Abstract
The dynamism of information and communication technology for development (ICT4D) research has necessitated the adoption of a common conceptual model to assist further studies in the discipline. Impediments to consensus to develop and adopt a common model have been identified as ICT4D’s multidisciplinary nature, the lack of sufficient evidence on the direct interrelationship between ICT and development, and the absence of specific theoretical foundations. In this study a conceptual DIMD Model was developed, which assesses the relationship between digitalisation and socioeconomic development. The conceptual model was developed based on existing ICT4D multidisciplinary theories mapping the interrelationship between ICT origination, adoption, use and the resultant impact on individuals. In the evaluation of the DIMD Model, the statistical significance of digitalisation as a mobility driver amongst socioeconomically disadvantaged individuals in South Africa was observed. Activity Theory was the foundational theory in the DIMD Model, and Sen’s Capabilities Approach was the mid-range theory in the abstraction of the definition of development. The study was quantitative based on the positivist research epistemology. An exploratory deductive research approach was employed that collected retrospective sequential data from the general public through structured questionnaires. The main aim of the study was to develop a conceptual model to statistically assess the impact of digitalisation on development. An empirical enquiry on the relationship between digitalisation, institutionalisation, mobilisation, motivation, other factors of mobility and development was conducted within the DIMD Model framework. The study further presents the Socioeconomic Mobility Index (SEMI), a statistical composite measure of socioeconomic development of individuals. The conclusive outcomes of the study are the abstraction of a glocal definition of development as an adaptation of the Capabilities Approach; the conceptual DIMD Model for assessing the impact of digitalisation on the socioeconomic development of individuals; and the statistical measure of development of individuals in emerging economies as a socioeconomic mobility index.
Key words: ICT4D; Activity Theory; DIMD Model; Digitalisation, Institutionalisation, Mobilisation and Development; Capabilities Approach; Socioeconomic Development; Socioeconomic Mobility Index; SEMI.