The Next Frontier…
E-commerce Research in Developing Countries
How to Make a Theoretical Contribution?
Viswanath Venkatesh
Agenda Considerations Developing country context A common mistake Four ways to make a theoretical contribution Two illustrations
Practical Considerations MNCs marketing products and services to developing
countries Firms working with organizations in developing
countries Supply chains and business process flows frequently
have a representation of companies in/from developing countries
Scientific Considerations Theories developed with western philosophies and
ideologies Data collected in western countries
Developing Country Context Developing countries
Countries themselves SMEs People Workplace Social settings Etc.
A Common Mistake: Replication without Rich Extensions
“[insert theory here] has never been examined in the context of the mobile Internet among
participants in China an hour after their lunch in the winter.”
A Common Mistake: Replication without Rich Extensions
“TAM has never been examined in the context of the mobile Internet among
participants in China an hour after their lunch in the winter.”
How to Make a Theoretical Contribution?
1. Conduct cross-cultural comparisons2. Leverage cross-cultural settings3. Engage in the developing country context4. Theorize about the developing country
Conduct Cross-cultural Comparisons
Compare existing theories across cultural settings Direct effects and moderating effects
Explain why similarities and differences would be expected “theory development through encounters between theoretical
assumptions and empirical impressions that involve breakdowns” (Alvesson and Karreman 2007)
Ideally, employ explanatory variables and not just country as the moderating variable
IS exemplars Gefen and Straub (1997, MISQ) Srite and Karahanna (2006, MISQ)
Leverage Cross-Cultural Settings Role of global village, virtual teams, diversity New contexts that did not exist before (Johns 2006) Theorize about what happens when people from
different cultures get together to: Work (e.g., develop a project) Socialize (e.g., interact on FaceBook)
IS exemplars Kankanhalli et al. (2007, JMIS) Rai et al. (2009, MISQ)
Engage in the Developing Country Context
Induction, not deduction Beginning with Socrates and Aristotle Think Isaac Newton “…hypothetico–deductive method, even if practiced, actually
retards the progress of science” (Locke 2007) Live and breathe the context to tell the tale, without
the shackles of existing theories Necessarily qualitative
IS exemplars Walsham and Sahay (1999, MISQ) Hirscheim and Silva (2007, MISQ)
Theorize about the Country Not necessarily qualitative (Alvesson and Karreman
2007) Introduce new concepts and consequently, constructs Bring to bear new theoretical perspectives Integrate theoretical perspectives appropriately Develop new theory that is situated in the contextual
richness
Impacts of Information and Communication Technology
Implementations on Employees’ Jobs in India:
A Multi-Method Longitudinal Field Study*
Production and Operations Management (in press)
* w/ Hillol Bala (Indiana), Tracy Sykes (NSF)
General Storyline Job characteristics model (JCM)
The effect on all five characteristics (skill variety, task identity, task significance, autonomy and feedback) was positive
Job satisfaction and job performance declined Qualitative study (interviews) to understand why…
Socio-technical systems theory to explain the results
Typical JCM
Job Characteristics
Information and Communication
Technologies (ICTs)
Task Identity Job Satisfaction
Task Significance
Autonomy
Feedback
Skill Variety
Context Satisfactions
Growth Need Strength
Critical Psychological
States
Core Job Characteristics Outcomes
Job Performance
Experienced Meaningfulness
Experienced Responsibility
Knowledge of Results
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JCM in our Context
Job Characteristics
Information and Communication
Technologies (ICTs)
Task Identity Job Satisfaction
Task Significance
Autonomy
Feedback
Skill Variety
Context Satisfactions
Growth Need Strength
Critical Psychological
States
Core Job Characteristics Outcomes
Job Performance
Experienced Meaningfulness
Experienced Responsibility
Knowledge of Results
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+
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Qualitative Study
Statements about lack of “power,” “electricity,” “network”
External Infrastructure
Environmental Barriers
Statements about unavailability of “computer,” “machine,”; “high transaction loads”
Internal Infrastructure
1st order concepts 2nd order themes or
theoretical categories Aggregate theoretical
dimension
Statements about lack of “on-site support,” “training”
Facilitating Conditions Learning
Difficulty
Statements about lack of knowledge, self-efficacy, computer literacy
Individual Competency
Statements about foreign cultural imposition, western isomorphism
Norms Violation
Culture Shock
Statements about work process changes, relationship changes, compatibility with precursor work methods, values, and culture
Extent of Change
Statements about availability of cheap labor, high costs of the ICT system
Incentive Alignment
Employee Valuation Statements about advancement opportunities, lack
of understanding of future performance appraisals Future Ambiguity
Organizational Innovation in India: A Multi-method Longitudinal Study*
Information Systems Research (under review)
* w/ Hillol Bala (Indiana), Tracy Sykes (NSF), V. Sambamurthy (MSU)
General Storyline Tensions between traditional challenges and emerging
catalysts Troubling trend… even 2 years after implementation
No improvement in service time Drop in job satisfaction Drop in customer satisfaction
Qualitative study to understand the problems from the perspective of different stakeholders
Service Time, Job Sat, Cust SatService Time Job Satisfaction Customer Satisfaction
Branches Mean S.D. Mean S.D. Mean S.D. System 22.8 mnts. 9.4 4.5 1.10 5.1 1.07 T-6 months: Pre-
implementation Non-system 22.7 mnts. 9.9 4.4 1.11 5.2 1.05 System 23.2 mnts. 8.3 3.5 1.21 3.6 1.19 T+12 months: 1 year
post-implementation Non-system 23.0 mnts. 8.7 4.5 1.20 5.1 1.06 System 22.7 mnts. 8.4 3.8 1.04 4.1 1.10 T+24 months: 2 years
post-implementation Non-system 22.6 mnts. 8.8 4.4 1.18 5.2 1.08 Note: T = Start of IT use.
Qualitative Study Findings Issue voiced by: Category Sub-categories Employees Management Customers
Power Computer and network Training and support staff
Infrastructure
Future cost Business process redesign Labor economics Western isomorphism
Institutional
Parallel, manual system Computer literacy Career advancement Job security
Agency
Willingness to change
Contributions Richer understanding of IT implementations in
developing countries Boundaries of existing theories Setting the stage for new theory development and
future research, including future work on interventions Helping developing countries leverage IT meaningfully
Seeing opportunities and identifying challenges
In sum… Developing countries represent a fertile and important
ground for future e-commerce research Four suggested ways to make a theoretical
contribution 1.Conduct cross-cultural comparisons2.Leverage cross-cultural settings3.Engage in the developing country context4.Theorize about the developing country
Thank You!