Mobilizing Culture for E-Business in Developing Countries: An Actor Network Theory Account

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to understand how developing country cultures can be mobilized for e-business. Within the developing country e-business literature, culture has been highlighted as a barrier. Less is however known about culture as an enabler. Despite calls for cultural fit, empirical evidence on how to achieve the fit remains limited. This study follows actor-network theory (ANT) as a lens and interpretive case study as a methodology to understand how funeral culture in the developing country context of Ghana was mobilized for an e-business venture. The findings demonstrate an enabling perspective of developing country culture, complementing the dominant constraining view in the literature. The paper argues that although e-business emerged from the developed world, it could be malleable to varied contexts. The paper encourages developing country entrepreneurs and researchers to seek ways to align e-business to local contexts.