ghanaopendata/ghanaian-research-english huggingface dataset:
E-business Triggers: An Exploratory Study of Ghanaian Non-traditional (NTEs) Exporters

This study sought to ascertain what key international and local triggers accelerated or militated against their e-business adoption process in Ghanaian non-traditional export (NTE) firms. The macro international trigger explored was competition from exporters in other countries as well as an ascertainment of the significance of export direction. The macro level trigger explored hinged on the level of infrastructural support available for e-business adoption and deployment. Study focused on active non-traditional exporters in Accra. 60 firms responded to questionnaires on e-business and exporting. Analysis of the data was mainly by means of descriptive statistics. Competition acts as a trigger for e-business adoption even though its relationship to the level of internationalization could not be clearly established. E-business is important for Ghanaian exporters irrespective of where they are exporting to and they seem prepared to go electronic irrespective of the level of infrastructural within and without their export firms.

Source: UG
E-commerce and Socio-Economic Development: Conceptualising the Link.

Purpose – E‐commerce is diffusing into developing countries (DCs), and is assumed to help deliver the international development agenda. But how can the connection between e‐commerce and socio‐economic development be conceptualised? The aim of this paper is to analyse that connection by drawing from the development studies discipline to take a broader perspective on e‐commerce than that so far provided by firm‐level research. Design/methodology/approach – The authors adopt a literature survey approach, drawing their conceptual foundations from development studies, and supplementing this from the e‐commerce literature. Findings – The paper develops a new, integrated model that explains the way in which e‐commerce can contribute to socio‐economic development. Research limitations/implications – This new model can help provide a foundation for future research on e‐commerce in DCs; research on e‐commerce policy as well as impact assessment research. Practical implications – The discussion and model provide development agencies, governments, consultants and business people working in DCs with a clearer sense of the contribution e‐commerce can make; assisting them in prioritization, planning, and evaluation of e‐commerce projects. Originality/value – The paper provides the first integrated perspective on the broader contribution of e‐commerce to the growth and development of DCs.

Source: UG
E-commerce and socio-economic development: Conceptualizing the link

Purpose – E-commerce is diffusing into developing countries (DCs), and is assumed to help deliver the international development agenda. But how can the connection between e-commerce and socio-economic development be conceptualized? The aim of this paper is to analyse that connection by drawing from the development studies discipline to take a broader perspective on e-commerce than that so far provided by firm-level research. Design/methodology/approach – The authors adopt a literature survey approach, drawing their conceptual foundations from development studies, and supplementing this from the e-commerce literature. Findings – The paper develops a new, integrated model that explains the way in which e-commerce can contribute to socio-economic development. Research limitations/implications – This new model can help provide a foundation for future research on e-commerce in DCs; research on e-commerce policy as well as impact assessment research. Practical implications – The discussion and model provide development agencies, governments, consultants and business people working in DCs with a clearer sense of the contribution e-commerce can make; assisting them in prioritization, planning, and evaluation of e-commerce projects. Originality/value – The paper provides the first integrated perspective on the broader contribution of e-commerce to the growth and development of DCs.

Source: UG
E‐commerce capabilities of a Ghanaian used car retailer

Title – E‐commerce capabilities of a Ghanaian used car retailer. Subject area – Enterprise, Strategy. Study level/applicability – This case study is about a used car retailer in an African country, specifically Ghana. Lessons drawn from the case could be applied in societies which are highly socialised; not individualistic. Case overview – Ghana is one of the first African countries to be hooked up to the internet. However, there has been a very slow uptake of “traditional” e‐commerce applications due to a number of critical factors including a legal framework, and electronic payment system. Despite these challenges, some firms are making strides to use the power of the internet to enhance their operations. For example, the case firm uses social relationships to sell its first stock of cars and to re‐design its website. Other findings and lessons from this case could be applied to similar contexts. Expected learning outcomes – An understanding of how society influences business operations, especially in an African or Ghanaian context. Learners can also draw lessons that could be applicable to enhancing and growing the e‐commerce capabilities of offline firms. Supplementary materials – Teaching notes.

