School of Business and Management Studies

Permanent URI for this communityhttps://koha2.tukenya.ac.ke/handle/123456789/921

Browse

Browsing School of Business and Management Studies by Issue Date

Filter results by year or month
Now showing 1 - 20 of 77
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    Key Issues for Cios in South Africa
    (2007) Johnston, Kevin; Muganda, Nixon; Theys, Karen
    Business strategy, operations, communication and technology have converged and resulted in increased demand for business flexibility. Chief Information Officers (CIOs) are particularly challenged because they operate at the intersection between information technology, their organisations, and society. Amidst increasing emphasis on cost-efficiency, information technology resource investment and emergence of new technologies, stakeholders need to understand the most relevant issues within a three- to five-year period. This study was undertaken to contribute to the body of knowledge around key information systems issues in South Africa, with its unique social issues. Thirty-one responses were received from South African CIOs surveyed in late 2004. The top issues were: Security and control, Building a responsive IT infrastructure, IT value management, Service delivery, and Improving IS strategic planning. The ranked list of issues was compared to previous studies, and further analysed by industry and source of IT services (in-house, outsource or combination). Industry and the sourcing of information services were found to have an effect on the ranking of key issues.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Global Diffusion of the InternetXIII:Internet Diffusion in Kenya and ItsDeterminants– A Longitudinal Analysis
    (2008) Muganda, Nixon; Belle, Jean-Paul Van; Brown, Irwin
    This paper assesses Internet diffusion and its determinants in Kenya using the Global Diffusion of the Internet (GDI) framework. Kenya was selected due to its strategic importance for the economic progress of the great lakes region of Africa. An understanding of Internet diffusion in Kenya provides preliminary insight in to how the process might unfold in Eastern Africa. Theanalysisshowsthatin2008,lessthan10percentofthepopulationaccessedtheInternet,with a majority of users clustered around two major urban centers. There is an indication that across the sectors of education, commerce, health, and public service, the Internet is being embraced, with potential for further diffusion. The underlying national Internet connectivity infrastructure is well established, but skewed in favor of urban centers that have high levels of electricity penetration. Vibrant competition exists between Internet service providers despite a persistent monopoly in national fixedlinetelecommunicationsprovision. A few sophisticated applications of the Internet were found in several sectors. A snap shot of the state of Internet diffusion in Kenya reflects, on average, good performance on the various dimensions of the GDI framework. However, this overall picture masks the reality that the majority of the population, mostly in rural areas, lack access to basic amenities such as electricity,and hence infrastructure to support the Internet. The trajectory along which the Internet is diffusing has therefore led to the exclusion of this majority. The critical role that governments in developing countries play needs to be brought to the fore in order to ensure that the Internet diffusion trajectory is not left entirely to the commercial sector. The government’s ability to marshal resources, execute telecommunications regulation, as well as enable change remains pivotal to ensuring inclusive Internet diffusion.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Linking the Role of Government to Internet Diffusion in Nigeria: Is the ‘Giant’ of Africa Awakening?
