What can be controlled: actionable ICT4D in the case of Palestine

ABSTRACT

A thriving information and communication technology (ICT) economy is an aspiration for developing countries. This research identifies the factors that can motivate or inhibit ICT opportunities in a developing country to grow a sustainable economy. We build an ICT4D decision framework that provides a three-dimensional view based on (1) key factors (e.g. infrastructure, policies), (2) the ICT supply chain, and (3) stakeholders (e.g. industry, government, academia). The framework is applied to the case of Palestine. We use secondary and primary data to understand how both controllable and non-controllable country characteristics have contributed to or inhibited the growth and development of an ICT sector. Results from extensive secondary data sources demonstrate the usability of the framework to analyze the current setting of the ICT sector, in addition to help investigate a range of possible opportunities for action. Then, via a targeted set of interviews with academic, industrial, and governmental sources who are experts in the Palestinian ICT arena, we perform an exploratory study that focuses on key controls and impacts for future development of the ICT economy. The outcomes of this research have the ability to frame and inform economic development decisions that could define the future of the Palestinian state.

KEYWORDS:

• Information and communication technology for development (ICT4D)
• global IT
• developing economies
• Palestine
• controllable and non-controllable factors
• decision-making
• contingency theory
• control theory

Acknowledgements

We gratefully acknowledge the support and cooperation of many individuals and institutions within the Palestinian Territory. Their enthusiasm and vision for a strong ICT economy within Palestine in the face of many challenges is encouraging. We acknowledge the improvements made to this research by Dr. Jamil Jreisat, Dr. Donald Berndt, and the editors and anonymous reviewers of the paper. The first author acknowledges the support of a Fulbright scholarship during this research project.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Hasan Nuseibeh completed his Ph.D. from the University of South Florida (USF) in the Muma College of Business with the support of a Fulbright Scholarship. Dr. Nuseibeh has taught information systems and computer sciences courses at USF and Al-Quds University in Jerusalem where he also served as the Information Systems director in the President's Office. His current research interests include ICT4D, social network design, and the impacts of cloud computing technologies on organizations.

Alan R. Hevner is an Eminent Scholar and Distinguished University Professor in the Information Systems and Decision Sciences Department in the Muma College of Business at the University of South Florida. He holds the Citigroup/Hidden River Chair of Distributed Technology. Dr. Hevner's areas of research interest include design science research, information systems development, software engineering, distributed database systems, healthcare systems, and service-oriented computing. Dr. Hevner received a Ph.D. in Computer Science from Purdue University. He has held faculty positions at the University of Maryland and the University of Minnesota. Dr. Hevner is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and a Fellow of the Association for Information Systems (AIS). He is a member of ACM, IEEE, and INFORMS.

Rosann Webb Collins is Associate Professor of Information Systems and Decision Sciences at the University of South Florida. Her current research includes work on global information systems, cognition in systems development and use, and the impact of information technologies on work. Her publications include a book, Crossing Boundaries: The Deployment of Global IT Solutions, and research articles in MIS Quarterly, Information Systems Research, IEEE Transactions on Software Engineering, IEEE Software, Journal of the American Society for Information Science, and other MIS and information science publications. Dr. Collins has consulted with numerous businesses, community organizations, libraries, and educational organizations on information technology use and issues. Dr. Collins is a member of Beta Gamma Sigma, AIS, ACM, and IEEE.