The Use of Technological Innovations in Promoting Effective Humanitarian Aid - A Systematic Review of the Literature

The number and scale of natural and man-made disasters is increasing at an unprecedented rate, leading to devastating consequences for citizens, governments and entire economies. In response, Humanitarian Supply Chains (HSC) are used as a means of reducing suffering and saving lives. HSCs manage and deliver aid to those in need after a disaster strikes and exist only for the period of the relief operation. With reduced budgets there is an impetus to investigate technological innovations that offer increased efficiencies and reduced costs. One such innovation is information and communications technology (ICT); currently under-utilized by HSCs. This paper investigates the benefits, barriers and enablers of increased ICT adoption in HSCs and offers solutions most suited to their needs. The study develops a matrix that identifies the enablers and barriers of implementing innovative ICT and highlights associated managerial implications and suggested areas for future research.

Examining the Adoption of ICTs for Weather Monitoring and Climate Change Adaptation in Uganda

Information communication technologies can only be beneficial to developing countries struggling to build adaptation capacity if technology adoption frameworks are tailored to suit their specific characteristics. The lack of timely, accurate, and reliable weather data and the increasing rate at which climate-related disasters are destroying lives and property in Uganda is evident of lack of good weather forecasts. The study set out to investigate the factors affecting ICT adoption and determine the technologies being used to respond to climate change effects. Specifically, the study set out the extent of use and the factors hindering or guiding ICT adoption. Factors hindering ICT adoption ranging from poor infrastructure to limited government support were established. The strategies that can be used to resolve challenges of ICT adoption, the major stakeholders, their responsibilities and how ICT adoption and utilisation can be enhanced to benefit other sectors of the economy is presented.

Cluster Analysis of Regional Competitiveness in the European Union and the Role of ICT

This article represents an empirical research on the competitiveness of the European Union Member Countries. The main objective is to analyze the level of competitiveness of these countries, focusing on the situation of the new non-Eurozone member countries. At the same time, we want to identify the main measures to stimulate competitiveness. The research methodology we applied is based on critical comparative analysis, statistical data and econometric analysis. The results showed that there are large gaps in competitiveness between the new EU Member Countries that are not part of the Eurozone and the EU-28 average, and even larger compared to the performers Netherlands and Germany, gaps that in the current conditions will be very difficult to be reduced. Research has also shown that ICT adoption do not have a significant impact on the competitiveness indicator, and the main factors influencing this indicator are innovation capability, financial system, institutions, business dynamism, product market and skills. Thus, we believe that for a sustainable growth of competitiveness and for meeting the economic objectives, developing countries must adopt concrete measures to develop these fundamental pillars of competitiveness.

GLOBALIZATION, INFORMATION COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES AND ECONOMIC GROWTH IN NIGERIA

To achieve a meaningful pace of economic growth, most developing countries throughout the world embark on various policy reforms, and one of the policy reforms adopted in Nigeria was globalization and trade liberalization. While such policies have not provided the desired effects due to their linkage effect, the adoption and implementation of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) to supplement government efforts in these economies has brought considerable results. However, this technical advancement is expected to have a rapid impact on Nigeria's economic development. The policy on ICT adoption began shortly after the civilian regime took control in the year 2000. The country's licensed telecommunication service providers have had some noticeable macroeconomic effects, such as job creation and the expansion of the scope of small and medium businesses, faster service delivery, lower transportation costs, increased security, and higher national output, as well as an increase in teledensity of both fixed and mobile lines. The model's findings revealed that current telecommunications investment had no effect on GDP growth, but that investments made in the preceding two years had a considerable impact on current GDP, even though government spending slowed growth. A similar discovery was made about computer usage and how it influences investment decisions in Nigeria's telecommunications sector.