    (2008) Muganda, Nixon; Bankole, Felix
    This paper focuses on the role of government in the development of the Internet, as a representative artifact of a National Information Infrastructure (NII) of a country. We consider Nigeria, a developing country that has been attempting to enhance the role of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in various sectors of her economy over the years. A longitudinal analysis of Internet diffusion, as a representative NII technology was undertaken using the Global Diffusion of the Internet (GDI) framework. As is the typical practice with studies employing the GDI framework, empirical data was gathered from a variety of documentary sources including government/regulatory bodies reports and policies, websites, newspapers and research articles. The analysis reveals that there has been a determined focus on the development of the NII infrastructure in Nigeria. What comes to the fore is the important role that government is playing in ensuring that the Internet contributes to the economic rejuvenation of the country. We pinpoint that the federal government has been ineffective in indirectly facilitating the sector in the roles of strategist, guider and integrator. It is hoped that current and future policy initiatives in the telecommunications industry will change the negative determinants of NII development
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    Towards a Nomadic E-Government Co-Evolutionary Framework (NECE) for Building Knowledge Infrastructures for African Countries
    (2009) Muganda, Nixon
    Purpose - E-Government, introduced in African countries under the banner of New Public Management (NPM), is envisaged to fundamentally aid in improving governance in developing countries. The imported model of EGovernment is therefore transferred to African countries as a panacea to bad governance by carriers such as international donor agencies, consultants, Information Technology vendors and Western-trained civil servants. Improved governance is expected to impact on the socio-economic development of these countries implementing E-Government, as an NPM instrument. This article recognizes that E-Government success, which is critically dependent on the World Wide Web, requires success frameworks that are context-dependent. This paper presents a framework for building E-Government infrastructures (NECE) in transition economies such as those in Africa. The above framework is based on a number different literatures sources and frameworks. It synthesizes literature sources on frameworks of nomadic information environments and those with a specific focus on E-Government as an E-Transformation response to the digital divide. The framework recognizes that the key technological drivers that underlie the development of computing technology are mobility, digital convergence, and mass scale. Dubbed the NECE (Nomadic E-Government Co-Evolutionary) framework, the critical dimensions focus attention on the macro level of building of Flexible Infrastructures; the meso level building of Nomadic Networks and the micro level building of Confident Communities. The critical linkages at the various levels focus on having in place the social, human resources, digital and physical resources that are necessary for addressing social exclusion of E-Government in developing countries. The new conceptualization of e-government presented in the NECE framework can be seen to have some practical implications. The NECE framework lays emphasis on the building an e-government infrastructure which is linked to the presence of various resources, which on the surface do not appear remotely connected to e-government. The conceptualization advocated for in the NECE framework recognizes that e-government is not only a technology solution, but also a social system that elevates the need for empowered individuals, communities and whole societies through the building of social, human, digital and physical resources. Thus the adoption of e-government should pay attention to the ‘localities’ within which the artifact is finding expression and that it is difficult to achieve successful implementation as long as it remains foreign and a myth.
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    THE LINK BETWEEN THE CONCEPTUALIZATION OF E-GOVERNMENT AND ITS PERCEIVED IMPACTS: AN EXPLORATORY EMPIRICAL STUDY IN KENYA
    (2010) Muganda, Nixon
    This paper examines how e-government is conceptuali zed and the possible relationship with the expected impacts of e-government in a developing wo rld context. The aim is to shed some light on why e-government initiatives often fail in developi ng world contexts. This research was based on an exhaustive survey among government agencies and con sultants in Kenya. The dimension of e- government impacts was initially operationalized in terms of connectivity, openness, efficiency and effectiveness. Government conceptualizations could be classified under tool view; proxy view; ensemble view; computational view and nominal view. Interestingly, the empirical data yielded very different impact factors than originally envisaged, which were enhanced interactions and accessibility , enhanced cooperation and awareness, a better connec ted public administration and enhanced citizen opportunities. Canonical function analysis found a supply-side focus which linked connected government to the conceptualization of e-government as an Evolving Artifact. The main contribution of this paper lies in highlighting the fact that the i mplementation of western information technologies i n developing countries will be shaped by how their im pacts are perceived. Thus both purveyors of the technologies and researchers can be made aware that , because of the very different expectations and contexts, these technologies may be conceptuali zed differently than in developed countries. In addition, the paper demonstrates a practical resear ch approach to assist in uncovering these conceptualizations more explicitly .
