John Effah

Bio: John Effah is an academic researcher from University of Ghana. The author has contributed to research in topics: Developing country & Information system. The author has an hindex of 9, co-authored 60 publications receiving 513 citations. Previous affiliations of John Effah include University of Salford.

Virtual Platforms for Government Services in COVID-19 and Beyond: A Sociomaterial Case Study of Passport Service in Ghana

Abstract: In the COVID-19 era, the use of virtual platforms to meet social and physical distancing requirements has become more important across the world. Before COVID-19, information systems research on virtual platforms had focused on born-digital organizations and virtual platformization of pre-digital organizations in the private sector. Not much research therefore exists on virtual platformization of government services, especially from the developing world. This study therefore investigates a virtual platformization initiative for passport service in Ghana and its performance under the COVID-19 lockdown and beyond. The findings show that the service could not be fully platformized to meet physical distancing requirements due to activities related to physical materials such as signature, stamps, and documents as well as non-platformized systems of collaborating institutions. The paper discusses these constraints and how they can be addressed to enable end-to-end virtual platformization of government services in COVID-19 and beyond.

Biometric system for protecting information and improving service delivery: The case of a developing country's social security and pension organisation

Abstract: The conception of biometric systems as a means of securing sensitive information and enhancing service delivery remains under-researched. To address this knowledge gap, we explore the case of a public-sector social security and pension organisation in Ghana using a qualitative interpretative study approach and the information security model of confidentiality-integrity-availability as an analytical lens. The study's findings indicate that integrating and using biometric identification and authentication as part of delivering social security and pension services can protect availability, confidentiality, and integrity of information. The findings further show that the use of a biometric system for social security and pension information security can contribute to reducing service turnaround time and vulnerability to fraudulent manipulation of benefits payments. The study provides implications for research, practice, and policy. For research, the paper opens up biometric systems’ study from the perspective of information security and service improvement. For practice and policy, the study demonstrates the importance of aligning biometric systems’ deployment and use with domain application requirements.

Electronic Procurement Practices in the Public Sector: The Case of an Inter-organizational Information System in Ghana.

Abstract: The importance of inter-organizational information systems (IOISs) to contemporary organizations has been demonstrated in research and practice. However, the effects of IOISs use on procurement practices in the public sector are less understood. The practice lens theory is drawn upon in this study to understand IOIS effects on procurement activities in the public sector of Ghana, a developing country context. The findings show the effects as: (1) successful online tendering processes; (2) unsuccessful online procurement execution processes; and (3) continuing use of paper-based document exchanges. The paper discusses how the effects resulted in a partial online procurement system and the failure to realize the desired benefits. It also discusses the constraints of a full-scale e-procurement platform deployment and use in developing country public sector and how they can be addressed.

The Human Condition.

Abstract: Human beings are described by many spiritual traditions as ‘blind’ or ‘asleep’ or ‘in a dream.’ These terms refers to the limited attenuated state of consciousness of most human beings caught up in patterns of conditioned thought, feeling and perception, which prevent the development of our latent, higher spiritual possibilities. In the words of Idries Shah: “Man, like a sleepwalker who suddenly ‘comes to’ on some lonely road has in general no correct idea as to his origins or his destiny.” In some religious traditions, such as Christianity and Islam, the myth of the ‘Fall from the Garden of Eden’ symbolizes the loss of the primordial state through the veiling of higher consciousness. Other traditions use similar metaphors to describe the spiritual condition of humanity:

The iron cage revisited: Institutional isomorphism and collective rationality in organizational fields (Chinese Translation)

Abstract: What makes organizations so similar? We contend that the engine of rationalization and bureaucratization has moved from the competitive marketplace to the state and the professions. Once a set of organizations emerges as a field, a paradox arises: rational actors make their organizations increasingly similar as they try to change them. We describe three isomorphic processes-coercive, mimetic, and normative—leading to this outcome. We then specify hypotheses about the impact of resource centralization and dependency, goal ambiguity and technical uncertainty, and professionalization and structuration on isomorphic change. Finally, we suggest implications for theories of organizations and social change.