Skip to main content
Kent Academic Repository

Bridging technology divide to improve business environment: Insights from African nations

You, Kefei, Dal Bianco, Silvia, Lin, Zhibin, Amankwah-Amoah, Joseph (2018) Bridging technology divide to improve business environment: Insights from African nations. Journal of Business Research, 97 . pp. 268-280. ISSN 0148-2963. (doi:10.1016/j.jbusres.2018.01.015) (KAR id:65731)

Abstract

Bridging the technology divide remains one of the contemporary business issues, yet limited scholarly attention has been devoted to exploring the gap between regional developing nations and their effects on can be bridged. The study examined the state of technological progress in Africa by applying an innovative two-step total factor productivity (TFP) analysis. We first estimated the TFP for 21 African countries with reference to South Africa (regional leader) and the United States (US)(international leader). We then applied the Phillips and Sul (2007) panel convergence tests. We found three convergence clubs with TFP levels relative to South Africa, where only most developed African countries have been able to catch-up. In the case of TFP levels relative to the US, we found two convergence clubs and only a couple of countries have managed to make short-lived progress of catching-up. Our analysis has implications in terms of capitalising on new technology for new businesses to flourish and accelerate the pace of change leading to the weeding-out of inefficient firms.

Item Type: Article
DOI/Identification number: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2018.01.015
Uncontrolled keywords: Technological progress; total factor productivity; Africa; Club convergence
Subjects: H Social Sciences
Divisions: Divisions > Kent Business School - Division > Department of Marketing, Entrepreneurship and International Business
Depositing User: Joseph Amankwah-Amoah
Date Deposited: 15 Jan 2018 08:20 UTC
Last Modified: 04 Mar 2024 19:33 UTC
Resource URI: https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/65731 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes)

University of Kent Author Information

Amankwah-Amoah, Joseph.

Creator's ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0383-5831
CReDIT Contributor Roles:
  • Depositors only (login required):

Total unique views for this document in KAR since July 2020. For more details click on the image.