ICT4D Research: The Lame Duck of the Brazilian Academy of Management
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Abstract
Objectives: nearly 50% of people in developing countries suffer from extreme poverty. Consequently, a debate has emerged about the potential of ICT to improve socio-economic conditions prevailing in impoverished nations. This discussion has given rise to a burgeoning field of research known as ICT for development (ICT4D). However, most academics in the ICT4D arena do not come from developing countries, nor do they reside in these regions — the main beneficiaries of ICT4D initiatives. This is the case of Brazil, a country characterized by significant socioeconomic disparities, where this field of study has aroused little interest among the scientific community and thus continues to be largely under-researched. Thus, the objective of this paper is to make sense of that phenomenon. Provocations: as most of the ICT4D knowledge base has been generated either by academics who are not originally from developing countries or by academics native to developing countries who currently reside in developed countries, a provocation can be made, namely, considering that ICT4D initiatives can improve the quality of life of people, why haven’t Brazilian scholars prioritized research in this area? Conclusion: as a provocative paper, our main objective is to debate on the aforementioned issue. For this, we should listen to the Brazilian Academy of Management — mainly the academics of the ANPAD’s Information Management division — to address and solve this puzzle, so that ICT4D research in Brazil can be encouraged with a view to causing a real impact on our society.
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Joia, L. A. (2024). ICT4D Research: The Lame Duck of the Brazilian Academy of Management. Journal of Contemporary Administration, 28(1), e230187. https://doi.org/10.1590/1982-7849rac2024230187.en
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References
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Angmo, D., Aithal, R. K., & Jaiswal, A. K. (2023). Reducing market separation through e-commerce: cases of Bottom of the Pyramid (BoP) firms in India. Information Technology for Development, 1-21. https://doi.org/10.1080/02681102.2 023.2285484
Avgerou C. (2003). The Link Between ICT and Economic growth in the discourse of development. In M. Korpela, R. Montealegre, & A. Poulymanakou (Eds.), Organizational information systems in the context of globalization (pp. 373- 386). Kluwer Academic Publishers.
Avgerou, C., Hayes, N., & La Rovere, R. L. (2016). Growth in ICT uptake in developing countries: New users, new uses, new challenges. Journal of Information Technology, 31(4), 329-333. http://dx.doi.org/10.1057/s41265-016-0022-6
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Aziz, T., Khan, M. G. U., Islam, M. T., & Pradhan, M. A. H. (2023). An analysis on the /relationship between ICT, financial development and economic growth: Evidence from Asian developing countries. The Journal of International Trade & Economic Development, 32(5), 705-721. https://doi.org/1 0.1080/09638199.2022.2134912
Bankole Dr, F., & Mimbi, L. (2017). ICT infrastructure and it’s impact on national development: a research direction for Africa. The African Journal of Information Systems, 9(2), 1. https://digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/cgi/viewcontent. cgi?article=1362&context=ajis
Bertero, C. O., Caldas, M. P., & Wood Jr, T. (1999). Produção científica em administração de empresas: provocações, insinuações e contribuições para um debate local. Revista de Administração Contemporânea, 3(1), 147-178. https:// doi.org/10.1590/S1415-65551999000100009
Böhm, S., Carrington, M., Cornelius, N., de Bruin, B., Greenwood, M., Hassan, L., ... & Shaw, D. (2022). Ethics at the centre of global and local challenges: Thoughts on the future of business ethics. Journal of Business Ethics, 180(3), 835- 861. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10551- 022-05239-2
Davison, R. M., & Martinsons, M. G. (2016). Context is king! Considering particularism in research design and reporting. Journal of Information Technology, 31, 241-249. https://doi.org/10.1057/jit.2015.19
Davison, R. M., Ou, C. X., & Martinsons, M. G. (2018). Interpersonal knowledge exchange in China: The impact of guanxi and social media. Information & Management, 55(2), 224-234. https://doi.org/10.1016/j. im.2017.05.008
Diniz, E., Birochi, R., & Pozzebon, M. (2012). Triggers and barriers to financial inclusion: The use of ICT-based branchless banking in an Amazon county. Electronic Commerce Research and Applications, 11(5), 484-494. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.elerap.2011.07.006
Dionisio, M. A. (2022). Analyzing Digital Transformation in Brazilian SMEs. In Handbook of Research on Digital Innovation and Networking in Post-COVID-19 Organizations (pp. 152-163). IGI Global.
