small States: The Impact of Global Trade Liberalisation , 1998 .

[24]  V. C. Pliscoff,et al.  Método comparado: un aporte a la investigación en gestión pública 1 , 2003 .

[25]  Rong Wang.  Internet Use and the Building of Social Capital for Development: A Network Perspective , 2015 .

[26]  Kurt Dopfer,et al.  The Evolutionary Foundations of Economics: A framework for evolutionary analysis , 2005 .

[27]  R. Heeks.  The ICT4D 2.0 Manifesto: Where Next for ICTs and International Development? , 2009 .

[28]  Caroline Herssens,et al.  Knowledge-Based Recommendation Systems: A Survey , 2014, Int. J. Intell. Inf. Technol..

[29]  Ángel Hernández García,et al.  The digital transformation playbook: Rethink your business for the digital age , 2018 .

[30]  P. Foley,et al.  The digital divide in a world city , 2002 .

[31]  Joseph G. Voelkel,et al.  Guide to Quality Control , 1982 .

[32]  R. Read.  Growth , economic development and structural transition in small vulnerable states , 2001 .

[33]  Evan W. Duggan,et al.  Increasing Competitiveness in SIDS by Building ICT Resilience: An Extension of the Vulnerability Hypothesis Framework , 2008 .

[34]  J. Toland,et al.  ICTs and Tourism in Small Island Developing States: The Case of the Maldives , 2015 .

[35]  Sandra Lowe,et al.  Redesigning Social Inquiry Fuzzy Sets And Beyond , 2016 .

[36]  Carlota Perez,et al.  Technological Revolutions and Financial Capital , 2003 .

[37]  H. Armstrong,et al.  The phantom of liberty?: economic growth and the vulnerability of small states , 2002 .

[38]  Claudius Wagemann,et al.  QCA and business research: Work in progress or a consolidated agenda? , 2016 .