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    A Proposed Framework for E-Government Knowledge Infrastructures for Africa’s Transition Economies
    (2010) Muganda, Nixon O; Belle, Jean-Paul Van
    This paper proposes an empirically founded framework for building E-Government knowledge infrastructures in transition economies such as those in Africa. The proposed framework builds on the concepts of nomadic information environments. The f ramework, under the acronym NECE (Nomadic E- Government Co-Evolutionary) framework, caters for th e three levels of government: national, regional and local. At the national level lies the responsib ility of building Flexible Infrastructures. The regi onal level concentrates on the creation of nomadic netwo rks. The local level addresses the fostering of confident communities. The framework recognizes expl icitly the links and dependencies between the various levels. The strength of the framework is its systemic view in recognizing the roles of social, human resources, digital and physical resources requi red for addressing the possible social exclusion resulting from traditional “Western style” E-Govern ment implementations in developing countries. Importantly, e-government should not be conceptualize d primarily as from a technological perspective but as a tool to build of social, human, digital and physical resources in order to empower individuals, communities and whole societies
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    Teaching Business Programming Using Games: A Critical Analysis
    (2012) Muganda, Nixon; Pieter, Joubert Jr; Toit, Jacques Du; Johnson, Roy
    This paper examin es the persistent problematic issue of engaging business st u- dents in teaching computer programming. Studies continue to document challenges in teach- ing computer programming and various methods have been proposed with varying degrees of success. From an edu cator’s perspective, the concern is how to engage students to enable the effective delivery of computer programming principles to the students. From a student’s per- spective, how they experience the computer programming course will leave students with good programming habits, the ability to learn on their own and a favourable impression of the field of Information Systems as a profession. Method. The study used a case study design in which a survey and interviews were conduc t- ed among 138 students currently registered for a second year computer pr o gramming course at large urban University in South Africa. Three instructors involved in teaching the class were also interviewed to gauge their perspectives in relation to those offered by the st u dents. Results. Ou r findings refutes the notion that the popular use of computer games in social co n- texts implies that they can be used successfully for teaching computer programming to bus i- ness students. This allowed us, as educators in a position of power over students, t o reflect on our intentions when re - designing cu r ricula. Discussion and Conclusion. We suggest that while teaching innovations should be linked to a broader theme reflexive practice of experimentation; educators should encourage fee d back from other stakeho lders to foster ‘reflexive competence’, a desired property for transform a- tion of cu r ricula.Discussion and Conclusion. We suggest that while teaching innovations should be linked to a broader theme reflexive practice of experimentation; educators should encourage fee d back from other stakeho lders to foster ‘reflexive competence’, a desired property for transform a- tion of cu r ricula.
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    GROUP THINK DECISION MAKIN G DEFICIENCY IN THE REQUIREMENTS ENGINEERING PROCESS: TOWARDS A CROWDSOURC ING MODEL
    (2012) Muganda, Nixon; Asmelash, Dawit; Samal, Mlay
    We make an argument that requirements engineering, as a primer to information technology deployment in organizations, is largely failing because decision making in the requirements engineering (RE) process empathizes with the ethos of 'group think' which 'fuels' inefficient 'control indeterminacy.' We make this argument from the premise that technological artifacts that get inscribed within organizational culture and design do so through an initial process that involves prioritization, which in itself is theorized as an outcome of organizational discourse. We draw on critical realism's retroductive approach and the practice of 'group think' for grounding crowdsourcing in IT project prioritization. Our choice of crowdsourcing as a remedy for inefficiencies in IT Project prioritization is deliberate: it elevates the notion of group think as a theoretical lens; and is in line with the positioning of organizational decision making as deliberately constitutive and representative of stakeholder interests. However, we remain attentive guard against utopianism, but still make the claim that crowdsourcing provides us with some traction for seeking alternatives that can lead to a re-invigoration in RE research for effective practices in IT projects. The analyses links RE decision making deficiency to the prevalence of Organizational Resistance, Technical Incompetence, Lack of a Moral and Ethical Code and Inappropriate Leadership for Creativity
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    Sustainability of e-participation through mobile technologies
    (2013) Muganda, Nixon O; Mawela, Tendani
    The social sustainability of ICT for development projects such as e-government in developing nations remains a challenging issue. Particularly pertinent to the concept of e-government is that of electronic participation (e-participation) of citizens in services offered over an e-government platform, yet studies claim that such initiatives exacerbate social exclusion problem. Globally, and specifically in Africa, the ineffective participation of citizens is marked by waning confidence in service delivery capabilities of political institutions, yet e-government is considered as one of the reform instruments for the attainment of good governance. Governments and pressure groups in many countries are realizing that these trends are problematic, and are seeking to broaden and deepen citizen participation in governance, notably through the use of mobile technologies that continues to play a vital role in the trajectory of ICT development in Africa. This study advances the prominent role that mobile technology will play in anchoring e-participation strategies and policies to improve the social sustainability of ICT4D projects geared towards improving governance. The paper presents the results of cluster analysis of a South African survey aimed at assessing the accessibility, attitudes and the skills necessary for embedding mobile technology as part of an e-participation strategy. The results indicate that, despite the predominant perception that socially excluded groups typically lack the skills, equitable access and the right attitudes for e-inclusion mobile technology provides a viable platform for enhancing e-participation. The results also highlighted skepticism related to the potential of mobile technology in augmenting government services. Our analysis revealed that the skepticism is partly linked to aspects of electronic illiteracy. We therefore recommend that for e-government to achieve long term sustainability there should be a focus on electronic literacy in the formal educational sphere and also in work practices.
