Information Society Watch

2007, Thomas Molony, Information Technologies and International Development, MIT Press Journal

This article examines three case studies of sub-sectors in the Tanzanian economy to examine the complexities surrounding interfaces between traditional, established communication, and the increasing use of new information and communication technologies (ICTs). The case studies reveal the overlap between social interaction and business in an African economy. Trust emerges as a common theme, and the author discusses its importance in relation to the new form of communication that ICT provides for entrepreneurs in Africa. He suggests that, in relation to ICT in developing countries, trust might at this stage be separated from the more slippery concept of social capital that it is frequently associated with. The author reflects on the implications of this concept for future ICT research and its business and nonbusiness applications in developing countries and concludes by suggesting that the need for direct, personal interaction through face-to-face contact—a traditional pre-ICT aspect of African business culture—is unlikely to change for some time (Adapted from author).

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