Search results

The following is an introductory profile of the fastest growing firms over the three-year period of the study listed by corporate reputation ranking order. The business activities in which the firms are engaged are outlined to provide background information for the reader.

In Africa, the public sector is very often not able per se to deliver the resources needed to assure access to basic public goods and services. The African Development Bank (AfDB) has heavily invested in infrastructure to help overcome these long enduring bottlenecks, which have hampered economic growth in the continent. Given the AfDB’s ambitious objectives of contributing significantly to development and poverty reduction, and its continued thrust into infrastructure development through New Partnership for Africa’s Development, Africa50, and a range of collaborations to leverage resources for the continent, it is useful to consider the nature of the Bank’s involvement in Public–Private partnerships (PPPs) and identify lessons learned and recommendations for improvement. The methodology employs mixed methods, with desk reviews, staff consultations and analytical analysis of project data from 2006 to 2014 in 18 countries. Lessons and recommendations are drawn from the ‘Evaluation Results Database’, covering the period 2001–2012 from projects in 12 countries and six sectors. Overall, 64.4% of the PPP volume of the AfDB’s portfolio was allocated to lower middle-income countries, with low-income countries receiving about a quarter. The energy sector accounted for over 78% of the total PPP volume. A pragmatic account of what was done and learned from PPP implementation processes over a decade in the African continent is provided in this chapter, together with successes and failures from the AfDB’s experience, as the Bank itself and a range of other Multilateral Development Banks and donors continue to scale up infrastructure financing in Africa.

Information and communications technology (ICT) offers enormous opportunities for individuals, businesses and society. The application of ICT is equally important to economic and non-economic activities. Researchers have increasingly focused on the adoption and use of ICT by small and medium enterprises (SMEs) as the economic development of a country is largely dependent on them. Following the success of ICT utilisation in SMEs in developed countries, many developing countries are looking to utilise the potential of the technology to develop SMEs. Past studies have shown that the contribution of ICT to the performance of SMEs is not clear and certain. Thus, it is crucial to determine the effectiveness of ICT in generating firm performance since this has implications for SMEs’ expenditure on the technology. This research examines the diffusion of ICT among SMEs with respect to the typical stages from innovation adoption to post-adoption, by analysing the actual usage of ICT and value creation. The mediating effects of integration and utilisation on SME performance are also studied. Grounded in the innovation diffusion literature, institutional theory and resource-based theory, this study has developed a comprehensive integrated research model focused on the research objectives. Following a positivist research paradigm, this study employs a mixed-method research approach. A preliminary conceptual framework is developed through an extensive literature review and is refined by results from an in-depth field study. During the field study, a total of 11 SME owners or decision-makers were interviewed. The recorded interviews were transcribed and analysed using NVivo 10 to refine the model to develop the research hypotheses. The final research model is composed of 30 first-order and five higher-order constructs which involve both reflective and formative measures. Partial least squares-based structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) is employed to test the theoretical model with a cross-sectional data set of 282 SMEs in Bangladesh. Survey data were collected using a structured questionnaire issued to SMEs selected by applying a stratified random sampling technique. The structural equation modelling utilises a two-step procedure of data analysis. Prior to estimating the structural model, the measurement model is examined for construct validity of the study variables (i.e. convergent and discriminant validity).

The estimates show cognitive evaluation as an important antecedent for expectation which is shaped primarily by the entrepreneurs’ beliefs (perception) and also influenced by the owners’ innovativeness and culture. Culture further influences expectation. The study finds that facilitating condition, environmental pressure and country readiness are important antecedents of expectation and ICT use. The results also reveal that integration and the degree of ICT utilisation significantly affect SMEs’ performance. Surprisingly, the findings do not reveal any significant impact of ICT usage on performance which apparently suggests the possibility of the ICT productivity paradox. However, the analysis finally proves the non-existence of the paradox by demonstrating the mediating role of ICT integration and degree of utilisation explain the influence of information technology (IT) usage on firm performance which is consistent with the resource-based theory. The results suggest that the use of ICT can enhance SMEs’ performance if the technology is integrated and properly utilised. SME owners or managers, interested stakeholders and policy makers may follow the study’s outcomes and focus on ICT integration and degree of utilisation with a view to attaining superior organisational performance.

This study urges concerned business enterprises and government to look at the environmental and cultural factors with a view to achieving ICT usage success in terms of enhanced firm performance. In particular, improving organisational practices and procedures by eliminating the traditional power distance inside organisations and implementing necessary rules and regulations are important actions for managing environmental and cultural uncertainties. The application of a Bengali user interface may help to ensure the productivity of ICT use by SMEs in Bangladesh. Establishing a favourable national technology infrastructure and legal environment may contribute positively to improving the overall situation. This study also suggests some changes and modifications in the country’s existing policies and strategies. The government and policy makers should undertake mass promotional programs to disseminate information about the various uses of computers and their contribution in developing better organisational performance. Organising specialised training programs for SME capacity building may succeed in attaining the motivation for SMEs to use ICT. Ensuring easy access to the technology by providing loans, grants and subsidies is important. Various stakeholders, partners and related organisations should come forward to support government policies and priorities in order to ensure the productive use of ICT among SMEs which finally will help to foster Bangladesh’s economic development.

The purpose of this chapter is to examine the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and mixed technology as ontology for self and distance learning in the state of Meghalaya in North East India. The points of reference are the population of the state, the men/women ratio, gender ratio of learners, the tele-density of the state, the number of colleges and the rural urban divide. Data and statistics are taken from secondary sources. The chapter highlights the specific use of mixed technologies to address the new breed of learners today; a hybrid of text and hypertext; the digital learner, with his or her penchant for technology; and the mobile phone. Distance education is now gradually merging with online ontology of teaching/learning. The chapter has come up with suggestions for improving delivery of educational services in the state of Meghalaya in North East India. The originality/value of this chapter lies in the cross currents of using technology for learning in the mid of the rural urban divide, strongly advocating the course of digital learners in a state of India besotted with poor road connectivity and envisaging mixed technologies: the computer, radio and the mobile phone as integrated methods of learning.