Purpose This study aims to examine the state of literature on the role of e-learning in the sustainability of higher education institutions in Sub-Saharan Africa, with the goal of identifying explored thematic areas, finding out the deficiencies in extant literature and recommending areas of future research work. Design/methodology/approach The research used a systematic literature review, examining articles published between 2012 and 2022. In total, 52 publications were identified and subjected to analysis. Findings The findings reveal that few studies have explored the relationship between e-learning and the sustainability of higher education in Sub-Saharan Africa, with larger economies in the region dominating research output. In addition, traditional technology adoption and social learning theories dominate the theoretical frameworks in this area. Moreover, the authors observed limited adaptation of these theories to local contexts, leading to outcomes with limited contextual details or lack of the same. Despite its potential, e-learning has yet to be fully embraced as a strategic tool for the sustainability of higher education in Sub-Saharan Africa. Originality/value Although various systematic literature reviews exist in the field of sustainability in higher education, there seem to be no reviews specifically focused on e-learning within the context of Sub-Saharan Africa. This review sheds some light on potential future research paths regarding the theory, content and context of e-learning for the sustainability of higher education in Sub-Saharan Africa, and by extension, in developing countries worldwide.

Social media has been shown to play a critical role in supporting various organizational practices. However, few studies have explored its role in facilitating knowledge sharing practices within small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in developing countries. This study investigated the knowledge sharing practices within manufacturing SMEs and use of social media to support these practices. Using the Task-Technology Fit Theory, Technology Acceptance Model, and Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology, the study used Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) to analyze data collected from 186 participants in 14 manufacturing SMEs in Embu County, Kenya. The study found that socialization, externalization, combination, and internalization significantly influenced the ease of sharing knowledge through social media. This was also true for perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, performance expectancy, and effort expectancy. This research can benefit SMEs in developing countries by helping them establish frameworks that effectively use social media for knowledge-sharing.

Purpose - The purpose of this study is to examine the state of the literature on knowledge sharing in open source software (OSS) development communities by examining the existing research and identifying the knowledge gaps and opportunities that can inform areas for future research. Design/methodology/approach - A systematic literature review was conducted of literature published between January 2011 and February 2023. A total of 24 papers were identified and reviewed.Findings - The findings reveal that the literature on knowledge sharing in OSS development communities from developing countries are limited. Additionally, there exists a limited focus on the development of frameworks to support knowledge sharing in OSS communities. The transient nature of OSS development contributors' results in knowledge loss; thus, knowledge retention needs further investigation.Research limitations/implications - This study only included papers whose titles, keywords or abstracts included the search keywords "knowledge sharing" and "Open Source Software". While the keywords were carefully applied, when applying the search, it cannot be ruled that some relevant studies might have been missed. The study was also limited to conferences and journal papers published in English. Despite the limitations, the study provides a systematic review of knowledge sharing in OSS communities and presents findings that can be useful to researchers and practitioners interested in this area.Originality/value - The study provides a systematic literature review of published papers and identifies themes and future research areas on knowledge sharing in OSS communities. Additionally, this review offers insights into future research avenues for theory, content and context on knowledge sharing in OSS development communities.

The COVID‐19 pandemic has changed many aspects of the economy. The situation has notably been more challenging for small businesses in developing countries which tend to operate with limited funding and a lack of social and human capital. In these contexts, technology has been argued to be an important resource to allow businesses to adapt and recover from the crisis. In line with this narrative, the pandemic has been linked to growing technology adoption within small firms in developing countries. However, little is known about how small businesses are using such technology as part of strategies: to survive, reposition themselves in the market and potentially “spring back” from the pandemic to thrive in a fundamentally changed environment. In this study, to fill this gap we look to the concept of resilience to examine how technology was adopted to help build resilience. The study focused on small businesses in Kenya and uses in‐depth qualitative analysis to unpack the processes of adoption and use. The study findings suggest that the pandemic created an incentive for many small businesses to engage with digital technology, enabling them to stay operational. The study evidenced specific coping strategies that incorporated technology to support resilience, including exploiting demand, acquiring new capabilities, expanding existing capacities, making data‐driven decisions, fostering social networks and freezing operations. Consequently, we argue for the need to unpack the processes of technology adoption and the links between technology and economic growth in such settings. During the pandemic, small businesses have typically adopted technology to build resilience appropriate to their context.