Escobar A. (1995). Encountering development: The making and unmaking of the third world. Princeton University Press.
Ferreira, D., & Baidya, T. K. N. (2015). Avaliação de sistemas de informação: Um mapeamento sistemático da produção científica dos últimos dezoito anos. Ciência da Informação, 44(3). https://doi.org/10.18225/ci.inf.v44i3.1946
Grey, C. (2007). Possibilities for critical management education and studies. Scandinavian Journal of Management, 23(4), 463-471. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scaman.2007.08.006
Huang, Q., Davison, R. M., & Gu, J. (2011). The impact of trust, guanxi orientation and face on the intention of Chinese employees and managers to engage in peer‐topeer tacit and explicit knowledge sharing. Information Systems Journal, 21(6), 557-577. https://psycnet.apa.org/ doi/10.1111/j.1365-2575.2010.00361.x
Jia, L., You, S., & Du, Y. (2012). Chinese context and theoretical contributions to management and organization research: A three-decade review. Management and Organization Review, 8(1), 173-209. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1740- 8784.2011.00282.x
Jimenez, A., Abbott, P., & Dasuki, S. (2022). In-betweenness in ICT4D research: Critically examining the role of the researcher. European Journal of Information Systems, 31(1), 25-39. https://doi.org/10.1080/096008 5X.2021.1978340
Joia, L. A., Davison, R., Díaz Andrade, A., Urquhart, C., & Kah, M. (2011). Self-marginalized or uninvited? The absence of indigenous researchers in the arena of globalized ICT4D research. In C. Beath, M. D. Myers, & K. K. Wei (Chairs), Proceedings of the Thirty Second International Conference on Information Systems (ICIS), Shanghai. http://aisel.aisnet.org/icis2011/proceedings/panels/8/
Joia, L. A., Davison, R. M., Andrade, A. D., & Urquhart, C. (2012). Where are the indigenous ICT for development researchers: Marginalised or uninvited? ACM Inroads, 3(4), 94-97. https://repositorio.fgv.br/items/cd20969b- 7612-4095-a24f-68924e54edba
Joia, L. A., & Santos, R. P. (2019). ICT‐equipped bank boat and the financial inclusion of the riverine population of Marajó Island in the Brazilian Amazon. Information Systems Journal, 29(4), 842-887. https://doi.org/10.1111/ isj.12200
Joia, L. A., & Giarelli, S. (2023). Criminal factions and ICTMediated financial inclusion in Brazilian favelas: The role of context. Information Technology for Development, 29(4), 607-644. https://doi.org/10.1080/02681102.202 3.2215718
Kleine, D. (2009). ICT4WHAT?-Using the choice framework to operationalise the capability approach to development. In 2009 International Conference on Information and Communication Technologies and Development (ICTD) (pp. 108-117). IEEE. Lee, A. S. (2010). Retrospect and prospect: Information systems in the last and next twenty-five years. Journal of Information Technology, 25(4), 336-348. https://doi.org/10.1057/ jit.2010.24
Nga Ndjobo, P. M., & Ngah Otabela, N. (2023). Can income inequality be affected by the interaction between ICTs and human capital?: The evidence from developing countries. Journal of Quantitative Economics, 21(1), 235-264. https://doi.org/10.1007%2Fs40953-022-00336-5
Niebel, T. (2018). ICT and economic growth–Comparing developing, emerging and developed countries. World Development, 104, 197-211. https://doi.org/10.1016/j. worlddev.2017.11.024
Palvia, P., Baqir, N., & Nemati, H. (2018). ICT for socio-economic development: A citizens’ perspective. Information & Management, 55(2), 160-176. https://doi.org/10.1016/j. im.2017.05.003
Prados de la Escosura, L. (2022). Human development and the path to freedom. Cambridge Books.
Patrus, R., & Lima, M. C. (2014). A formação de professores e de pesquisadores em Administração: contradições e alternativas. Revista Economia & Gestão, 14(34), 4-29. https://doi.org/10.5752/P.1984-6606.2014v14n34p4
Prahalad, C. K. (2004). The fortune at the bottom of the pyramid: Eradicating poverty through profits. Wharton School Publishing.
