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Though many studies in the past dealt with the survival and growth of enterprises both in the local- and export-markets, less attention was given to the analysis of the duration of enterprises entry into the export-markets. The aim of this paper is, therefore, to analyze the duration of Ethiopian enterprises entry into the export-markets.

This paper used data collected from 848 enterprises through a cross-sectional survey method conducted by the World Bank in 2015. In order to estimate the average duration – the time that enterprises need to wait before entering into the export-markets and the associated factors – the authors used the mixture of non-parametric (Kaplan-Meier) and parametric (Weibull) models.

The non-parametric results show that enterprises are required to wait for an average of about eight years before entering into the export-markets after their establishment. In addition, foreign-owned enterprises were found to be faster in entering into the export-markets than their domestically owned counterparts. The parametric results revealed that enterprises’ product innovation, enterprises’ size and age, and custom and trade regulations are factors that curtail the durations of enterprises entry into the export-markets. On the other hand, enterprises’ operational costs, the size of enterprises’ locality, and enterprises’ location are factors that slow the durations of enterprises’ entry into the export-markets.

This study is the first to offer pioneering evidences on the duration (time in years) that Ethiopian enterprises need to wait before entering into the export-markets and the factors that affect the length of their waiting time.

This study aims to examine the effect of climate variability on smallholders’ crop income and the determinants of indigenous adaptation strategies in three districts (Mieso, Goba-koricha and Doba) of West Hararghe Zone of Ethiopia. These three districts are located in high-moisture-stress areas because of crop season rainfall variability.

Primary data collected from 400 sample households were used for identifying factors that affect households’ crop income. The study used ordinary least square (OLS) regression to examine the effect of climate variability. Given this, binary logit model was used to assess smallholders’ adaptation behavior. Finally, the study used multinomial logistic regression to identify determinants of smallholders’ indigenous adaptation strategies.

The OLS regression result shows that variability in rainfall during the cropping season has a significant and negative effect, and cropland and livestock level have a positive effect on farmers’ crop income. The multinomial logistic regression result reveals that households adopt hybrid crops (maize and sorghum) and dry-sowing adaptation strategies if there is shortage during the cropping season. Variability in rainfall at the time of sowing and the growing are main factors in the area’s crop production. Cropland increment has positive and significant effect on employing each adaptation strategy. The probability of adopting techniques such as water harvesting, hybrid seeds and dry sowing significantly reduces if a household has a large livestock.

The three districts are remote and accessibility is difficult without due support from institutions. Thus, this study was conducted on the basis of the primary data collected by the researchers after securing grant from Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA).

Information technology (IT) personnels’ technical, business and behavioral skills are critical enablers for generating IT value. In an increasingly digitalized working environment where non-IT employees participate in digital innovations, a focus on IT personnels’ skills only doesn’t meet researchers’ need for a framework to study digital skills and managers’ need to address digital skills challenges across an enterprise’s workforce. Nevertheless, the digital skills topic is complicated by conceptual ambiguity and a lack of theoretically derived and empirically validated model. The purpose of this study is to address this problem.

Theoretically, this study draws on human capital (HC) and resource-based view (RBV) theories. Empirically, it follows mixed method combining interviews and a survey.

The digital skills construct is a multidimensional second order reflective construct. While its development is influenced by an organization’s commitment and exposure to digitalization, it influences the value organizations obtain from digitalization.

This study conceptualizes the digital skills construct, identifying technology agnostic subdimensions that are meaningful beyond a particular digital domain [information and communication technology (ICT), information, Internet, Inter of Things (IoT)] and establishing a valid measure. Other researchers can improve both the indicators of the existing four conceptually distinct and managerially recognizable workplace digital skills dimensions as well as testing new ones.

Managers can use the instrument to assess the extent to which their non-IT workforces are equipped with digital skills and get strategic insights for specific interventions such as upskilling or buying in skills.

The main theoretical contribution of the paper is the conceptualization and validation of the digital skills construct for the non-IT workforce. Furthermore, we provide a theoretical framework to explain the factors that could influence the development of digital skills and demonstrate the impact that digital skills have on selected digitalization value indicators. This contribution provides the foundation for investigating the drivers, outcomes and the relationship of digital skills to other constructs such as digital transformation, innovation and firm performance.