Learning outcomes The learning outcomes are as follows: to explore the challenges associated with Information System Project Management; to explore how to navigate certain Information System Project Management challenges and make recommendations on how to address them; and to evaluate the application of user-centred design. Case overview/synopsis This case looks at the small to medium enterprises (SMEs) Digitisation project that was initiated by Dr Ndiege, Assistant Professor of Information Systems, and a team of faculty at the School of Science and Technology, United States International University – Africa in Kenya. Dr Ndiege is considering the project in September 2020 and its future viability. The project called for computer science students to voluntarily assist in developing an online presence for local SMEs. The idea is to help cushion them against the shocks of the COVID-19 pandemic. Dr Ndiege looks at the details of the project through the eyes of team leader Sylvie Sarabwe and her encounters on the project. She leads a team of four students in a user-centered design to develop a website for social enterprise Kraft Therapy Foundation (KTF), located in Kibera slums within Nairobi County, Kenya. Sylvie must navigate the client relationship with KTF. But she soon starts to experience the difficulties involved with navigating this process. For Sylvie, it quickly dawns on her that a user-centred design project requires both hard and the soft skills to successfully deliver the final project. By the conclusion of the case, Dr Ndiege recognises the multitude of issues that this project ultimately faces. Complexity academic level The primary target audience for this teaching case is undergraduate information technology students, especially students in software application design and project management with little or no work experience. The case is clearly structured and the length of the case lends itself to the audience. It does not contain excessive or irrelevant information. Hence, learners have more time to focus on the application questions presented. Supplementary materials Teaching notes are available for educators only. Subject code CSS 7: Management Science.

Public participation is considered an important pillar in governance in Kenya as demonstrated by the way it has been severally enshrined in the constitution of Kenya 2010 as well as the County Governments Acts. Despite such policy and regulatory frameworks for public participation being in place, county governments in Kenya are still characterized by poor public participation in governance and government processes. Additionally, despite several studies demonstrating that information technology (IT) is a critical enabler of public participation, not much is known on how county governments in Kenya are harnessing the power of technology for public participation. This research attempts to understand how IT is being used for public participation, and the current challenges associated with its application in the promotion of public participation in county governments in Kenya. This paper, presents the initial findings from one of the counties. The study used interviews with both junior and senior county officials. Additionally, county documents as well as information from county websites and social media platforms were used. The study findings have revealed that the use of IT was gaining prominence in county engagements with the public, more specifically, the use of social media. However, it would appear that civic participation through these platforms was minimal. Additionally, the county strategic documents reveal that e-participation is yet to be appreciated as a strategic factor in increasing and enriching public participation in county governance. Several challenges were also identified and these are presented in this paper. It was thus hoped that these findings would enable an increasing understanding of the prevailing local circumstances which inhibit e-participation within county governments. The findings have practical implications on how county governments in Kenya (and possibly other developing countries) may better position themselves to exploit technology for improved public participation.

Although considerable literature has grown around cyberbullying, there are still only limited studies on this within developing economies, especially African countries. In particular, studies on cyberbullying in Africa have failed to have a direct focus on the prevalence of this phenomenon among students in universities. Not only does cyberbullying have an emotional-social impact, it has ramifications on the learning process as well. This subject remains of utmost relevance within academia, and a number of institutions continue to grapple with its impact. The study reported here is an exploratory investigation of 396 students from one of the private universities within Nairobi, Kenya, which aimed at understanding the prevalence of cyberbullying. The study findings revealed that the highest form of victimization was through the act of deception, in which 75.8% of the respondents indicated someone had lied to them electronically. On the other hand, the highest form of perpetration of cyberbullying was through malice, in which 49.7% of the respondents reported sending a rude message to someone electronically. Further, more male students were more likely to commit acts of cyberbullying compared to their female counterparts. This study confirms the existence of cyberbullying within institutions of higher learning in Kenya, with the possibility of generalizability to other developing economies. The level of prevalence reported in this study appears slightly high in comparison to a majority of the findings from the developed economies. Consequently, we submit that it is imperative that educational systems in Africa and other developing economies put in frameworks to deal with the emerging reality of cyberbullying within institutions of higher learning. Such frameworks should facilitate the implementation of useful strategies to help victims of cyberbullying, and at the same, time offer deterrents to the perpetration of cyberbullying.

While several studies have indicated the critical role played by a country's ability to exploit knowledge as an economic resource, very few studies can be traced to understanding the practices of County Government in exploiting knowledge especially in Africa. The purpose of this study was to investigate the current knowledge management practices and technological solutions employed by County Governments in Kenya to support knowledge management. Based on interviews with senior and junior County officials and qualitative data analysis, the study findings revealed that there were no systematic knowledge management practices in existence within the surveyed County Governments. The few knowledge management practices identified were isolated, informal and uncoordinated; they were neither documented nor communicated. Furthermore, the existing policy frameworks to support knowledge management practices were inadequate. The study also revealed scarcity of relevant technological solutions tailored to support knowledge management practices. This research provides an advancing understanding of the prevailing local challenges hindering effective utilization of knowledge management practices and systems.

