Empirical Studies of an Internet and Service Based Economy: The Case of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq

Description

This book is a collection of eight studies covering several areas pertinent to the current technological and banking services situation in the Kurdistan region of Iraq. The economy of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) is mainly dependent on oil revenue. The oil export revenue constitutes more than 90% of the government’s fiscal revenue. In addition to that, the public sector plays an excessive role in the economy, with public spending to GDP being over 70% while revenue from taxation constitutes less than 30% of total revenue.    As the economy is not diversified, there is a large gap between demand and supply of locally produced tradeable goods, leaving the KRI economy highly dependent on imports. Another structural challenge of the KRI economy is its dependence on cash and a weekly financial system. Although the region has witnessed extraordinary economic growth from 2008 to 2014, the growth rate decreased from 8 to 1 percent, trade and investment dropped to 5 percent, and the unemployment rate significantly increased to over 20% by the end of the year 2019. To maintain the progress of economic development, it is necessary to upgrade the country’s industrial structure in order to be able to generate more value-added products, which requires advancement in technological infrastructure to employ more sophisticated technologies.    There is not much written about Kurdistan and its economy, and yet there is a comprehensive development plan and resources to be used for education, research, rehabilitation, development, and reconstruction. As such, this book would be of interest to researchers, decision-makers, governmental and non-governmental organizations, undergraduate and graduate students, and the general public with an interest in the Middle East and contemporary Kurdish issues. It is a good up-to-date handbook for policymakers and NGOs involved in the rehabilitation, reconstruction, and development of Iraq.  Contents 1 Introduction 1.1 General Overview 1.2 Information and Communication Technology Readiness 1.3 Information and Communication Technology Adoption 1.4 Lean Services and Internet Banking Part I Information and Communication Technology Readiness 2 Assessing Innovation Capability and Technological Readiness of KRG 2.1 General Overview 2.1.1 Introduction 2.1.2 Study Objectives 2.1.3 Significance of the Study 2.1.4 Assumptions and Limitations of the Study 2.1.5 Study Structure 2.2 Literature Review 2.2.1 Theory of Acceptance Model (TAM) 2.2.2 Technology Readiness (TR) 2.2.3 Previous Indices About Technology and Innovation 2.3 Methodology 2.3.1 Theoretical Framework 2.3.2 Data Collection Method 2.3.3 The Non-parametric Approach: The Principle Component Analysis 2.4 Data Analysis and Results 2.4.1 Descriptive Statistics 2.4.2 The Principle Component Analysis 2.4.3 Correlation Matrix 2.4.4 Classification of the Entities 2.5 Summary, Conclusion, and Policy Recommendations 2.5.1 Summary of the Study 2.5.2 The Purpose of the Study 2.5.3 Policy Recommendations 2.5.4 Government Role in Future Research Recommendations 2.6 Conclusion Appendix 1: Descriptive Statistics and Variables Used Appendix 2: Qualitative Part References 3 Examining Customer State Preferences of Mobile Services in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq: A Conjoint Analysis Approach 3.1 General Overview 3.1.1 Introduction 3.1.2 Problem Statement 3.1.3 The Evolution of the Mobile Telecommunication in Iraq 3.1.4 Mobile Service Providers in the Kurdistan Region 3.1.5 Aim of the Research 3.1.6 Delimitation of the Study 3.2 Previous Literature 3.2.1 The Technology Acceptance Model 3.2.2 Customer