Source: UG
E-commerce Capabilities of a Ghanaian Used Car Retailer

Study level/applicability – This case study is about a used car retailer in an African country, specifically Ghana. Lessons drawn from the case could be applied in societies which are highly socialised; not individualistic. Case overview – Ghana is one of the first African countries to be hooked up to the internet. However, there has been a very slow uptake of “traditional” e-commerce applications due to a number of critical factors including a legal framework, and electronic payment system. Despite these challenges, some firms are making strides to use the power of the internet to enhance their operations. For example, the case firm uses social relationships to sell its first stock of cars and to re-design its website. Other findings and lessons from this case could be applied to similar contexts. Expected learning outcomes – An understanding of how society influences business operations, especially in an African or Ghanaian context. Learners can also draw lessons that could be applicable to enhancing and growing the e-commerce capabilities of offline firms.

Source: UG
E-governance in Africa's local governments: Do district assemblies in Ghana optimize the use of websites and social media?

The case study research design was adopted to evaluate websites and social media portals (Facebook and Twitter) of two municipal assemblies in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana. Data were collected through the researcher's interaction with these portals, interviews and focus group discussions with 36 respondents. It was established that these platforms have provided new channels for information sharing between local authorities and citizens. Again, it was also found that it facilitates interaction with local authorities. Nevertheless, it came out that its full deployment has not been realized. Despite favorable demographic characteristics, citizens in the study areas do not make good use of e‐government options to interact with their local government officials. The research explores the challenges and opportunities for the adoption of these e‐government initiatives by metropolitan, municipal, and district assemblies (MMDAs) in Ghana. Key conclusions and policy implications are drawn from the study.

Source: UG
E‐governance in Africa's local governments: Do district assemblies in Ghana optimize the use of websites and social media?

The case study research design was adopted to evaluate websites and social media portals (Facebook and Twitter) of two municipal assemblies in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana. Data were collected through the researcher's interaction with these portals, interviews and focus group discussions with 36 respondents. It was established that these platforms have provided new channels for information sharing between local authorities and citizens. Again, it was also found that it facilitates interaction with local authorities. Nevertheless, it came out that its full deployment has not been realized. Despite favorable demographic characteristics, citizens in the study areas do not make good use of e‐government options to interact with their local government officials. The research explores the challenges and opportunities for the adoption of these e‐government initiatives by metropolitan, municipal, and district assemblies (MMDAs) in Ghana. Key conclusions and policy implications are drawn from the study.

Source: UG
E-government and public service quality in Ghana

This article contributes to the growing discourse on the potential of e-government to transform the operations of public sector institutions, thereby improving public services. It does so by conceptualizing public service quality into efficiency, economy (cost reduction), customer satisfaction, and service accessibility and draws on qualitative data from the Ghanaian narrative for illustration. As previous studies have demonstrated, this study also affirms the potential of e-government in improving public services delivery by increasing efficiency, reducing the cost of operations, expanding access to services, and achieving customer satisfaction. Yet, there remains a repertoire of challenges such as weak ICT infrastructure especially in towns and villages, incessant power outages and illiteracy, which are drawbacks to fully harnessing the benefits of e-government in Ghana. The study recommends that these challenges should feature prominently in e-government policies to increase the chances of solving them. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Source: UG
An e-government framework for assessing readiness for public sector e-procurement in a lower-middle income country

Governments globally are leveraging information and communication technology (ICT) growth towards improving the quality of public procurement services for socio-economic development. However, the extent of its application differs across nations. Notwithstanding the extant theoretical and empirical literature on IT for development, knowledge on how to assess readiness for adopting a full e-procurement system in the public sector of lower and lower-middle income countries (LMICs) begs for understanding. With the narrative of Ghana, we address this gap by drawing on the institutional and economic theory and the United Nations E-Government Development Index towards a holistic framework beyond the dyad of linear website functionalities and internet focus of prior e-government adoption models. Elite interviews gathered from multiple cases from Ghana’s public sector reveals the key readiness determinants for a full public sector e-procurement system. This study has significant implications for shaping the process-oriented management of government e-procurement projects towards socio-economic development in LMICs amid their complex institutional and socio-technical environments.

