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.

Application Programming Interface (API) Research: A Review of the Past to Inform the Future

Abstract: The purpose of this study is to perform a synthesis of API research. The study took stock of literature from academic journals on APIs with their associated themes, frameworks, methodologies, publi...

Institutional Barriers to Digitalization of Government Budgeting in Developing Countries: A Case Study of Ghana

Abstract: This paper aims to understand how and why institutional barriers constrain digitalization of government budgeting in a developing country context. E‐Government studies that specifically focus on public sector budgeting as a cross‐agency activity remain limited. While the dominant research focus has been on government interactions with citizens and businesses, budgeting as a significant cross‐agency process is yet to receive the necessary research attention. To address this gap, this study employed institutional theory as the analytical lens and qualitative, interpretive case study as the methodology to investigate a government budgeting digitalization project and related challenges in the developing country context of Ghana. The findings show that outdated laws and the culture of paper document flows were institutional barriers to the budgeting digitalization. Other barriers included non‐use of an integrated system implementation approach as well as inadequate and unreliable online access for all the participating units. The originality of the paper lies in its focus on government budgeting as a significant e‐government research phenomenon.

Mobilizing culture for e-business in developing countries: an actor network theory account

Abstract: The purpose of this study is to understand how developing country cultures can be mobilized for e-business. Within the developing country e-business literature, culture has been highlighted as a barrier. Less is however known about culture as an enabler. Despite calls for cultural fit, empirical evidence on how to achieve the fit remains limited. This study follows actor-network theory (ANT) as a lens and interpretive case study as a methodology to understand how funeral culture in the developing country context of Ghana was mobilized for an e-business venture. The findings demonstrate an enabling perspective of developing country culture, complementing the dominant constraining view in the literature. The paper argues that although e-business emerged from the developed world, it could be malleable to varied contexts. The paper encourages developing country entrepreneurs and researchers to seek ways to align e-business to local contexts.

Institutional Effects on E-payment Entrepreneurship in a Developing Country: Enablers and Constraints

Abstract: The purpose of this study is to understand how regulative, normative and cognitive institutions affect e-payment entrepreneurship in developing countries Lack of e-payment technologies has been identified as a key constraint to e-commerce adoption and diffusion in the developing world The availability of e-payment technologies in the developed world provides opportunities for their transfer to and adaptation in the developing world However, research on attempts by governments or e-business entrepreneurs to provide e-payment innovations in the developing world and possible institutional effects on such initiatives remain limited Drawing on interpretive case study methodology and the new institutional theory as a lens, this study traces an e-payment entrepreneurship attempt in the developing-country context of Ghana The findings show that some national and international institutions encouraged the initiative However, unclear regulations and bureaucratic processes of the Central Bank as well as the entrepreneur's own cognitive failure to consider contextual differences between the developed and the developing world constrained the initiative The study advises developing-country e-business entrepreneurs to understand their local institutional environment and not assume that imported technologies will work the same way as in the developed world It also calls on developing-country governments to promote clear regulations and streamline certification processes to encourage technological innovations such as e-payment

Understanding Behaviour Patterns of Multi-agents in Digital Business Ecosystems: An Organisational Semiotics Inspired Framework

Abstract: Digital business ecosystem (DBE) is a collaborative network of organisations, processes and technologies that collectively create value. Thus, value creation in DBEs is jointly undertaken by multiple human and digital agents. To aid appropriate apportionment of work and design of information systems, it is essential to understand behaviour of both human and digital agents. However limited attention has been paid to agents’ behaviour in the extant DBEs literature. Moreover, multi-agent research has also largely focused on technical issues while limited research exists on agents’ behaviour. As such, in this paper, we develop a framework to understand behaviour patterns of multi-agent in DBEs. This framework builds its foundation on the theoretical lens of Organisational Semiotics, a sociotechnical theory towards contribution to DBE research.

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.