Abstract

Information and Communication Technology for Development (ICT4D) can be a means to improve the situation of people in disadvantaged positions in at least three different structures of power: economic, social, and political. The main purpose of this conceptual paper is to provide the grounds to sustain that crowd-based information systems could be used to support SEs designed to reduce the vulnerability of people in disadvantaged positions in one or more of these structures of power. To accomplish the aim of the paper, and as a major theoretical contribution, a model is suggested. The model explores how three specific components (i.e. social enterprise, crowd of contributors, and regional development plan) of an ICT4D project, based on this approach, may provide short, medium, and long term impact at the individual, organizational, and social level. The main practical implication is the development of a structure to report the value generated by an ICT4D project. This structure allows the comparison among projects and reports results based on the Theory of Capital Systems, a theory applied in Knowledge-Based Development initiatives. For academics, this will provide the elements that, in a future, could make it easier to create strong theories from experiences in this field. For practitioners, this may provide evidence for the degree of success attained by a project.

Download

Share

COinS