The continuous increase in the volume of customer data stored by commercial banks necessitates the use of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies to enhance customer retention and satisfaction. While a few Nigerian commercial banks do currently leverage these technologies, a significant knowledge gap limits their use across the wider Nigerian commercial banking sector. Guided by Organizational Information Processing (OIP) theory, we carried out a multiple case study to explore how AI technologies were utilized in three commercial banks in Nigeria. Purposive sampling was used to select experienced data professionals employed by these banks and semi-structured interviews were conducted to collect data. We used thematic analysis to analyze the data. Our findings confirm that customer and data needs motivate the use of AI in commercial banks. Furthermore, managerial awareness and support, the skills of data professionals, and the availability of technological infrastructure inform and enable the use of AI technologies. Our findings provide a valuable reference point for banks seeking to employ AI technologies in response to the growing amount of customer data.
Centralized ICT procurement is promoted as a means to improve efficiency and accountability, yet it often generates rigidity and frustration in developing-country contexts. This study investigates this paradox using South Africa's State Information Technology Agency as an example affected by the broader challenges of digital governance in the Global South. Using an interpretivist, abductive approach, 55 semi-structured interviews with Government Information Technology Officers were analyzed thematically. Four patterns emerged: bureaucratic inefficiency, misalignment with departmental needs, workaround behavior and declining institutional legitimacy. These themes informed a Governance-Implementation Feedback Model explaining how control-oriented procurement systems produce institutional erosion and adaptive resistance. The study extends Policy Feedback and Institutional Theory to information systems governance, demonstrating how negative administrative experiences reinforce path dependence. It contributes theoretical and policy insights into balancing oversight and agility within public-sector digital transformation.
As digital financial services grow, users face rising risks of financial loss through mobile platforms, often due to limited awareness of protective behaviours. This study surveyed 1,159 mobile financial service (MFS) users in Kenya to examine attitudes, concerns, security adoption, and actual practices. behavioural model was developed by integrating information security and privacy literature with the Theory of Planned Behaviour, and tested using structural equation modeling via smart-PLS. Findings reveal that prior financial loss significantly heightens security and privacy concerns, influencing attitudes toward mobile protection and intentions to adopt secure practices. Loss experiences also increase user vigilance and perceived control over future protections, while self-efficacy in protecting mobile information strongly predicts secure intentions. These insights underscore the urgent need for focused cybersecurity awareness initiatives in developing economies to address behavioural gaps and reduce financial losses in mobile financial services.
This study investigates the impact of digital outdoor (out-of-home) advertising on environmental product knowledge and environmental concerns, aiming to promote green purchase intentions. The investigation is grounded in the Stimulus-Organism-Response model. Data were collected through a self-administered online questionnaire completed by 274 adult consumers. Using structural equation modelling, the findings indicate that informativeness, credibility and incentives have a positive effect on environmental product knowledge. Of these, only informativeness and credibility were significant predictors of environmental concern. Furthermore, environmental product knowledge was found to significantly influence green purchase intention, but environmental concern had no significant influence. From a theoretical perspective, this study proposes a framework that identifies key characteristics contributing to the effectiveness of Digital Out-Of-Home advertising in promoting green products. From a practical standpoint, the findings offer valuable insights for marketers in designing Digital Out-Of-Home advertisements that align with consumers' green consumption values.
Internet of Things devices, such as those used in home automation, commercial and retail business, and smart cities, are vulnerable to attacks that affect all aspects of daily life. The upsurge in the use of IoT devices has increased the likelihood of cyber-attacks on end users. This research investigates the factors that influence IoT device users to adhere to privacy standards. This interpretivist exploratory research was guided by a three-phased approach. The interview questions were derived from the conceptual model and the constructs of Activity Theory, and themes were analyzed using deductive thematic analysis. The findings were elaborated with reference to three models of ethics. Key findings indicate that adherence is influenced mostly by consequentialism. Secondly, end-users strive to gain more knowledge about their IoT devices and to develop their confidence in the devices (virtue ethics). Lastly, compliance with policies and procedures (deontological) is the least likely influence of user adherence.