The purpose of this study was to identify the factors that affect the security behavior of Kenyan University Students. Using Protection Motivation Theory (PMT) and Theory and Planned Behavior (TPB) as the theoretical base, data was collected from 125 Kenyan university students through an online survey. Data Analysis was carried out using structural equational modeling (SEM) in SmartPLS 3.2. The analysis showed that among PMT constructs, only self-efficacy played a significant role towards intention to take security measures, whereas, the attitude was the only construct TPB which had a meaningful relation with behavioral intention. Lastly, out of three constructs depicting social influence, only social support had a significant relationship with the behavioral intention. Constructs such as perceived vulnerability, perceived severity, response cost, response efficacy, subjective and descriptive norms did not show a significant relationship with the security intention of the students.

As the complexity of the market environment increases, so does the need for small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) to devise new innovative ways of strategically positioning themselves. Owing to resource constraints, it would be sensible for SMEs to adopt technologies that are relatively cheap and easily manageable, yet richly rewarding. Social media technology comes in handy in such scenarios; however, little is known about how SMEs are embracing this technology, especially in developing countries. This study presents the results of exploratory research conducted using semistructured interviews with 15 SME owners in Kenya. The findings suggest that social media technology appears to be particularly beneficial for supporting SMEs to position themselves better strategically. However, the adoption of such technologies in many cases has not been driven by a purposeful and thoughtful agenda, as external factors such as customers' and competitors' use of technology have influenced the initial adoption decision. Additionally, most of the SMEs are yet to fully exploit the capabilities of social media technology. The findings of this study not only advance an understanding of how the SMEs in developing countries are embracing social media technology but also offer an understanding of the strategies that SMEs can employ to enhance their social media experience for better strategic positioning.

Purpose While several studies have indicated the critical role played by the ability of countries to exploit knowledge as an economic resource, it would appear that there have been very few studies conducted on understanding the practices adopted by governments in relation to exploring knowledge, particularly in Africa. The purpose of this study is to investigate the prevailing knowledge management practices and technological solutions used by governments to support knowledge management. Design/methodology/approach To address the research objective of this study, semi-structured interviews and document analysis were used. The interviews were conducted with both senior and junior county officials from five counties in Kenya, with a total of 31 county officials participating. Further, various county documents were analysed both to seek convergence and corroborate the interview findings. Findings The study findings revealed that no systematic knowledge management practices existed in the county governments in Kenya, which were investigated. On the few occasions that the study did find evidence of knowledge management practices, these practices were isolated, informal, uncoordinated and rarely documented and/or communicated. Furthermore, the study found that there were inadequate policy frameworks in place to support knowledge management practices. The study also revealed a scarcity of relevant technological solutions tailored to support knowledge management practices. Research limitations/implications It was, thus, hoped that this research would promote an understanding of the prevailing local circumstances that hinder the effective utilisation of knowledge management practices and systems. The study recommends that county governments develop the capabilities required for creating and sustaining an enabling knowledge management environment through frameworks and policies that foster knowledge management practices and systems. The findings have practical implications for the way in which county governments in Kenya and other developing countries may improve their knowledge management practices and adopt appropriate technological solutions to support such practices. Originality/value Much of the existing literature on knowledge management is focussed on exploring such practices in large businesses. Studies centred specifically on the analysis of knowledge management practices in county governments in Africa, and how technological solutions may be used to build such practices are conspicuously lacking in the relevant literature.

The 2017-2022 Kenya's Council of Governors strategic plan indicates that there is lack of a structured mechanism for systematic knowledge sharing and organizational learning among the county governments despite the council's effort to share information through statutory annual reports, devolution conferences, and quarterly committee meetings. The intention of this chapter is to assess the challenges faced by the Kenyan county governments in their quest to institutionalize knowledge management practices and to conceptualize a framework that can support continuous sharing of experiences, lessons, and innovations within and among the county governments in Kenya. Theoretical frameworks and models of knowledge management in governance, governments, and e-governments were considered and a novel theoretical framework for successful knowledge management initiatives among regional governments was formulated. The chapter provides recommendations for the council and other policy makers on how to manage knowledge management initiatives, while suggestions for future research directions are given.

