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Competing Logics: Towards a Theory of Digital Platforms for Socio-economic Development

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Information and Communication Technologies for Development (ICT4D 2020)

Part of the book series: IFIP Advances in Information and Communication Technology ((IFIPAICT,volume 587))

Abstract

Extant literature on digital platforms is predominantly centred on the Global North, resulting in a paucity of research on the implications of digital platforms for developing countries. Against this backdrop, a recent research stream has focused on digital platforms in developing country contexts, with a view of understanding the affordances and limits of platforms as a route to socio-economic development. This paper seeks to contribute to this nascent literature, unpacking a human-centred development logic as an alternative to the market logic that animates most of the platforms discourse and relying on it to lay the foundations for an emerging theory of platforms for development. Two sub-linkages, centred respectively on platforms’ openness and modularity, are conceptualised and illustrated with examples from empirical research. This work has implications for the emerging literature on digital platforms for development, and for theorising platforms in the context of information systems and societal challenges.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    For example, in Constantinides et al. (2018) there is only one mention of implications of platforms for developing countries, when it is stated that “there are a number of sectors where this (the diffusion of online work) would be highly beneficial, especially for “new-collar jobs” in developing countries”. Even this argument has been, however, put into serious question by researchers of digital labour in the Global South (e.g. Heeks 2017; Graham et al. 2017).

  2. 2.

    https://www.mfarm.co.ke/.

  3. 3.

    https://www.vulamobile.com/.

  4. 4.

    https://www.kiva.org/.

  5. 5.

    http://www.ekutirsb.com/.

  6. 6.

    https://micrograam.com/.

  7. 7.

    https://www.ekrishikendra.com/.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway

    Silvia Masiero & Brian Nicholson

  2. University of Manchester, Manchester, UK

    Brian Nicholson

Authors
  1. Silvia Masiero
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  2. Brian Nicholson
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Correspondence to Silvia Masiero .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Salford, Salford, UK

    Julian M. Bass

  2. Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland

    P. J. Wall

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Masiero, S., Nicholson, B. (2020). Competing Logics: Towards a Theory of Digital Platforms for Socio-economic Development. In: Bass, J.M., Wall, P.J. (eds) Information and Communication Technologies for Development. ICT4D 2020. IFIP Advances in Information and Communication Technology, vol 587. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-65828-1_1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-65828-1_1

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