The role of institutions in ICT innovation: learning from interventions in a Nigerian e-government initiative

Abstract

Much research on developing countries highlights a link between information and communication technologies (ICTs) and development, albeit from different standpoints about the nature of such a link and the way that desired benefits may be achieved. Prompted by arguments about the developmental potential of ICTs, the Federal Republic of Nigeria has embarked on a mission to computerize all ministries and increase the level of adoption and use of ICTs in the country. This strategy involves the introduction of a wide range of information systems within different governmental organizations and relentless efforts at promoting them. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is one of several organizations targeted by this e-government initiative. We draw on research that highlights the role of institutions in the adoption and use of IT innovations to examine two attempts by the INEC to introduce an electronic voters’ registration (EVR) system. These efforts were intended to provide a more credible electoral process, leading to increased citizen participation in future voting exercises and the adoption of EVR as the status quo. However, despite a number of interventions promoting the innovation, these efforts failed to institutionalize the EVR system, which was poorly perceived after the elections amidst reports of high levels of electoral malpractice. We conclude by reflecting on the limitations in this context of institutional interventions and suggest some implications for policy-makers.

Shirin Madon is the accepting Associate Editor for this article.

Keywords:

• e-government
• IT adoption and use
• development issues
• institutional theory
• electronic voter register

Acknowledgements

The authors express their thanks to Shirin Madon for her help with this paper. An earlier version of this paper was presented at the IFIP WG 9.4 conference at the University of Pretoria, in September 2008.

Notes

Shirin Madon is the accepting Associate Editor for this article.

In a recent paper, Brown and Grant (2010) suggest splitting the ICT and Development research agenda into two domains: work that focuses on understanding technology “for development” and work that focuses on understanding technology “in developing” countries. While it is beyond the scope of this paper to address the issues they raise, we believe that our work addresses both domains, as described in Section 2. While our approach to reading the literature is not as systematic as Brown and Grant's, anecdotally we would expect the majority of ISDC studies to have these dual concerns.