Internet Village Motoman Project in rural Cambodia: bridging the digital divide

Abstract

Purpose Community wireless networking has become a growing trend in both metropolitan and rural areas around the world. However, few studies have sought to understand what motivates people to use community wireless networks and the unintended effects that those technologies have on communities, particularly for rural users. The purpose of this paper is to explore the benefits and usage of an asynchronous wireless internet system in a rural village of Cambodia to examine the issues and challenges in the acceptance of a new technology in a less-developed country. Design/methodology/approach By employing qualitative methods of in-depth case analysis, the authors revealed various usage motivations and unintended effects of the system. Findings The authors identified five reasons that motivated users to use the system: avowed identity, a means to an end, maintaining personal ties, power and influence, and psychological commitment and ownership. The unintended effects of the system included increased number of interactions among actors and other uses of the system, including internet commerce, telemedicine, and e-government. Research limitations/implications This study explores the wireless internet project known as the “Internet Village Motoman Project” that was initiated by a non-governmental organization with funding from private donors, supplemented with matching funds from the Asian Development Bank and the World Bank. Originality/value This study contributes to the academic understanding of rural regions of Cambodia and its evidence supports the current theoretical assumptions that user behaviors are not determined only by users’ decisions alone (as proposed by traditional cognitive IS research), but also by users and their social interactions as stated in the four-dimensional social actor framework proposed by Lamb and Kling (2003). The latter provides better explanation of the motivation for internet use in the region. The theoretical contribution of this study is the useful adoption of the actor-network approach in a non-organizational setting. The findings also contribute to the literature on how practical internet engineering can bridge the digital divide. Fulfilling the needs identified in the research and understanding unintended effects of the system will contribute to the successful implementation of new internet projects in other rural areas.

Prioritising sustainability factors for public-private partnership (PPP)-based mature telecentres using the ‘Akshaya’ project as a case

“…High demonstrability reduces ambiguity and helps the telecentre user give concrete feedback to other community members interested in knowing about the user's experience. Thus, easier observability of results increases the likelihood of telecentres' adoption (Luo & Chea, 2018).…”

Incentives for the Adoption of E-Government by Greek Municipalities

“…Most municipalities do not use search methods, while those that use private sector practices are better placed to understand citizen behavior and to predict their future needs (King, 2007). Citizen participation depends on variables that are linked with beliefs and lifestyles, trust in technology, ease of use and perceived usefulness of e-government applications (Rufin et al, 2012;Seo and Bernsen, 2016) while in particular cases the motivations for use are driven by very different needs (Luo and Chea, 2018).…”

Analysis ofFactors for the Uncorrelated Relationship between the Broadband Internet Initiatives against Broadband Adoption for Rural Areas in Low and Middle-Income Countries: A Case of Tanzania

“…Connecting the unconnected campaigns are focusing mostly in rural areas where the majority of the unconnected population is found [8][9][10]. A few examples from LMICs which have put down some initiatives to enhance connectivity are seen from Tanzania, Cambodia, Bangladesh, and Bolivia to mention but a few [11][12][13][14][15][16]. The efforts are more directed to the rural population of LMICs as there is a strong disparity when it comes to adoption compared to urban; people living in rural are 37% less likely to use the Internet compared to those living in urban areas [6].…”