Who is ICT innovation for? Challenges to existing theories of innovation, a Kenyan case study

<p style="text-align:justify;"> Kenya, along with countries like Nigeria, South Africa, and Ghana, is leading the way on the continent in innovating new applications and programs that enable developments in the information communication technology (ICT) sector. This growth has not g...

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Autor Principal: Marchant, E
Formato: Report
Publicado: Center for Global Communication Studies 2015
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author Marchant, E
author_facet Marchant, E
author_sort Marchant, E
collection OXFORD
description <p style="text-align:justify;"> Kenya, along with countries like Nigeria, South Africa, and Ghana, is leading the way on the continent in innovating new applications and programs that enable developments in the information communication technology (ICT) sector. This growth has not gone unnoticed. It has attracted substantial international interest, not just from non-profit organizations focused on development, but increasingly from for-profit actors interested in investing in the country.<br/><br/> In this environment, understanding how tech innovation happens in Kenya – the roles played by these many different international, local, for-profit, and not-for-profit actors – is a big part of understanding the shape of new technologies that will emerge. Yet many of the theories that exist to explain technology innovation were developed to describe processes in Western contexts, like Silicon Valley, far removed from the reality of innovation in Kenya.<br/><br/> This paper uses the technology innovation sector in Kenya to illustrate where existing innovation theories fall short. If we hope to understand the growth of these sector and help shape its development, ICT, communication, and management scholars need to work together to develop better theories to explain the unique context of innovation in African countries. </p>
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spelling oxford-uuid:413e3b42-bbe5-4234-9988-6192b24cb8372022-03-26T14:42:27ZWho is ICT innovation for? Challenges to existing theories of innovation, a Kenyan case studyReporthttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_93fcuuid:413e3b42-bbe5-4234-9988-6192b24cb837Symplectic Elements at OxfordCenter for Global Communication Studies2015Marchant, E <p style="text-align:justify;"> Kenya, along with countries like Nigeria, South Africa, and Ghana, is leading the way on the continent in innovating new applications and programs that enable developments in the information communication technology (ICT) sector. This growth has not gone unnoticed. It has attracted substantial international interest, not just from non-profit organizations focused on development, but increasingly from for-profit actors interested in investing in the country.<br/><br/> In this environment, understanding how tech innovation happens in Kenya – the roles played by these many different international, local, for-profit, and not-for-profit actors – is a big part of understanding the shape of new technologies that will emerge. Yet many of the theories that exist to explain technology innovation were developed to describe processes in Western contexts, like Silicon Valley, far removed from the reality of innovation in Kenya.<br/><br/> This paper uses the technology innovation sector in Kenya to illustrate where existing innovation theories fall short. If we hope to understand the growth of these sector and help shape its development, ICT, communication, and management scholars need to work together to develop better theories to explain the unique context of innovation in African countries. </p>
spellingShingle Marchant, E
Who is ICT innovation for? Challenges to existing theories of innovation, a Kenyan case study
title Who is ICT innovation for? Challenges to existing theories of innovation, a Kenyan case study
title_full Who is ICT innovation for? Challenges to existing theories of innovation, a Kenyan case study
title_fullStr Who is ICT innovation for? Challenges to existing theories of innovation, a Kenyan case study
title_full_unstemmed Who is ICT innovation for? Challenges to existing theories of innovation, a Kenyan case study
title_short Who is ICT innovation for? Challenges to existing theories of innovation, a Kenyan case study
title_sort who is ict innovation for challenges to existing theories of innovation a kenyan case study
work_keys_str_mv AT marchante whoisictinnovationforchallengestoexistingtheoriesofinnovationakenyancasestudy