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    Leadership for the electronic age : towards a development-oriented, socio-technical ontology of leadership : scene setting
    (2013) Muganda, NO
    The idea of an ontology of leadership for the electronic age raises "big questions" from the perspective of leadership as a broad interdisciplinary practice. This article aims to capture the current dilemma in leadership research and practice that Hackman and Wageman (2007) concluded is "curiously unformed". It aims to add a socio-technical voice, rarely heard in a fiercely behavioural school, even where global advances in ICT have tipped the scales towards reifying a more integrative view of leadership. It does not claim to present an integrated theory of leadership; rather, it seeks to elevate the socio-technical school within leadership theory and shift the discourse on leadership to be more inclusive of socio-technical thinking. The concept of "regional ontology", derived from Heidegger, to refer to "as lived" practices and experiences of a particular social group (in this case Africa), is extended to discuss a development-oriented ontology of leadership. This enables us to recognise that effective organisational leadership in Africa and other developing countries should be anchored in local values; encourage netrepreneurship, take into account opportunities afforded by mobile computing platforms and high diffusion of mobile applications; focus on ethical leadership engagement to spur e-particpation and e-democracy; and develop national and regional innovation systems to enable Africa and other developing regions to participate in global knowledge flows.
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    Forms of power, politics and leadership in asynchronous virtual project environment: An exploratory analysis in South Africa
    (2013) Muganda, Nixon; Pillay, Kiyashen
    Purpose – The paper aims to investigate the forms of power, politics and leadership exercised by project leaders within asynchronous virtual project environments (VPEs). The purpose of this paper is to link effective project leadership to particular forms of power and politics within a VPE. Design/methodology/approach – The empirical data are based on a quantitative telecommunications sector case study, complemented with some interviews, following a semi‐structured approach. The research was approached based from a positivistic philosophical paradigm and using a survey research strategy. The questionnaire‐based survey consisted of a sample of 28 respondents split between project managers (39.3 percent) and team members (60.7 percent). Findings – The research results indicated a significant finding which linked leadership effectiveness to asynchronous VPE usage and communication. Factor analysis of the type of leadership exercised within an asynchronous VPE revealed two forms of effective leadership. The first one, named, Structured Charismatic Exchange, is underpinned by three forms of leadership styles: charismatic, virtual and transactional leadership. The second insight from the factor analysis also revealed significant loadings for two forms of leadership: Participative and Shared leadership. The common strand in both is the need to elevate the ethos of teams, which effectively implies that control in VPE ought to be decentralized responsibly to enhance sharing. This is possibly relevant in a bid to minimize conflicts and thus develop a project organization that encourages teamwork. Therefore, this factor was named Decentralized Team Leadership. Unlike the first factor, where the focus is on how the project leader projects his/her personality to influence people, the realization is that for a project organization to succeed, project goals and decisions emerge from bargaining, negotiating, and jockeying for position among members of different coalitions. Research limitations/implications – Reported limitations are based on the sample size, effect of sectoral culture on the findings and constrained view of the virtuality construct. Future research should investigate other sectors with a large sample and expand the dimensions of the virtuality as a construct. Practical implications – The paper concludes that project leaders should re‐orient leadership practices to fit virtual project environments, taking into account the need for a more decentralized form of leadership and systematic trust building. Originality/value – The recognition of the uniqueness of particular forms of power and politics relevant for the exercise of effective leadership in asynchronous virtual environments is emphasized in this research paper.
