Linking Socio-Economic Factors with Technology Adoption in Three Emerging Economies of Sub-Saharan Africa

Book excerpt: Extant literature on technology adoption and diffusion has generally focused on understanding the adoption and diffusion patterns of new technologies in developed countries (Irwin & Paul, 2003). However, there is a need to understand the influence of economic status on the adoption of technology in less developed countries. Our overall objective is to investigate the antecedents of communications technology adoption in Sub-Saharan Africa. Specifically, based on a representative sample of individual respondents from Ghana, Kenya, and Nigeria, we investigate the influence of economic status, which we define as the ability to meet the physiological or basic needs for food and shelter, on technology adoption. We identify positive attitudes, which we define as individuals' optimistic feelings how their standard of life is improving, as a process through which economic status influences the decision to adopt technology. Additionally, because infrastructure development affects individuals' quality of life and thus their feelings about how their standard of life is improving, we posit that the influence of economic status on both positive attitudes and technology adoption will be contingent upon perceptions about the extent of current infrastructure development. This study will also shed light on pertinent factors that global firms willing to tap into LDC markets will find invaluable in evaluating market opportunities for transferring and introducing innovative technologies into such markets.