Mobility as a service (MaaS) is a new model of bundling personal transport options from multiple providers to provide frictionless service. The model integrates information and service to enable users to search, book and pay through a single digital platform. The aim of MaaS is to minimize individual car ownership and revolutionize personal mobility habits in favour of sustainable modes. Thus, it is important to understand consumers' readiness for MaaS. This study explains the factors that influence MaaS adoption.

A comprehensive review of the related literature has been conducted, leading to the development of a conceptual model for investigating the key factors that influence MaaS adoption. The model draws upon the digital platform, schema congruity and planned behaviour theories. The model is then tested using structural equation modelling and survey data collected from 331 respondents.

The findings indicate that MaaS information schema congruity, the digital platform's personalizability, customizability, functional integration, network integration and governance of data together with attitude towards MaaS and subjective norm concerning MaaS influence MaaS adoption. Furthermore, MaaS digital platform expectation and MaaS information schema congruity contribute to users' attitude towards MaaS use.

The paper highlights the design and informational attributes of MaaS platforms that influence their adoption and contributes an integrated research model that links digital platform characteristics, behavioural factors and information schema congruity. Future research can use the constructs and measures we developed in this study to build deeper understanding of what contributes to the success of digital platforms.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the beliefs and attitudinal factors that affect the private sphere pro-environmental behavior of information technology (IT) professionals in using personal computers.

A research framework that draws from the belief-action-outcome (BAO) framework and that consisted of 11 hypotheses was developed. Data were collected from a sample of 322 IT professionals and analyzed using structural equation modeling.

The results identify the pro-environmental personal computing actions that IT professionals are taking and how their Green IT beliefs, attitudes, information acquisition capability, and organizational fields influence their behavior.

The sample was limited to Australian respondents. The measurement of IT-specific environmental practices was not exhaustive nor were the measures of macro- and micro-antecedents of Green IT belief and attitude.

National, regional, and international professional associations such as the Association of Information Systems can influence pro-environmental behavior among IT professionals through the creation and dissemination of information that shape both general and IT-specific environmental beliefs.

The novelty of this work lies in: first, proposing and testing a research framework that can be leveraged in future studies; second, establishing how organizational fields and availability of information contribute to the formation of IT professionals’ environmental beliefs and attitudes; third, applying and suggesting potential extension to the BAO framework to evaluate the association between IT practices and environmental sustainability among IT professionals.

E‐commerce is diffusing into developing countries (DCs), and is assumed to help deliver the international development agenda. But how can the connection between e‐commerce and socio‐economic development be conceptualised? The aim of this paper is to analyse that connection by drawing from the development studies discipline to take a broader perspective on e‐commerce than that so far provided by firm‐level research.

The authors adopt a literature survey approach, drawing their conceptual foundations from development studies, and supplementing this from the e‐commerce literature.

The paper develops a new, integrated model that explains the way in which e‐commerce can contribute to socio‐economic development.

This new model can help provide a foundation for future research on e‐commerce in DCs; research on e‐commerce policy as well as impact assessment research.

The discussion and model provide development agencies, governments, consultants and business people working in DCs with a clearer sense of the contribution e‐commerce can make; assisting them in prioritization, planning, and evaluation of e‐commerce projects.

The paper provides the first integrated perspective on the broader contribution of e‐commerce to the growth and development of DCs.

The purpose of this paper is to explore what information systems are used within the data center industry and to develop a data center information systems classification framework for facilitating the investigation of the dimensions, operational characteristics, and value attributes of the data center information systems.

A preliminary data center information systems classification framework is proposed based on a comprehensive review of existing information systems research. A case study of five data centers in Australia and a review of the practitioner literature in data centers are conducted. An open coding method is adopted for facilitating the analysis of the data using existing content analysis techniques.

In total, 19 different types of data center information systems are identified in data centers. These information systems are being used for managing the information technology and the facility infrastructure in the data center and for improving the agility, the operational and cost performance, as well as the environmental footprint of individual data centers.

The paper builds a data center information systems classification framework to examine the role, portfolio, managerial function, and utilization of data center information systems. Such a classification would provide a foundation for further investigating the adoption of various information systems in data centers towards the continuous pursuit of sustainability development from different perspectives.