Source: UG
e-Government Services in Ghana — Current State and Future Perspective

Current trends have proven that services provided by Electronic Government (e-Government) are helpful in the realization of good governance objectives. These e-Government services leverage on modern Information and Communication Technologies to provide an effective electronic public administration platform through which citizens and a government’s Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) interact with one another. The openness of these e-Government services enhances a government’s ability to achieve transparency, citizen tr st and participation, while c tting down on the cost of governance. It is for these and many other benefits that the Government of Ghana has placed in pragmatic efforts in enacting e-Government policies and deploying pilot projects in several parts of the country. These deployments have mainly been spearheaded by the National Information Technology Agency (NITA). These pilot projects, to some extent, have achieved objectives such as creation of external relations (e-society); refinement of governance procedures (eadministration); and connecting nationals (e-services and e-citizens). Whilst these pilot projects have improved governance structures, dissemination of information and growth of the economy, lack of good infrastructure and sustainable funding schemes for these projects have been identified as major challenges that have affected the full realization of the set goals. This paper investigates the key mitigating factors associated with the pilot e-Governance projects in Ghana by evaluating the existing systems and then looks towards the future.

Source: UG
E-Learning and E-Library Services at the University of Ghana: prospects and challenges

This paper investigates the prospects and challenges of using an e-learning platform, Knowledge Environment for Web-based Learning, (KEWL) by the teaching staff of the Faculty of Social Studies, University of Ghana. It also highlights the need for interoperability of e-library services within the e-learning platform. Data collected through survey questionnaires and in-depth interviews were used to examine faculty awareness and opinions, expectations and capabilities in using KEWL for teaching and learning. The analysis of the data suggests that infrastructure, technology and training should be considered by the university administrators to increase the rate of adoption of e-learning within the community. Implications for the development of strategies for e-learning and interoperability of e-library services within that platform are proposed for university administrators not only in Ghana but also for other African countries. This paper presents a modest contribution to the discourse on the integration of e-library services within the e-learning platform from a developing country’s perspective. It offers important insights into how e-library services and e-learning in developing countries can be better managed to enhance its rapid adoption.

Source: UG
E-learning experiences of adults during COVID-19 outbreak The moderating effect of gender

COVID-19 has brought surprises in the educational landscape. Educational institutions had to hurriedly migrate all teaching, learning and assessment activities to online platforms. Such was the case of adult learners who had signed on to the access course for entrance into the University of Ghana. This study sought to find out how the e-learning experiences of adult learners differed across gender as they studied English language, Logic and Mathematics online. From a quantitative analysis of the data, the online experience of students with regard to Mathematics learning did not differ along gender lines. Therefore, the experiences of males and females were similar. Though there were differences across gender groups regarding Logic and English language experiences and those of Logic experience were much bigger, where males provided overall more positive ratings than females. Specifically, for Logic experience, instructors’ show of respect to students and understanding of the learning needs of students and effective communication were rated generally better among males than females. Going forward, Logic instructors should pay equal attention to both groups, irrespective of their gender, to identify their learning needs and support them accordingly. Furthermore, all the instructors, irrespective of their course, could continue to improve their delivery of the courses as well as their relationships with the students in order to enhance future experience of the students.

Source: UG
E-learning experiences of adults during Covid-19 outbreak: The moderating effect of gender

Covid-19 has brought surprises in the educational landscape. Educational institutions had to hurriedly migrate all teaching, learning and assessment activities to online platforms. Such was the case of adult learners who had signed on to the access course for entrance into the University of Ghana. This study sought to find out how the e-learning experiences of adult learners differed across gender as they studied English language, Logic and Mathematics online. From a quantitative analysis of the data, the online experience of students with regard to Mathematics learning did not differ along gender lines. Therefore, the experiences of males and females were similar. Though, there were differences across gender groups regarding Logic and English language experiences, those of Logic experience were much bigger, where males provided overall more positive ratings than females. Specifically, for Logic experience, instructors’ show of respect to students, understanding of the learning needs of students and effective communication were rated generally better among males than females. Going forward, Logic instructors should pay equal attention to both groups irrespective of their gender to identify their learning needs and support them accordingly. Furthermore, all the instructors irrespective of their course could continue to improve their delivery of the courses as well as their relationships with the students in order to enhance future experience of the students.