Rodrigues, J., Filho, & Ludmer, G. (2005). Sistema de informação: Que ciência é essa? JISTEM-Journal of Information Systems and Technology Management, 2, 151-166. https://doi. org/10.4301/S1807-17752005000200004
Schelenz, L., & Pawelec, M. (2022). Information and communication technologies for development (ICT4D) critique. Information Technology for Development, 28(1), 165-188. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02681102.2021.19 37473
Sen, A. (1999). Development as freedom. Oxford University Press.
Souza, E. G. (2011). The information society and the restructuring of production: a critique of the utilitarian dimension of knowledge. Transinformação, 23(3). https://www. scielo.br/j/tinf/a/k784btHyzYSMr5Y5L8gLcSy/abstract/?lang=en
Stahl, B. C. (2006). Emancipation in cross-cultural IS Research: The fine line between relativism and dictatorship of the intellectual. Ethics and Information Technology, 8, 97-108. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10676-006-9118-y
Tavares, A. P. S., Joia, L. A., & Fornazin, M. (2023). ICT initiatives for vulnerable groups in Brazil: Intended and unintended consequences during the COVID-19 pandemic. Information Technology for Development. https://www. tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02681102.2023.2244 459
Tingling, P., & Parent, M. (2002). Mimetic isomorphism and technology evaluation: Does imitation transcend judgment? Journal of the Association for Information Systems, 3(1), 5. https://doi.org/10.17705/1jais.00025
Tsui, A. S. (2006). Contextualisation in Chinese management research. Management and Organization Review, 2(1), 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1740-8784.2006.00033.x
Unwin, P. T. H., & Unwin, T. (2017). Reclaiming information and communication technologies for development. Oxford University Press.
Van Agtmael, A. (2012). Think again: The BRICS. Foreign Policy, (196), 76. https://foreignpolicy.com/2012/10/08/thinkagain- the-brics/
Walsham G., Robey D., & Sahay, S. (2007). Foreword: Special issue on information systems in developing CoTuntries. MIS Quarterly, 31(2), 317-326. http://dx.doi. org/10.2307/25148793
Young, J. C. (2019). The new knowledge politics of digital colonialism. Environment and Planning A: Economy and Space, 51(7), 1424-1441. http://dx.doi. org/10.1177/0308518X19858998
Andoh-Baidoo, F. K. (2017). Context-specific theorizing in ICT4D research. Information Technology for Development, 23(2), 195-211. https://doi.org/10.1080/02681102.2017.1356 036
Anderson, J. (2006). A structured approach for bringing mobile telecommunications to the world's poor. Electronic Journal of Information Systems in Developing Countries, 27(1), 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.1681-4835.2006. tb00179.x
Andersson, A., Grönlund, Å., & Wicander, G. (2012). Development as freedom–how the capability approach can be used in ICT4D research and practice. Information Technology for Development, 18(1), 1-4. https://doi.org/10.1080/02681 102.2011.632076
Angmo, D., Aithal, R. K., & Jaiswal, A. K. (2023). Reducing market separation through e-commerce: cases of Bottom of the Pyramid (BoP) firms in India. Information Technology for Development, 1-21. https://doi.org/10.1080/02681102.2 023.2285484
Avgerou C. (2003). The Link Between ICT and Economic growth in the discourse of development. In M. Korpela, R. Montealegre, & A. Poulymanakou (Eds.), Organizational information systems in the context of globalization (pp. 373- 386). Kluwer Academic Publishers.
Avgerou, C., Hayes, N., & La Rovere, R. L. (2016). Growth in ICT uptake in developing countries: New users, new uses, new challenges. Journal of Information Technology, 31(4), 329-333. http://dx.doi.org/10.1057/s41265-016-0022-6
Avgerou C., & Walsham G. (2000). Information technology in context: Implementing systems in the developing world. Ashgate Publishing.