The paper provides data center managers with recent trends and issues regarding the adoption of information systems in data centers to manage their operations. It offers data center management a valuable means for exploring innovative ways of effectively adopting various technologies to improve their performance.

Given that there is limited research on what and how information systems are used in data centers, the paper can be viewed as one of the few data center information systems investigations that provide a good comprehension of what information systems are used and what the value drivers are with respect to the use of information systems in data centers.

The purpose of this paper is to define the skills, systems, and technologies developed post‐business process reengineering (BPR), which the authors refer to as BPR Complementary Competences (BPRCC), and develop and validate a model to evaluate the BPRCC of public sector organizations in developing economies.

The paper, drawing from the complementary competence perspective of the resource‐based view, defines the BPRCC as a higher order construct composed of the BPR complementary transformational competences (BPRCTC) and managerial competences (BPRCMC). Based on Lewis et al.'s methodology of instrument development, an instrument is developed using survey data of 209 public sector organizations.

The finding produces a 13 item measurement model. Further, it shows that the BPRCTC is composed of three competencies, namely, BPR‐IS alignment, continuous process improvement and integration and information system delivery competences.

Researchers can use the model and instrument as part of a nomological‐net of factors to explain the impact of BPR on public sector organizational performance. BPR practitioners can also use the instrument to identify and nurture those competences that are critical to enhance BPR's value.

The development of the BPRCC model and its accompanying measurement instrument for the public sector context of a developing economy represents an original contribution.

Achieving optimal nutrition among mothers and children is still a challenge in many developing country settings, including Ethiopia. Study on dietary diversity concordance of mother-to-child dyads is limited. Hence, this study aims to assess dietary diversity concordance among mother-to-child pairs and its associated factors in Gedeo zone, Southern Ethiopia.

A community-based cross-sectional study was carried out in Gedeo zone, South Ethiopia, from January 1 to February 15, 2019. A multistage sampling technique was used to select study participants. Data was collected by using a pretested and structured questionnaire. Data entry and analysis were done by Epi data version 3.1 and SPSS version 23.0 software, respectively. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression models were used. Variables with p < 0.25 at bivariate analysis were chosen for multivariate analysis. Variables with a p-value of <0.05 were considered statistically significant.

A total of 665 mother and child dyads participated, with a response rate of 98.6%. High concordance of dietary diversity among mother-to-child pairs was 9%. Age of the mother (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 0.21; 95% confidence interval [95% CI]: 0.05–0.84), age of the child between 6 and 11 months (AOR = 5.2; 95% CI: 2.3–11.6), being female (AOR = 1.8; 95% CI: 1.0–3.4), previous history of infection (AOR = 4.4; 95% CI: 1.8–11.5), source of food from the market (AOR = 0.34; 95% CI: 0.12–0.81) and rich wealth index (AOR = 5.7; 95% CI: 2.5–12.9) were the significant factors of high concordance of dietary diversity.

The prevalence of high-concordant dietary diversity among mother and children dyads was very low. Therefore, ensuring multisectoral nutrition interventions that focus on both mothers and children should be considered to improve the good dietary diversity practice.

Enterprise, Strategy

This case study documents the history of e-commerce adoption and usage in a fabric and garment manufacturing firm operating in an African country. Lessons drawn from the case could be applied to understanding the achievement of e-commerce benefits through the complex interrelationships between firm-level, national and global resources.

The case study presents a summary of e-commerce capabilities in the firm, the key resources developed and actions taken to deploy e-commerce capabilities and the notable benefits obtained through these e-commerce capabilities. The study shows that, first, the ability to access information and communication technology (ICT) infrastructure matters in developing countries, but managerial capabilities matter more. Managerial capabilities enable firms to find external resources (both in-country and globally) to substitute for internal resource deficiencies. Second, intangible social resources – trust, reputation and credibility – play a critical role in determining whether the e-commerce strategies of firms are successful or not.

An understanding of how managerial capabilities influence the creation of e-commerce capabilities and the achievement of e-commerce benefits, especially in an African or Ghanaian context. Learners can also draw lessons that could be applicable to understanding how a firm's strategic orientation, resource portfolio and the nature of its target market differentiate the extent of integration or adoption and usage of e-commerce in the firm.

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