Abstract:
ICT is a key driver of employment, growth, and innovation in various economic
sectors (Schröder, des IfM Bonn, Wirtschaftsbeobachtung, & im Mittelstand,
2011). It therefore becomes important to understand the factors which impact
on the adoption of ICT in order to facilitate adoption and bridge the digital divide
between developed and developing markets in the interest of impacting
inequality.
A factor often overlooked in the literature is the impact competition policies have
on the adoption of ICT. The broad research objective was to determine the
impact, if any, of competition enhancing and competition restricting/protecting
policies on the level of ICT adoption in various economies, thus providing
governments and ICT organisations with the necessary understanding of the
dynamics involved.
The research objective required examining the relationship (using regression
analysis) between the level of competition policies and the rate of ICT adoption.
The literature review found that there is a theoretical link between the level and
type of competition policies and the rate of ICT adoption.
The statistical analysis found no relationship between these two variables
indicating that competition policies does not have any impact on the rate of ICT
adoption or that the influence of competition policy is rendered insignificant
when compared to other forces influencing ICT adoption.
