The practice of ICT-enabled development

ABSTRACT

While information and communication technology for development (ICT4D) research examines the diverse range of topics, settings, and technologies, there has been a lack of attention on theorizing the process of information and communication technology (ICT)-enabled development. This paper draws on Bourdieu’s practice theory to provide a framework for doing so. This framework captures the multi-level, generative, and processual nature of ICT-enabled development, and illustrates that ICT-enabled development is an ongoing activity that is recreated, reinforced, and restricted by the interaction between the dispositions of the stakeholders involved and changes in the various forms of capital that are valued in a community. The utility of the framework is illustrated by using practice theory to re-analyze three ICT4D initiatives from the literature.

KEYWORDS:

• Practice theory
• development
• ICT4D
• social mechanisms

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Harminder Singh is a senior lecturer in the Faculty of Business, Economics and Law at the Auckland University of Technology, where he teaches courses in information systems strategy, governance, and analytics. Harminder’s research examines the governance of IT-enabled work environments, especially from an ethical perspective. His research has been published in Information & Management, the Journal of Information Technology, the Journal of Computer Information Systems, and elsewhere.

Antonio Díaz Andrade is an associate professor in Business Information Systems, Faculty of Business, Economics and Law at the Auckland University of Technology, New Zealand. He has a strong interest in the interplay between the social and the technical, especially in the area of information and communication technology for development (ICT4D), and research methodology.

Angsana A. Techatassanasoontorn is an associate professor in Business Information Systems, Faculty of Business, Economics and Law at the Auckland University of Technology. Angsana’s research is primarily concerned with theory building and empirical analysis on ICT use, well-being, and development. Her work has appeared in Decision Support Systems, Information and Management, Journal of the Association for Information Systems, Telecommunications Policy, among others. Her research has been supported by grants from the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), the Commonwealth Fund Foundation, Internet New Zealand, Microsoft, the U.S. National Science Foundation, and Qualcomm.

Notes

1 The 2005 Development Gateway Award and the 2006 Stockholm Challenge Award in the economic development category feature among its accolades.