Source: UG
An E-Support Firm’s Response to Local E-Readiness and the Global E-Business Environment&quot;, IN Alshawi, M. &amp; Arif, M. (Eds.) Cases on E-Readiness and Information Systems Management in Organizations: Tools for Maximizing Strategic Alignment

The purpose of this study is to understand a small e-support firm’s response to the local e-readiness and the global e-business environment in a developing context. E-Support firms provide Web development and consultancy services to user organizations, assisting them in their uptake and maintenance of their Internet applications. Within the e-readiness research area, little is known about e-support firms, particularly in connection with their interaction with their local and the global e-business environment. As yet the emphasis on e-readiness studies has been at the national level. Nevertheless, the e-support sector is very significant in the successful adoption and diffusion of the Internet and related applications in any economy. It is thus important to understand how such firms relate to their e-business environments.That said, this study draws on the interpretive case study of a small e-support firm in Ghana, a developing context, to investigate the firm’s response to the e-readiness level of the local and the global e-business environment. Findings show that the firm could employ resources from the global environment to address most of the infrastructural challenges posed by a relatively poor local e-readiness context. However, its attempt to transfer advanced e-business technologies from the global e-business environment to the local e-business context did not succeed. This chapter offers implications for practice and research concerning the notion of reconciling local and global e-business environments in the small e-support sector.

Source: UG
E-Taxing Maturity In Developing Economies: Evidence From Corporate Tax Payers In Ghana.

Purpose – The adoption of e-taxing plays an important role in modernizing tax administration. Ghana, like many other developing countries, has adopted e-taxing to modernize its revenue collection processes and improve its tax-to-GDP ratio. This study aims to examine the current state of e-taxing maturity in Ghana, focusing on the advancements made and what can be done to achieve a mature e-taxing system. Design/methodology/approach – Through qualitative design, interviews were conducted with Ghana Revenue Authority, National Information Technology Agency and Businesses to provide an in-depth understanding of the strengths, weaknesses and opportunities for improving e-taxing maturity. Findings – The study reveals mixed e-taxing maturity. While the digital service aspect of e-taxing has seen progress, digital infrastructure, digital analytics, digital integration and digital culture hinder the full actualization of mature e-taxing. Research limitations/implications – The findings suggest the need for a comprehensive plan that addresses regulatory, cultural, technical and organizational aspects to drive digital transformation in e-taxing tax implementation. Social implications – The lack of resilient infrastructure, especially in rural areas, can worsen societal inequalities. Owing to the lack of telecommunication infrastructure and poor internet connectivity in rural areas, businesses in these areas may lack the needed information for business growth and expansion. This can result in unfair treatment of rural businesses widening the inequality gap between businesses in urban areas and rural areas. Therefore, the study is important from the standpoint that implementing the recommendations will help to bridge the gap between businesses in urban areas and rural areas. Originality/value – To the best of the author’s knowledge, this study is among the first to conduct an empirical study on e-taxing maturity in Ghana.

Source: UG
E-Waste in Africa: A Serious Threat to the Health of Children

Waste electronic and electrical equipment (e-waste) consists of used and discarded electrical and electronic items ranging from refrigerators to cell phones and printed circuit boards. It is frequently moved from developed countries to developing countries where it is dismantled for valuable metals in informal settings, resulting in significant human exposure to toxic substances. E-waste is a major concern in Africa, with large sites in Ghana and Nigeria where imported e-waste is dismantled under unsafe conditions. However, as in many developing countries, used electronic and electrical devices are imported in large quantities because they are in great demand and are less expensive than new ones. Many of these used products are irreparable and are discarded with other solid waste to local landfills. These items are then often scavenged for the purpose of extracting valuable metals by heating and burning, incubating in acids and other methods. These activities pose significant health risks to workers and residents in communities near recycling sites. E-waste burning and dismantling activities are frequently undertaken at e-waste sites, often in or near homes. As a result, children and people living in the surrounding areas are exposed, even if they are not directly involved in the recycling. While toxic substances are dangerous to individuals at any age, children are more vulnerable as they are going through important developmental processes, and some adverse health impacts may have long-term impacts. We review the e-waste situation in Africa with a focus on threats to children’s health.

Source: UG
E-Waste: An Emerging Challenge to Solid Waste Management in Ghana

The recent expanded usage of electronic materials like computers, television sets and refrigerators in Ghana has not generated an effective infrastructure of waste disposal. Since wastes associated with many electronic products exhibit hazardous characteristics, the absence of e-waste management law and appropriate infrastructure to handle its end-of-life by-products have compounded the challenges posed by their disposal. Using both qualitative and quantitative research methods, this paper examines the current e-waste management practices in Ghana. It highlights some of the associated environmental and health hazards, and challenges the argument that the exportation of e-products to developing countries will primarily help ‘bridge the digital divide’. Finally, it calls on the authorities to enact and enforce appropriate regulations and policies to help bring better environmental control into the booming ICT sector

Source: UG