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    Determinants of technology innovation implementation effectiveness in higher education institutions
    (2013) Kandiri, J; Muganda, N
    Higher education institutions have continued to acquire technologies with alacrity. However, the transition from adoption to application in teaching and learning has been below expectations. This exploratory study investigated the lack of cadence between adoption and effective implementation of educational technology initiatives. The study was based on PHEA-ETI projects that ran between June 2008 and June 2012. The projects entailed implementation of technology initiatives for example animating science content among others. A questionnaire was sent to all persons involved in the implementation of the projects. Out of the 163 targeted respondents, 105 usable responses were received. Team leaders were interviewed with focus groups held with implementation teams. The study adopted: top management, financial motivation, organizational culture. The new model added the variables: team leadership, monitoring and evaluation and innovation efficacy. When the data was analysed using SPSS version 17, the results confirmed determinants from earlier studies while also showing that team leadership and project efficacy were significant factors to consider in technology innovation implementation.
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    Linking Reasoning to Theoretical Argument in Information Systems Research
    (2013) Muganda, Nixon O
    This paper looks at the application of theory in research by linking theory use to reasoning and the influence of paradigms. The paper relies on how theory is conceptualized in the philosophy of science and an argument is advanced that theoretical reasoning is the basis of logic in the research process. Theoretical reasoning, which we consider as a social, interactive, goal-directed tool of persuasion for creating scientific knowledge, is considered as the precursor to argumentation typically visible in research products such as journal papers, theses, dissertations, working papers as well as public debates and arguments. Argumentation is then linked to the various reasoning modes: abduction, deduction, induction and retroduction. The function of theory in the various modes of reasoning is highlighted and examples provided.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    National culture and organizational capabilities of IT offshoring services in Kenya
    (2013) Muganda, Nixon O; Fadhili, Athman
    The pervasive adoption of outsourced information technology (IT) services has made the multi-billion dollar information technology outsourcing industry become important to individual organizations and governments as well. IT offshoring elevates the importance of country destination where services are outsourced to with increasing attention shifting to offshore destinations in Africa. African countries are emerging as offshore destinations because they are regarded as low cost regions, while the traditional ‘captive’ destinations such as India and China are becoming middle income and thus with increasing cost levels. To examine the influence of organization capability and national cultures in offshoring success, a case study was used and theoretical thematic analysis employed. From the analysis, this study recommends a framework dubbed the renewal, credibility and sensitivity (RCS) framework. The critical dimensions revolve around the need for Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) firms to enhance their capabilities through organizational renewal; countries to enhance their competitiveness through development of their national credibility; while global stakeholders should recognize that there is a need for development of intercultural competence, not only from vendor perspectives, but also from client organizations. The framework recognizes that the key drivers that underlie the development of offshoring success include the need to build organizational capability, positive convergence of country factor conditions and enhancing intercultural competence
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    Evaluating Creative Mobile Applications Development Using Emotional Design
    (2014) Muganda, Nixon O; Villiers, Carina De; Twinomurinzi, Hossana; Pretorius, Jaco
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    Influence processes of implementation effectiveness in challenged information technology projects in Africa
    (2014) Muganda, Nixon Ochara; Kandiri, John; Johnson, Roy
    Purpose – This research reports on how influence processes (IP) impact on the implementation effectiveness of information technology (IT) projects. Drawing on an innovation perspective that elevate the interplay of factors related to innovations framing, innovations environment and innovation attributes, the study focused on IT projects based in Africa that are generally classified as “challenged” due to the conditions in the environment. The purpose of this paper is to assess how IP related to innovation framing, innovation environment and innovation attributes can be used to determine implementation effectiveness. Design/methodology/approach – Using a interpretive approach, a case study of institutions under a partnership that has been implementing various educational technologies in five African countries formed the sample. In all, 25 interviews of top-management representatives, project leaders and user representatives were conducted between 2012 and 2013 to assess the implementation effectiveness of these projects. Theoretical thematic analysis, based on a deductive approach, was employed to analyse the data. Findings – The results show that a majority of these development-oriented projects are “mandated failures” characterized by high framing, a bad internal environment and typically negative innovation attributes. That