The digitally mediated lives of women MSME entrepreneurs in India

Navigating the "access-use" conundrum

Bibliographic Data

ID4981884
AuthorsAnindya Jayanta Mishra (0000-0003-0517-0909, Professor & Head, Department of Humanities and Social Sciences Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee Roorkee Uttarakhand 247667 India), Elisa Mohanty (Department of Humanities and Social Sciences Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee Roorkee Uttarakhand 247667 India, corresponding author)
Year2022
Volume72
Issue246
Pages1017-1032
Publication date2022-12-01
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueInternational Social Science Journal (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0020-8701 • E-ISSN: 1468-2451
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/issj.12379
OpenAlexW4307639963
LanguageEN
Citations received3
References cited25

The dialectics of information and communication technologies (ICTs) entail their potential in fostering digital dividends and fomenting digital exclusion. Based on 165 personal interviews with women entrepreneurs of MSMEs in the Ganjam and Gajapati districts of the state of Odisha in India, this study considers the opportunities and challenges regarding the access and use of ICTs. The primary intent of the study is to explore the participants' views on the diversity of ICT use, the relevance of these technologies for their businesses, and the challenges they face while using the digital technologies. Deploying Amartya Sen's Capability Approach (CA) as the primary theoretical lens, this study documents the popularity of "new ICTs" among the respondents, the constraints they face in performing digital transactions, their views on digital exclusion, and the impact of local factors (language barriers and institutional support) on their digital appropriation. Based on these findings, the study emphasises the need for increased availability of business-relevant content on ICT platforms, incorporation of ICT training in ongoing programmes, and explores ways of overcoming the language barriers and promoting effective use of digital payment applications. This study aims at enhancing the ICT-related capability sets of women entrepreneurs in the underdeveloped sub-regions of India

Appropriation · Business · Digital divide · Economic growth · Economics · Information and Communications Technology · Political science · Popularity · Public relations · Sociology · FinTech, Crowdfunding, Digital Finance · Innovation and Socioeconomic Development · Microfinance and Financial Inclusion

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