Smartphones extend people's opportunities by improving their daily living and well-being. Hence, given the tool's features and affordances that promote human development, smartphones facilitate the achievement of the individual liberties and freedoms of ordinary people. However, there are serious concerns about the emotional, social and cultural factors underlying smartphone usage patterns and their association with problematic use and depressive behaviors. Therefore, the overriding goal of the research reported on in this paper was to investigate how smartphone use influences individuals' emotional wellness, interpersonal relationships and sociocultural contexts. Existing academic literature indicated that there was a need to investigate the intricate interplay between smartphone use and indicators of problematic behaviors. Hence, undergraduate students were invited to participate and a mixed-methods research approach was adopted. Data were collected using a prescreening questionnaire, semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions and were analyzed thematically by means of a systematic coding process. The data revealed that smartphone users have many different perspectives and coping strategies and this finding highlighted the complexities of smartphone-related problems. Furthermore, the study underlined the importance of cultural factors and individual differences in addressing the complex relationship between smartphone use and digital wellness.
Due to rapid global population growth and urbanization, approximately two billion metric tons of waste are generated annually. Municipal solid waste management has become a critical function for urban authorities. However, many urban authorities in low-and middle-income economies cannot provide efficient municipal solid waste management services because of suboptimal stakeholder participation in governance processes and inadequate information exchange. Therefore, this study sought to determine factors that influence the implementation of GIS-enabled public e-participation using Enhanced Adaptive Structuration Theory. A descriptive field study was conducted among staff of municipal authorities and residents in Uganda's Kampala Metropolitan Area. Data were analyzed using partial least squares structured equation modelling. Overall, it was found that technology and task had the greatest influence on GIS-enabled public e-participation while the influence of social-institutional and participant factors was insignificant. Therefore, technology and task influences should be prioritized to enhance the implementation of GIS-enabled public e-participation for low and medium-income economies.
ICT-enabled grassroots innovation has been extensively researched; however, there is a lack of empirical evidence as to its potential contribution to resource-scarce settings in Africa. This paper aims to explore the transformative role of ICT from idea generation to sustained entrepreneurship using the Iringa region in Tanzania as a case study. This qualitative study delves into the experiences of four grassroots entrepreneurs, revealing the interplay between technology, resource scarcity and the aspirations of those entrepreneurs. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews and was examined extensively using thematic analysis. This revealed how ICT assists innovative young entrepreneurs to identify and utilize available resources to address challenges and to seize growth opportunities. The findings showed that ICT plays three pivotal roles in the establishment and growth of community-based innovative startups: (i) providing access to information and knowledge, (ii) facilitating resource allocation and utilization, and (iii) fostering collaborative and networked ecosystems.
Academics and students alike can benefit from the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in education. AI governance lowers AI risks while ensuring that anticipated AI use objectives are achieved. However, research on AI governance has been lacking, especially in higher education in emerging economies such as South Africa. In light of this serious research gap, the current study presents the findings of a qualitative exploratory investigation of the maturity and preparedness of AI governance in South African higher education institutions. Informed by a combination of the TOE framework, the traditional IT governance model and the adapted IT governance maturity assessment model, semi-structured interviews were conducted with academic and ICT decision makers from two public and three private higher education institutions in South Africa to determine their insights on the state of readiness and maturity of AI governance. The results show that AI components are widely used in higher education information systems. However, the findings showed that these higher education institutions were not in any way prepared for AI governance. The report recommends that risks associated with AI and learning should be acknowledged and countered as is done by the developed world's established AI regulatory systems.
Blended learning is a combination of eLearning and traditional face-to-face learning. Since challenges have been identified related to blended learning that hinder effective teaching and learning, this study examined student opinions of this learning model. The aim was to get a deep understanding of its effectiveness given infrastructure deficiencies. Twelve in-depth interviews were conducted with students at a university in Zimbabwe that uses blended learning, and an interpretivist paradigm was adopted. The Zone of Proximal Development proposed by Vygotsky was utilized to conceptualize the cognitive development of the students, and third-generation activity theory (AT), developed by, was used for evaluating the home and university activity systems. Results indicate that asynchronous blended learning, supported by a learning management system, allows content to be downloaded for offline study and hence may be adopted in universities with limited information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure. The study adds to the narratives on blended learning implementation in countries with developing economies.
