Debas Senshaw and Hossana Twinomurinzi
This paper aims to identify the dynamic capabilities of government organisations in Woredas of Ethiopia that digitally innovate on the existing government digital platform, the…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to identify the dynamic capabilities of government organisations in Woredas of Ethiopia that digitally innovate on the existing government digital platform, the WoredaNet.
Design/methodology/approach
The study adopted a qualitative interpretive case study strategy using three government administrative regions in Ethiopia (called Woredas), which digitally innovate using the government digital platform, the WoredaNet. A structured interview protocol was implemented for data collection. In total, 5 respondents representing users, information and communication technology (ICT) staff and management were selected from each of the Woredas (districts), yielding a total of 15 respondents.
Findings
Drawing from the dynamic capabilities literature, the findings reveal that the digital platform governance model plays the strongest role in digital government innovation. Specifically, the Woredas exhibit highly developed adaptive capabilities through learning from the affordances offered by the digital platform. Also, despite the collaborative nature of their absorptive capabilities, there are no clear organisational structures to manifest these capabilities (integrating new learnings). The innovative capabilities (creating digital government products or service innovations) are constrained by the governance model, which is centralised in one ICT unit.
Research limitations/implications
The research is limited to one of the Regional States of Ethiopia. Further studies would be needed to consider other regional states and more Woredas.
Practical implications
The research provides a means through which dynamic capabilities can improve digital innovation on government digital platforms, despite the scarcity of resources, especially in low-income countries.
Originality/value
The paper contributes to digital government and dynamic capability literature in revealing how digital innovations in government agencies might be organisationally enhanced through distributed digital platform governance models.
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Tendani Mawela, Hossana Twinomurinzi and Nixon Muganda Ochara
This paper aims to understand the conceptualisation of the notion of transformational government that is emerging within the electronic government domain. It reviewed how…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to understand the conceptualisation of the notion of transformational government that is emerging within the electronic government domain. It reviewed how transformational government is manifest in the policy and strategic commitments of government departments in South Africa. The study focused on understanding the role of public sector planning towards the attainment of transformational government.
Design/methodology/approach
The study is interpretive and qualitative in nature. It provides the outcomes of a deductive thematic analysis conducted on strategic documents of government departments to explore their alignment and support for transformational government.
Findings
The paper argues for the need for public sector planning that is focused on citizen benefit realisation. The results highlight the significance of strategic plans for developmental transformation. However, the planning instruments were found to have an inconsistent orientation towards transformational government.
Originality/value
The study is significant in light of the implications of public policy and the associated strategic plans for citizens. This paper also contributes to research on the nascent area of transformational government.
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Chinedu Wilfred Okonkwo, Lateef Babatunde Amusa, Hossana Twinomurinzi and Samuel Fosso Wamba
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic altered business and personal activities globally especially stimulating contactless financial transactions. However, despite the…
Abstract
Purpose
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic altered business and personal activities globally especially stimulating contactless financial transactions. However, despite the similar national lockdowns in cash-based economies, the adoption of contactless transactions through the widely available mechanism, mobile wallets, remained low. This research aimed to identify the factors surrounding this peculiarity.
Design/methodology/approach
The study was investigated using a composite model based on the diffusion of innovation theory (DIT), technology acceptance model (TAM) and information systems success model (ISSM). Data were collected from 621 Cameroonian mobile wallet users and analyzed using partial least squares structural equation (PLS-SEM) modeling.
Findings
The key findings revealed that the usage of mobile wallets, in the current form, were not affected by the perceived ease of use and did not match the existing lifestyle of users in Cameroon (no compatibility). The branding of mobile wallets (image) which was based on global messaging did not appeal to Cameroonians; in fact, the branding gave mobile wallets a negative image.
Originality/value
These key findings reveal the dangers of assuming that global strategies which have been effective in dealing with the pandemic will be effective in low-income or cash-based economies. The findings suggest that considering essential contextual dispositions is critical.
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Tendani Mawela, Nixon Muganda Ochara and Hossana Twinomurinzi
The purpose of this paper is to trace the trajectory of the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project, an electronic tolling (e-tolling) programme based in South Africa, to argue for…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to trace the trajectory of the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project, an electronic tolling (e-tolling) programme based in South Africa, to argue for the importance of taking advantage of similar public project opportunities to introduce the concept of Transformational Government (t-government).
Design/methodology/approach
The research uses an interpretive perspective and utilizes actor–network theory (ANT) to identify the roles and interests of the various stakeholders within the project and assess how each stakeholder could have better influenced the project’s sustainability using a t-government approach.
Findings
The findings suggest that in the midst of waning global actor interest, and strong local displeasure about specific public projects, public participation offers an ideal opportunity to introduce the notion of t-government, the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) to transform government for citizen benefits. The research allowed the authors to posit that public participation projects are solid and indispensable avenues for introducing t-government. Part of this claim is hinged on the view that the specific e-toll project carries a visible ICT artefact, which has embodied its own patterns of use characterized by various viewpoints, values, opinions and rhetoric.
Practical implications
The paper elevates the importance of t-government as a means to bring about practical transformation in government using public projects. The paper suggests how governments can use public participatory approaches to assimilate a new way of working in government.
Originality/value
This paper contributes to research on the emerging discourse on t-government. The paper also highlights the utility of ANT as a tool for understanding the dynamic public sector ICT programmes, their associated complexities and unintended consequences.