Devolved governments such as the county and regional governments around the world have a constitutional responsibility to find sustainable ways through which they can meet material, social, and economic responsibilities of improving the quality of the lives of their citizens by providing high-quality services and decent work for their employees. The 2014-2017 Kenya's Council of Governors strategic plan postulated enactment of a knowledge management strategy where good practices and lessons learnt within any county government should be documented and disseminated in appropriate forums to other counties. However, the 2017-2022 strategic plan indicates that there is lack of a structured mechanism for systematic knowledge sharing and organizational learning among the county governments despite the council's effort to share information through statutory annual reports, devolution conferences and quarterly sectoral committee meetings. But, the 2017-2022 strategic plan envisions a systematic mechanism for sharing experiences among the county governments. The intention of this study was to assess the current knowledge management practices among the county governments in Kenya; to identify, and articulate knowledge management concepts that are useful to the public services sector among devolved governments in developing countries; and to model these practices into a framework that can support continuous sharing of experiences, lessons and innovations within and among the county governments in Kenya. Theoretical frameworks and models of knowledge management in governance, governments and e-governments were considered and a conceptual framework for successful knowledge management initiatives among county and regional governments was formulated. The proposed conceptual framework was evaluated using a focus group discussion with participants drawn from the Council of Governors' Maarifa Center employees. The study proposes a framework to facilitate effective sharing of experiences among county employees, between different county governments and to manage and enhance knowledge management initiatives among the devolved governments. The study results indicate some sporadic nascent knowledge management practices rather than well planned initiatives within the counties. The study provides recommendations for the Council of Governors and other policy makers on how to manage knowledge management initiatives, while suggestions for future research directions for researchers with similar interests are given.

Whereas there is growing use of information technology (IT) within institutions of higher learning, little is known about the level of information security awareness (ISA) amongst students joining such institutions in developing countries and more specifically Africa. This study investigates ISA amongst undergraduate students in one of the universities within Nairobi in Kenya. From the study findings, it was clear that majority of the students did not possess adequate understanding of ISA. This was further affirmed by more than 60% of the students indicating not to have received any ISA training program before. We therefore submit that, there is a strong need to cultivate ISA culture amongst students joining institutions of higher learning. Cultivating this culture at the entry level will ensure that students as well as the institutions' communities at large have secure utilization of various IT resources. Furthermore, we recommend that ISA needs to be incorporated in the undergraduate curriculum to help enhance such awareness. Likewise, it would be valuable for such institutions to have ISA program as part of their wider information security strategy framework.

Although there is a steady use of information technology in institutions of higher learning, little is known about the level of information security awareness (ISA) amongst students joining universities in developing countries and more specifically Africa. The purpose of this study was to investigate ISA amongst undergraduate students at a higher education institution in Kenya. The study made use of a quantitative survey approach. Overall, the study findings indicate that majority of the students surveyed did not possess adequate understanding of ISA. Consequently, we submit that there is a strong need to cultivate ISA culture amongst students joining universities in developing countries. We further recommend that ISA needs to be incorporated in the undergraduate curriculum to help enhance such awareness. Equally, it would be useful for universities to have ISA program as part of the wider university information security management strategy.

The primary objective of this study is to examine the problem of cyberbullying in institutions of higher learning with particular attention to developing countries by looking at its prevalence in one of the universities within Nairobi in Kenya. In this study, we conduct an exploratory study on 396 students to understand the prevalence of cyberbullying. The study findings revealed that the highest form of victimization was through the act of deception in which 75.8% indicated someone had lied to them electronically. On the other hand, the highest form of perpetration of cyberbullying was through malice in which 49.7% indicated that they had sent a rude message to someone electronically. The level of prevalence reported in this study appears slightly high in comparison to majority of the finding from developed countries. Consequently, we submit that it is imperative that educational systems in Africa and other developing countries put frameworks in place to deal with the emerging reality of cyberbullying within institutions of higher learning.

Many small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in developing countries continue to be challenged by their information technology (IT) adoption process, which is often characterized by a number of deficiencies. The purpose of this study was to examine the role of absorptive capacity (AC) in SMEs’ performance, as well as establish the correlation between SMEs’ AC and their IT adoption process. The findings of this study, obtained by measuring different dimensions of AC using Jimenez-Barrionuevo, Garcia-Morales, and Molina’s scale of 18 items, suggest that AC plays a critical role in the performance of SMEs in Kenya and that SMEs with strong AC employed the use of more superior IT adoption processes than did their counterparts with low levels of AC. The researchers submit that, if exploited, AC has the potential to improve the IT adoption strategies of SMEs in Kenya and those of other developing countries that operate within similar environments.