ICT Adoption and Stock Market Development in Africa: An Application of the Panel ARDL Bounds Testing Procedure

The nexus between Information Communication Technology (ICT) and stock market development has been predominantly based on studies of the developed markets and high-income economies of the world. The objective of this study was to examine the causal relationship between ICT adoption and stock market development in Africa. The study examined a panel of 11 African stock exchanges for the period 2008–2017 and employed the panel ARDL bounds testing procedure to test for cointegration and examine the causal relationship between ICT adoption and stock market development. The dependent variable employed was the stock market development index (FINDEX), while the independent variable was the ICT adoption index (ICTDEX), and the financial freedom index (FFI) was employed as a control variable. Firstly, the results of the study documented that the variables are cointegrated in the long term. Secondly, the results of the study documented a bi-directional causal relationship (complementarity) between ICT adoption and stock market development. In essence, ICT adoption and stock market development reinforce each other. Thirdly, the study established a causal relationship running from financial freedom to stock market development. This lends credence to the notion that financial market deregulation promotes stock market development. Lastly, a positive causal relationship that ran from financial freedom to stock market development was documented. This study contributes to the body of knowledge in the sense that it is the first study to examine the phenomenon of the ICT–stock market development nexus by employing a panel study. Hitherto, studies were mainly country-specific in nature. The findings of the research imply that policymakers should be more resolute when formulating ICT policies, as ICT adoption can drive stock market development and vice versa for better economic growth. Policymakers should embrace policies that support the deregulation of stock markets as this will lead to the development of the latter.

Transforming the scope of the bank through fintechs: toward a modularized network governance

PurposeThe aim of this paper is to develop a theoretical framework of the transformation of the bank's scope driven by fintechs.Design/methodology/approachThe conceptual foundations for a comprehensive transformation of the bank governance through financial technologies (fintechs) are underexplored. In order to develop such foundations, the authors adopt transaction cost economics (TCE), the concepts of external enablers and a modular organizational design, as well as a systematic literature review.FindingsThe results point to three scenarios of the banks' scope, depending on the adopted technological mechanisms and related effects that change the characteristics of organizational activities, justifying new bank boundaries. The most advanced application of fintechs results in a modularized network scenario leading to the emergence of financial ecosystems.Research limitations/implicationsThe proposed micro-perspective of decisional rules in an individual organization is unique in the current literature that predominantly focuses on the banking sector at large. The identified scenarios are valuable for solid theoretical and empirical grounding and can be further exploited in decision simulations and empirical studies.Practical implicationsThe proposed theoretical framework points to the rationales and consequences of adopted technologies for the boundaries of a bank organization.Originality/valueThis paper provides three contributions to the literature on technology-driven transformations of organizations with a focus on banks. First, the authors elaborate a theoretical framework for establishing the bank's boundaries in response to the expansion of financial technologies. Second, the authors add to the knowledge accumulation in the area of organizational transformations based on the ICT adoption, in particular, to the literature on the modular organizational design. Third, the authors contribute to the decision-maker practice by proposing the alternative options of banks' scope transformed through fintechs.

Measurement Validation of Factors Influence SME Business Performance in Malaysia

Organizations are increasingly under pressure to shift their production methods from traditional to sustainable, reinforcing the requirement to monitor their sustainability performance. The slow performance growth of Malaysian manufacturing companies remains a concern. The goal of this research is to highlighted the measurement used in the Malaysian SME context. Data were collected using survey method. A survey method was employed to collect a total of 1,071 responses in SME firms using proportional stratified sample technique. Using statistical packages for the social sciences (SPSS) version 27, this research focused on data validity and reliability. Findings of factor analysis confirmed 3 factors for the ICT adoption variable, were formed while 1 factor for the innovation variable, 4 factors for the competitiveness variable and 1 factor for the business performance. Only 2 items were dropped due to the weak loadings. Meanwhile the reliability analysis also indicates all the constructs and dimensions achieve good reliability value at more than 0.8. This research demonstrates the measurement validity and reliability of the research variables were inconsistent due to culture setting. This research highlighted the measurement used in the Malaysian SME context. The findings of this research withdraw a conclusion that the validity and reliability of item and construct of this research is proficient and consistent with the previous studies.