It is not known whether the combination of two IS system implementation approaches, Design Science Research and eXtreme Programming, can help improve information systems success in the Tanzanian HEI context. To investigate this, this study evaluated a system that was implemented using both approaches. The evaluation used DeLone and McLean's Information Systems Success Model(D&M) and a mixed research method. The results showed that while neither the system quality nor the information quality influenced the use of the system, service quality and user satisfaction both had an influence on system use (p<0.001). System quality, information quality and service quality, however, were found to have a significant effect on user satisfaction, all three with p<0.001. Furthermore, using the system influenced the perceived net benefits (p<0.001) obtained from using the system. The findings may be helpful to other Tanzanian HEI wishing to implement information systems for their organizations as it shed light on factors that should be considered for a successful implementation. Although the D&M model has been useful on this study, it is limited by its lack of explicit recognition of contextual variables, such as organizational culture, user characteristics, and environmental factors, which can significantly impact system success.
This paper proposes using a ChatGPT1-generated algorithm for an indigenous game to mediate the acquisition of computational thinking skills. The paper seeks to answer the question: How can the ChatGPT-mediated algorithm for indigenous games foster the acquisition of computational thinking skills? Using a Participatory Action Research approach, 19 collaborators from 11 African countries gathered 185 indigenous games. The paper focuses on one of those games that is played in all 11 countries. The paper concludes that involving collaborators, who are indigenous members of their communities and have experiential knowledge of the game, led to their acquisition of computational thinking skills.
South Africa lags behind other economies regarding online shopping adoption. Extant literature has focused on the influence of risk factors on consumers' intention to shop online. However, few studies have considered the effect that mediating factors can have on relationships between other factors related to online shopping. It is particularly important to determine the mediation effect of perceived risk factors on the relationship between perceived website quality and intentions to shop online. A quantitative survey was used to collect data from 300 online shoppers who purchase clothing online and are located in the Soweto Township in Gauteng, South Africa. Perceived website quality was found to have an unexpected, direct positive influence on perceptions regarding perceived social risk, time risk, product risk and financial risk, as well as on intention to shop online. However, perceived website quality also had a direct negative impact on perceived security risk (as perceived website quality increased perceived security risk decreased). The perceived risk factors did not display statistically significant indirect effects (mediation) between perceived website quality and the intention to shop online. This paper contributes to the S-O-R theory in relation to website quality risk factors, perceived risk factors and the intention to shop online. The paper may help online retailers improve website quality by considering the impact of the perceived risk factors from a practical perspective.
Government reform implementations are often a catalyst for system implementation within public sectors. However, their influence on the information system design process in the public sectors have not been explained extensively in the literature. This study used actor network theory as the lens to examine the interactions of actors during the information systems design process in the reformed public sectors. The main research aims were to extend the understanding of how government reforms influence the information system design processes of local government authorities in Tanzania. The study employed the interpretive approach and the case study strategy when analyzing the phenomena. Qualitative data were collected from 33 interviews with 23 participants who were purposively selected from three local governments in Tanzania. The findings show that the implementations of reforms have triggered the formation of actor-networks during the IS design process. Also, these reforms were found to affect the structural information flow in the organizations, which in turn affects the requirement elicitation process in the local context. The study has made both theoretical and practical contributions that are of value to researchers, policy makers and those involved in the IS implementation process in local governments of Tanzania.
In South Africa, data -intensive synchronous tutoring platforms like Zoom can be exclusionary due to limited internet access at home. Challenges in electronic tutoring include device scarcity, high data costs, network issues and low digital skills. To mitigate data costs, a data -free mobile instant messenger was tested for tutoring, guided by the technological pedagogical content knowledge framework (TPACK). The study included first -year accounting and third -year information systems courses at a historically disadvantaged institution. Qualitative data from tutors revealed that technology -related knowledge was crucial for effective electronic tutoring. Tutors with strong technology and content knowledge utilised the data -free application effectively and employed pedagogical expertise to offer flexible, after-hours support. These tutors demonstrated technological pedagogical and content knowledge by using features like voice notes and images to explain concepts, even without access to data. Students with Apple devices were excluded initially. The findings can inform the development of more inclusive electronic tutoring interventions in South Africa.
