G-AUDI framework: evaluation of ICT industry in Latvia to develop strategies

Abstract

Purpose: to create a synthesised conceptual framework for evaluating the information and communication technology (ICT) industry and to illustrate application of the framework by identifying existing situations and tendencies in the ICT industry in Latvia in order to suggest development strategies for ICT enterprises and ICT policymakers.

Approach: adopted a systematic literature review method and, through the content analysis technique, analysed 158 scientific papers (only papers mentioned directly in the article are included in the references), book chapters and proceedings focused on the ICT industry. The period of the literature review: January 2000 – March 2016. Based on the analyses, a conceptual framework is developed. The main data sources for ICT industry evaluation in Latvia 2014/2015 within the created framework: public government organisation reviews and studies – Global Information Technology Report 2015 (World Economic Forum, 2015), The PREDICT 2015

Report: An Analysis of ICT R&D – the EU and Beyond (European Commission, 2015), Digital Agenda for Europe. Unlocking the ICT growth potential in Europe: Enabling people and businesses (European Union, 2013), and World Bank and Eurostat statistics about the ICT industry.

Findings: the results of the literature research revealed that the main research gap is that there are no academic, focused and holistic studies on the ICT industry in Latvia that evaluate not only the situation in the industry but also tendencies and possible development strategies for ICT enterprises and policymakers. This is a highly relevant topic and the authors have developed a wide range of possible future research directions, which shows that this topic has scientific potential. In the paper a synthesised G-AUDI framework consisting of 5 elements is proposed in order to analyse the industry, i.e., the performance level of its actors, usage, domain and impact, and the levels of these elements could also reveal the gaps in the industry’s development. Evaluation of the ICT industry in Latvia shows that the levels are close and mostly at a medium-low level, but there are gaps to fill to improve the performance of the industry in Latvia. Several possible strategies are mentioned that should be validated by experts in detailed future studies.

Value: it is one of the few up-to-date studies that have compiled trends and challenges mentioned in the scientific literature. The conceptual ICT industry evaluation framework created in the study should be further tested empirically.

Paper type – conceptual paper.