Organisational Support for ICT4D Practitioner Performance: A New Pathway for Enhancing ICT4D Project Outcomes

Abstract

Technology Non-Profit Organisations in developing countries are key partners in ICT4D implementation and are growing both in number and influence on development outcomes. However, little is understood about their internal contexts, leaving an important pathway for enhancing ICT4D project outcomes unexplored. Specifically, it is known that organisational contexts influence outcomes such as project success through the ways they influence actions and behaviours of those working for the organisation, but how this happens in ICT4D is not known. Given the persistence of ICT4D project failures, and in line with efforts to move away from explaining why ICT4D fails to how to enhance its success, this thesis investigates how ICT4D organisational practices influence practitioner performance. The aim of this study was pragmatic: to uncover the pathways through which ICT4D organisational practices may influence practitioner performance, and to explore the practical value of the findings in improving ICT4D practice. In turn, a two-phase research strategy was used in this study; the first leveraging the explorative power of case studies, and the second the practical strength of action research. A total of five technology Non-Profit Organisations in East Africa were involved in this study, four in the first phase and one in the second. Subsequently, this thesis makes two key contributions to knowledge. The first is a set of eight pathways through which ICT4D organisational practice influence practitioner performance. Namely the Mechanisms of Organisational Support for ICT4D Practitioner Performance (MOSIPP), they are: (1) Reinforcing mission congruence; (2) Skills hybridisation; (3) Socioemotional support; (4) Supervisory mentorship; (5) Support for personal aspirations; (6) Balancing monetary with non-monetary rewards; (7) Involvement in reward decisions; and (8) Autonomy support. The second contribution is a novel action research approach for identifying and implementing organisational support interventions for ICT4D practitioner performance, namely the action research process for Enhancing Organisational Support for ICT4D Practitioner Performance (EOSIPP). Beyond these two primary contributions, this thesis highlights four salient features of the ICT4D organisational context: hybridity, institutional collaboration, organisational size, and resource constraints. Altogether, these contributions provide a new and practical pathway for understanding and enhancing ICT4D project outcomes.

Date of Award	1 Aug 2024
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	The University of Manchester
Supervisor	Natalie Cunningham (Supervisor), Richard Heeks (Supervisor) & Jaco Renken (Supervisor)