Research on information systems in developing countries: Current landscape and future prospects

Abstract

The current landscape of the information systems research literature concerned with developing countries is surveyed by examining a range of research articles published from 2000 onward. These are discussed in terms of the key challenges addressed, including the role of technology, and the methodological and theoretical approaches used. Prospects for future research are discussed, based on a conceptual view as to how to study information and communication technologies (ICTs) in developing countries, to classify existing work, identify gaps, and suggest future opportunities. The authors contribute to the important debate on how ICTs in general, and information systems research in particular, can make a positive difference in the developing countries. C 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Electronic Journal of Information Systems in Developing Countries (2000 – 2013): A Bibliometric Study

“…The ICT4D journals (Table 1) identified by Heeks (2010a) Walsham and Sahay (2006) surveyed the landscape of research on information systems in developing countries from 2000 to 2004 by selecting papers from 13 journals and two conference proceedings related to the topic of information systems in developing countries. The journals Information Technology for Development and EJISDC were included in this study.…”

“…INTRODUCTION ICT4D (Information and Communication Technologies for Development), also called Development Informatics or Community Informatics, is a maturing (Walsham and Sahay, 2006) interdisciplinary (Patra et al, 2009), multidisciplinary (Avgerou, 2010) and transdisciplinary (Kroeze and Zyl, 2014) field. Lund and Sutinen (2010) define ICT4D as "the opportunities of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) as an agent of development".…”

“…Lund and Sutinen (2010) define ICT4D as "the opportunities of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) as an agent of development". Information systems, human-computer interaction, communication studies, agriculture, sociology, anthropology, computer science, information science, economics, medicine, engineering, telecommunications, health, education, social work, public management and development studies are just a few of the disciplines contributing to this subject area (Gomez, 2013;Walsham and Sahay, 2006).…”

Linking theoretical perspectives to analyze health information and communication technologies in Brazil

“…Beginning with these activities, scientific literature began to be circulated discussing how ICT contributes to social and economic development, along with factors associated with the success or failure of ICT endeavors in developing countries (Avgerou, 2010;Braa et al, 2007;Braa et al, 2004;Heeks et al, 1999;Walsham and Sahay, 2006). Workshop, Milano, Italy, December 14, 2013 In recent years, these studies have come to question whether ICT are really capable of promoting social and economic development (Avgerou, 2010;Walsham and Sahay, 2006), while demonstrating the importance of considering local contexts (Avgerou, 2010;Braa et al, 2004;Heeks et al, 1999), and featuring a wide range of theoretical and methodological perspectives (Avgerou, 2010;Walsham and Sahay, 2006)). …”

Systematic Mapping Study of Information Technology for Development in Agriculture (The Case of Developing Countries)

“…However, there is a growing consensus among academics and different government bodies: design and implementation of ICTs can benefit the development goals. Walsham (2006) poses two main questions to guide researchers working on ICT and development: "what are the keys issues being studied related to ICTs? And what is the "development" to which ICTs aim to contribute?"…”