Aziz, T., Khan, M. G. U., Islam, M. T., & Pradhan, M. A. H. (2023). An analysis on the /relationship between ICT, financial development and economic growth: Evidence from Asian developing countries. The Journal of International Trade & Economic Development, 32(5), 705-721. https://doi.org/1 0.1080/09638199.2022.2134912
Bankole Dr, F., & Mimbi, L. (2017). ICT infrastructure and it’s impact on national development: a research direction for Africa. The African Journal of Information Systems, 9(2), 1. https://digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/cgi/viewcontent. cgi?article=1362&context=ajis
Bertero, C. O., Caldas, M. P., & Wood Jr, T. (1999). Produção científica em administração de empresas: provocações, insinuações e contribuições para um debate local. Revista de Administração Contemporânea, 3(1), 147-178. https:// doi.org/10.1590/S1415-65551999000100009
Böhm, S., Carrington, M., Cornelius, N., de Bruin, B., Greenwood, M., Hassan, L., ... & Shaw, D. (2022). Ethics at the centre of global and local challenges: Thoughts on the future of business ethics. Journal of Business Ethics, 180(3), 835- 861. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10551- 022-05239-2
Davison, R. M., & Martinsons, M. G. (2016). Context is king! Considering particularism in research design and reporting. Journal of Information Technology, 31, 241-249. https://doi.org/10.1057/jit.2015.19
Davison, R. M., Ou, C. X., & Martinsons, M. G. (2018). Interpersonal knowledge exchange in China: The impact of guanxi and social media. Information & Management, 55(2), 224-234. https://doi.org/10.1016/j. im.2017.05.008
Diniz, E., Birochi, R., & Pozzebon, M. (2012). Triggers and barriers to financial inclusion: The use of ICT-based branchless banking in an Amazon county. Electronic Commerce Research and Applications, 11(5), 484-494. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.elerap.2011.07.006
Dionisio, M. A. (2022). Analyzing Digital Transformation in Brazilian SMEs. In Handbook of Research on Digital Innovation and Networking in Post-COVID-19 Organizations (pp. 152-163). IGI Global.
Escobar A. (1995). Encountering development: The making and unmaking of the third world. Princeton University Press.
Ferreira, D., & Baidya, T. K. N. (2015). Avaliação de sistemas de informação: Um mapeamento sistemático da produção científica dos últimos dezoito anos. Ciência da Informação, 44(3). https://doi.org/10.18225/ci.inf.v44i3.1946
Grey, C. (2007). Possibilities for critical management education and studies. Scandinavian Journal of Management, 23(4), 463-471. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scaman.2007.08.006
Huang, Q., Davison, R. M., & Gu, J. (2011). The impact of trust, guanxi orientation and face on the intention of Chinese employees and managers to engage in peer‐topeer tacit and explicit knowledge sharing. Information Systems Journal, 21(6), 557-577. https://psycnet.apa.org/ doi/10.1111/j.1365-2575.2010.00361.x
Jia, L., You, S., & Du, Y. (2012). Chinese context and theoretical contributions to management and organization research: A three-decade review. Management and Organization Review, 8(1), 173-209. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1740- 8784.2011.00282.x
Jimenez, A., Abbott, P., & Dasuki, S. (2022). In-betweenness in ICT4D research: Critically examining the role of the researcher. European Journal of Information Systems, 31(1), 25-39. https://doi.org/10.1080/096008 5X.2021.1978340
Joia, L. A., Davison, R., Díaz Andrade, A., Urquhart, C., & Kah, M. (2011). Self-marginalized or uninvited? The absence of indigenous researchers in the arena of globalized ICT4D research. In C. Beath, M. D. Myers, & K. K. Wei (Chairs), Proceedings of the Thirty Second International Conference on Information Systems (ICIS), Shanghai. http://aisel.aisnet.org/icis2011/proceedings/panels/8/
Joia, L. A., Davison, R. M., Andrade, A. D., & Urquhart, C. (2012). Where are the indigenous ICT for development researchers: Marginalised or uninvited? ACM Inroads, 3(4), 94-97. https://repositorio.fgv.br/items/cd20969b- 7612-4095-a24f-68924e54edba
