KLUZER, Stefano (1993)

Diffusion of IT in Southern Africa

The research topic is the diffusion of information technology in Southern Africa, primarily in Mozambique, but taking into account regional aspects from Zimbabwe and South Africa. The problem being investigated is the identification of the socio-economic and political factors/actors which are driving the diffusion of the technology and shaping its patterns of adoption/use. The conceptual framework is drawn from various disciplines: history of technology, sociotechnical analysis, economics of technical change, and technology transfer. IT emphasises the need to look at technology diffusion as a process of social change, involving socio-technical systems/networks rather than individual pieces of equipment and individual users and, in an international perspective, involving necessarily the interplay between endogenous and exogenous factors/actors.

[F7089]