This study aimed to determine whether South African-listed companies use social media to engage with stakeholders. Emerging economies are experiencing rapid growth, which increases the need for transparent communication to build trust with investors to facilitate resource exchange. Social media has changed many aspects of communication by offering instant, interactive channels that can reach numerous stakeholders. However, there is limited research into the utilization of social media for stakeholder communication within emerging economies. This study aimed to address that topic and examined the social media practices of listed entities to determine whether companies use Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn for stakeholder engagement. These findings provide a broad understanding of how companies utilize social media to engage with stakeholders. A content analysis of 19 253 posts made by companies on social media was performed. The findings confirm that companies use social media for stakeholder engagement and that most companies chose to use several social platforms as opposed to only one. However, Twitter (X) and LinkedIn were the two most popular platforms used, followed by Facebook and Instagram. On Facebook and LinkedIn approximately 90% of posts related to stakeholder engagement posts and thought leadership and corporate social responsibility (CSR) posts were favored by companies in terms of stakeholder engagement.
Research shows that data breaches often occur when organizations fail to protect users' personal data sufficiently well. Many devices are connected to the Internet such as mobile phones, smart cars, wearables and ' Things ' which increase the number of potential entry points into data stores. This paper discusses the potential data privacy risks that users face online. The study used online content analysis and surveys to establish the privacy perceptions of users and trends of data breaches in South Africa. The findings reveal that users have a positive perception of data managers and view them as knowledgeable in data protection. Nevertheless, the results show that privacy risks do exist online, and the number of data breaches and abuses has increased over time. These breaches result in exposure and loss of personal data. The findings of this study are useful in developing strategies and policies to combat data breaches while improving security systems.
The management of COVID-19 pandemic has revealed inefficiencies in coordinating global response, particularly in African countries. Therefore, creating an urgent need to examine the literature on Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in crisis management to appreciate its contextual role. Employing a systematic review, using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta -Analysis (PRISMA), this paper critically assessed the extent of the use of ICT in crisis management in Africa's response to COVID-19 to reconstruct its resilience against future crises. Findings indicate that while countries with limited ICT infrastructure faced considerable challenges in utilizing ICT solutions in COVID-19 management, countries with established ICT infrastructure were able to use ICT solutions across the various phases, ranging from mitigation to recovery. Such ICT solutions include COVID-19 screening, contact tracing, surveillance, and resource prioritization and allocation. Therefore, to be effective, African countries should invest in ICT and proactively improve its application across all phases of crisis management.
Information technology governance (ITG) is an essential part of ensuring that information technology adds value to business. Despite the increased use of IT for academic, administrative, research and community engagement activities in universities, there is a dearth of studies on ITG in higher education specifically in Africa. The study reported on here combines the will -skill -tool model and the theory of planned behavior to assess the impact of individuals' ITG will, ITG skill and the use of an ITG tool on ITG implementation maturity in the context of South African higher education institutions. A survey was conducted among 121 information technology and business decision makers from five higher education institutions and the data was analyzed using SmartPLS (Version 3). The findings reveal that ITG tools availability and access influence both ITG implementation maturity and ITG skills. In addition, the use of an ITG tool impacts on ITG skill, which in turn has an influence on ITG will. Furthermore, ITG skill mediates the relationship between the use of an ITG tool and ITG will. Interestingly, the results do not reveal a moderation of perceived ITG complexity.
Although delivery of services in South Africa is the responsibility of all spheres of government, the provision of basic services lies at the doorstep of local municipalities. Local municipalities have, for many reasons, frequently been unable to live up to this mandate despite the fact that some of the challenges that they face can be addressed by using IT. This paper assesses factors enabling and inhibiting the efficient deployment and integration of IT in local municipalities. The technological, organizational and environmental (TOE) framework was deployed to assess the factors. A multiple case study in which semi -structured interviews were conducted produced qualitative data and thematic analysis was carried out. This paper suggests that effective deployment and integration of IT is not solely dependent on technological factors but that organizational and environmental factors also influence the outcomes to a significant extent.
