A framework for examining the building of ICT capacity in developing nations: Role of culture and institutions

Information and communication technologies (ICTs) have been acknowledged as key to the economic and social development of developing nations. There are divergent views on the importance of ICT development for developing nations. Those who oppose ICT expansion argue that developing nations should use scarce resources in building roads, education and medical facilities rather than ICT. Thus the building of a nation's ICT capacity would be influenced by several institutions. However, prior research has focused predominantly on how governmental institutions influence the building of ICT capacity. In this paper we propose a framework for examining the building of ICT capacity in developing nations that has four major components: institutional entities, institutional interventions, culture and environmental factors. We present some theoretical propositions that can be used to test our proposed framework. While the list of entities and propositions is not exhaustive, we believe that this work provides a useful initial roadmap to understanding the impact of the interplay between culture and institutional factors on the building of ICT capacity in developing nations.