Joia, L. A., & Santos, R. P. (2019). ICT‐equipped bank boat and the financial inclusion of the riverine population of Marajó Island in the Brazilian Amazon. Information Systems Journal, 29(4), 842-887. https://doi.org/10.1111/ isj.12200
Joia, L. A., & Giarelli, S. (2023). Criminal factions and ICTMediated financial inclusion in Brazilian favelas: The role of context. Information Technology for Development, 29(4), 607-644. https://doi.org/10.1080/02681102.202 3.2215718
Kleine, D. (2009). ICT4WHAT?-Using the choice framework to operationalise the capability approach to development. In 2009 International Conference on Information and Communication Technologies and Development (ICTD) (pp. 108-117). IEEE. Lee, A. S. (2010). Retrospect and prospect: Information systems in the last and next twenty-five years. Journal of Information Technology, 25(4), 336-348. https://doi.org/10.1057/ jit.2010.24
Nga Ndjobo, P. M., & Ngah Otabela, N. (2023). Can income inequality be affected by the interaction between ICTs and human capital?: The evidence from developing countries. Journal of Quantitative Economics, 21(1), 235-264. https://doi.org/10.1007%2Fs40953-022-00336-5
Niebel, T. (2018). ICT and economic growth–Comparing developing, emerging and developed countries. World Development, 104, 197-211. https://doi.org/10.1016/j. worlddev.2017.11.024
Palvia, P., Baqir, N., & Nemati, H. (2018). ICT for socio-economic development: A citizens’ perspective. Information & Management, 55(2), 160-176. https://doi.org/10.1016/j. im.2017.05.003
Prados de la Escosura, L. (2022). Human development and the path to freedom. Cambridge Books.
Patrus, R., & Lima, M. C. (2014). A formação de professores e de pesquisadores em Administração: contradições e alternativas. Revista Economia & Gestão, 14(34), 4-29. https://doi.org/10.5752/P.1984-6606.2014v14n34p4
Prahalad, C. K. (2004). The fortune at the bottom of the pyramid: Eradicating poverty through profits. Wharton School Publishing.
Rodrigues, J., Filho, & Ludmer, G. (2005). Sistema de informação: Que ciência é essa? JISTEM-Journal of Information Systems and Technology Management, 2, 151-166. https://doi. org/10.4301/S1807-17752005000200004
Schelenz, L., & Pawelec, M. (2022). Information and communication technologies for development (ICT4D) critique. Information Technology for Development, 28(1), 165-188. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02681102.2021.19 37473
Sen, A. (1999). Development as freedom. Oxford University Press.
Souza, E. G. (2011). The information society and the restructuring of production: a critique of the utilitarian dimension of knowledge. Transinformação, 23(3). https://www. scielo.br/j/tinf/a/k784btHyzYSMr5Y5L8gLcSy/abstract/?lang=en
Stahl, B. C. (2006). Emancipation in cross-cultural IS Research: The fine line between relativism and dictatorship of the intellectual. Ethics and Information Technology, 8, 97-108. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10676-006-9118-y
Tavares, A. P. S., Joia, L. A., & Fornazin, M. (2023). ICT initiatives for vulnerable groups in Brazil: Intended and unintended consequences during the COVID-19 pandemic. Information Technology for Development. https://www. tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02681102.2023.2244 459
Tingling, P., & Parent, M. (2002). Mimetic isomorphism and technology evaluation: Does imitation transcend judgment? Journal of the Association for Information Systems, 3(1), 5. https://doi.org/10.17705/1jais.00025
Tsui, A. S. (2006). Contextualisation in Chinese management research. Management and Organization Review, 2(1), 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1740-8784.2006.00033.x
Unwin, P. T. H., & Unwin, T. (2017). Reclaiming information and communication technologies for development. Oxford University Press.
Van Agtmael, A. (2012). Think again: The BRICS. Foreign Policy, (196), 76. https://foreignpolicy.com/2012/10/08/thinkagain- the-brics/
Walsham G., Robey D., & Sahay, S. (2007). Foreword: Special issue on information systems in developing CoTuntries. MIS Quarterly, 31(2), 317-326. http://dx.doi. org/10.2307/25148793
Young, J. C. (2019). The new knowledge politics of digital colonialism. Environment and Planning A: Economy and Space, 51(7), 1424-1441. http://dx.doi. org/10.1177/0308518X19858998