typically, the institutions engage symbolically in such innovations initiatives which are regarded as “show” projects. Such behaviour can be construed to be a pattern of cynical technology adoption linked to the appeasement of external stakeholders. In addition, participation in initiatives was largely symbolic and is considered as a mere demonstration of a modern organization that is technologically aware, yet the requisite innovation environment is lacking for effective appropriation of the technology. Third, mandated failures result in low morale of employees, who regard themselves as pawns in the process which make them grudgingly participate in the implementation process. Practical implications – These findings have implications for managing innovations in such challenged environments: the first proposition is that projects in challenged environment for innovation adopting organizations need to be considered as technology transfer projects. Second, the innovation environment and attributes can only be improved during implementation of the conditions related to absorptive capacity of the organization and the individual are addressed. Originality/value – The research reported in this paper, provides an empirical determination of the concept of implementation effectiveness by using three constructs of innovations framing, environment and attributes. On the basis of the empirical findings, an original contribution is claimed, especially in “challenged” IT project environments where the concept of success if fluid and outcomes uncertain.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Joint and Individual Effects of Human Resource Management Practices, Organizational Learning, Employee Outcomes and Competitive Strategy on Performance of Firms Listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange
    (2015-06-10) Sagwa, Evans Vidija; K’Obonyo, Peter; Martin, Ogutu
    This paper is based on empirical research carried out on firms listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange in Kenya, focusing on the joint and individual effects of Human Resource Management Practices (HRMP), organizational learning, employee outcomes and competitive strategy on firm performance. Previous research demonstrating the link between HRMP and firm performance has mainly focused on the private sector in the Developed World but has not used the selected variables, yet understanding this relationship in publicly listed firms, in the Developing World setting is equally important. The joint effect of HRMP, organizational learning, employee outcomes and competitive strategy on firm performance has not been established with the selected set of variables, yet theory has demonstrated that these variables can have an effect on firm performance. This study was motivated by the desire to fill this gap in knowledge. The objective of the study was to establish whether the joint effect of HRMP, organizational learning, employee outcomes and competitive strategy on firm performance is greater than the independent effect of HRMP, employee outcomes, organizational learning and competitive strategy on firm performance. The research design was cross sectional descriptive survey. Data was collected using a self-administered questionnaire, from a population of 60 NSE listed firms. The response rate was 60%. Descriptive statistics, correlation and regression techniques were used to analyze the data. The results of the study show that there was empirical evidence that the joint effect of HRMP, employee outcomes, organizational learning and competitive strategy on firm performance was greater than the individual independent effects of HRMP, employee outcomes, organizational learning and competitive strategy on firm performance. This study contributes to understanding of the effect the predictor variables on firm performance, while at the same time confirms the findings of previous studies that have found a significant link between HRMP and firm performance. The study also established that the combined effect of predictor variables on firm performance was greater than the individual independent effects of the predictor variables on firm performance. It is recommended that firms have to ensure that they synergistically combine various variables that they choose to use in order to attain and sustain a superior competitive advantage in their operations.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Moderating Effect of Competitive Strategy on the Relationship between Employee Outcomes and Performance of Firms Listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange
    (2015-06-12) Sagwa, Evans Vidija; K’Obonyo, Peter; Ogutu, Martin
    The role of competitive strategy in the relationship between employee outcomes and firm performance has not been established with the selected set of variables, yet theory has demonstrated that competitive strategy can have an effect on this relationship. This study was motivated by the desire to fill this gap in knowledge. The objective of the study was to assess the moderating effect of competitive strategy on the relationship between employee outcomes and firm performance. The research design was cross sectional descriptive survey. Data was collected using a self-administered questionnaire, from a population of 60(100%) Nairobi Securities Exchange listed firms. The response rate was 36(60%).Descriptive statistics, correlation and regression techniques were used to analyze the data. The results indicate that competitive strategy moderates the relationship between employee outcomes and firm performance. The study has empirically confirmed that competitive strategy moderates the relationship between employee outcomes and firm performance. It was recommended that firms have to align employee outcomes to the competitive strategy adopted by the firms in order to attain and sustain a superior competitive advantage in their operations.