Knowledge and Technology Adoption, Diffusion and Transfer: International Perspectives

Citation

Correia, A. (2013), "Knowledge and Technology Adoption, Diffusion and Transfer: International Perspectives", Online Information Review, Vol. 37 No. 1, pp. 148-149. https://doi.org/10.1108/14684521311311694

As noted in other reviews of IGI titles, this compilation follows a standard IGI format. The pre‐textual matter includes the Editorial Advisory Board and list of reviewers, a table of contents and detailed table of contents, a foreword and preface. In the opinion of this reviewer the organisation of content is not clear; it was expected that looking at the table of contents and then the detailed table of contents would give a better overview of the book's organisation than it actually did.

The 21 articles that constitute the book are organised around six themes, which are discussed only in the Preface. Theme 1 (four chapters) deals with mobile application adoption. Theme 2 (four chapters) focuses on e‐government, discussing concepts, problems and recommendations for diffusing government applications in developing countries. Theme 3 (two chapters) investigates internet security, awareness of security hazards, ICT literacy levels and how these affect the adoption of e‐commerce internet security. Theme 4 (knowledge and DBMS) includes four articles discussing such issues as data warehousing and transborder knowledge transfer. Theme 5 (information technology) includes four articles covering a very wide range of issues on IT‐related matters. Theme 6 includes three chapters and claims to address “Computing and Algorithms”. The end matter includes a consolidated bibliography, an “about the contributors” section and an index.

The chapters vary considerably in length and level of scholarship; some are interesting enough to be read by experts in the field, while others are not. In fact each chapter is a paper already published in the four 2010 issues of the International Journal of Technology Diffusion, so this compilation is just another vehicle for disseminating already‐published information. This may be one reason why the editor was unable to arrange the chapters according to themes and was forced to explain them in the Preface. As with so many IGI releases, this compilation contains far too many typos, reflecting a lack of sound editorial production management.

All in all, this book will be useful to academics when they need case studies for their lectures; it is also of relevance to students and researchers working in the areas of technology adoption, diffusion and transfer, mainly in developing countries.