Digital Technology and Formalization of informal Businesses: A case of African Traditional Spiritualists
Journal Title: International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences - Year 2017, Vol 7, Issue 11
Abstract
Digital technology is pervasively transforming all work sectors, linking people in the informal sector to formal opportunities and bridging all divides. However, its effect on formalization of informal enterprises and businesses that were denied a place in the formal economy is little understood. Most informal businesses that use digital technologies get formalized easily but whether the same thing can be said about some businesses like African traditional spiritualists that traditionally confined to informality is yet to be determined. The objectives of the study were to examine the extent of uptake of digital technologies among African traditional spiritualists as well as the effect of such uptake on their formalization status. Questionnaire was administered to one hundred and forty rainmakers, traditional priests/priestess, fortune teller, bone setters and herbalists from south east and south-south regions of Nigeria. Findings revealed that use of face book, email, smart phones and ATM was popular and that there is a strong correlation between uptake and propensity to formalize. It is recommended that digitization should form part of informal sector development strategy and that competence in digital technology should be treated as a necessity for today’s business success.
Authors and Affiliations
Jude Kenechi Onyima, Nkechi Cordelia Ojiagu
Application of Technology Alliance Model (TAM) on R&D Firms of Some Technology Development Zones (TDZS) in Ankara
The study aims to apply the Technology Alliance Model (TAM) (Ju et. al., 2005, p. 623) on R&D firms in some TDZs in Ankara. In order to do so, a literature review is conducted and the theory of the research is developed...
Differences in Levels of Control Object Skills among Grade 1 Ballet Dancers, Students with Co-Curricular and Students without Co-Curricular
Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify the differences between level of control of object skills of grade one ballet dancers, students who were actively involved in co-curricular activity and students who wer...
An Exploratory Study on the Conceptualization of Wellness among Families affected by Substance Abuse
Significant attention has been shown in research on wellness for individuals with substance abuse or dependence. However, wellness among families affected by substance abuse has received limited focus in addiction resear...
Interest Rate Changes and its Impact on the Profitability of Pakistani Commercial Banks
The important motive of hence paper is to verify the result of interest rate exchange on the profitability of commercial banks are those working in Pakistan. In this paper data collected from the bank’s annual reports fr...
Obstacles to Employability Skills Training Programs in Malaysia from the Perspectives of Employers’, Educators’ and Graduates’ Perspective
Over the last two decades, employability skills training programs initiated by the Malaysian government and agencies are an essential strategy to improve the skills of the workforce and minimize unemployment. However, st...