Preferences and Conjoint Analysis 3.2.3 Bundling in Telecommunication 3.3 Methodology and Model Specification 3.3.1 Questionnaire Design 3.3.2 Foundation of Conjoint Analysis 3.3.3 Attributes and Attributes Levels 3.3.4 Conjoint Profile Cards (Bundles) and Orthogonal Design 3.3.5 Pilot Test of the Questionnaire 3.3.6 Data Collection Method and Sampling 3.3.7 Model Specification 3.4 Data analysis and Presentation of Results 3.4.1 Descriptive Statistics 3.4.2 The Socio-demographic Variables 3.4.3 Respondents' Preferences in Each Profile 3.4.4 The Estimation Results 3.5 Conclusion and Recommendations 3.5.1 Summary of Study 3.5.2 Conclusion 3.5.3 Interviews with Decision Makers in the Telecom Sector 3.5.4 Recommendation 3.5.5 Suggestion for Future Studies Appendix 3.1: Questionnaire Appendix 3.2: Chi Square Table References Part II Information and Communication Technology Adoption 4 Investigating the Factors Affecting Mobile Money Adoption in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq: The Case of Newroz Telecom FastPay 4.1 Introduction 4.1.1 Overview 4.1.2 Mobile Money in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq 4.1.3 FastPay Business Model and Smart Phones 4.1.4 Aim 4.1.5 Significance of the Study 4.1.6 Limitations 4.1.7 Summary 4.2 Literature Review 4.2.1 Introduction 4.2.2 Success and Failures of Mobile Money 4.2.3 Mobile Money and Economic Development 4.2.4 Cashless Economy 4.2.5 Mobile Money is Empowering 4.2.6 Summary 4.3 Methodology 4.3.1 Introduction 4.3.2 Research Approach 4.3.3 Sample and Data Collection 4.3.4 Research Purpose 4.3.5 Theoretical Framework 4.3.6 Research Design 4.3.7 Research Paradigm 4.3.8 Epistemological Consideration 4.3.9 Ethical Considerations 4.3.10 Summary 4.4 Data Analysis and Presentation of Results 4.4.1 Introduction 4.4.2 Demographics 4.4.3 Likert Scale Questions 4.4.4 The Sample Quality 4.4.5 Summary 4.5 Conclusion, Policy Implications and Recommendations 4.5.1 Introduction 4.5.2 Conclusion 4.5.3 Policy Implications and Recommendations 4.5.4 Limitations 4.5.5 Summary Appendix References 5 Adoption of Social Media in Small and Medium Enterprises 5.1 Introduction 5.2 Literature Review 5.2.1 Adoption Model 5.2.2 Social Media and SMEs 5.2.3 Opportunities and Challenges of Social Media Adoption by SMEs 5.3 Methodology and Data 5.3.1 Research Strategy 5.3.2 Unit of Analysis and Observation 5.3.3 Data Collection Method 5.3.4 Questionnaire Design 5.3.5 Descriptive Statistics 5.3.6 Model Specification 5.3.7 Hypotheses Development 5.4 Estimation of Results and Data Analysis 5.4.1 Technology Acceptance Models 5.4.2 User Satisfaction Models 5.5 Conclusion Appendix 1: Summary Statistics and Estimated Models Results Appendix 2: Survey Questionnaire References 6 Effects of Social Media Reviews on Customers’ Purchase Intention in Erbil 6.1 Introduction 6.2 Literature Review 6.2.1 Consumer Behavior and Driven Factors for Activities on Social Media 6.2.2 Social Media Platforms and Their Effectiveness 6.2.3 Type of Content on the Company's Social Media Pages 6.2.4 The Impact of Consumer Reviews on Social Media 6.3 Methodology and Data 6.4 Analysis and Interpretation of the Results 6.4.1 Descriptive Analysis 6.4.2 Regression Analysis 6.5 Conclusions Appendix: Survey Questionnaire References 7 Investigating the Determinant Factors of Telemedicine Adoption in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq 7.1 Introduction 7.1.1 Overview 7.1.2 Aim 7.1.3 Problem Statement 7.1.4 Research Objectives 7.1.5 Scope of the Study 7.1.6 Significance of the Study 7.1.7 Summary 7.2 Literature Review 7.2.1 The Use of Telemedicine 7.2.2 The Relationship Between Technology Adoption and Telemedicine Applications 7.2.3 The Technology Adoption Model 7.2.4 Factors Affecting the Adoption of Telemedicine 7.2.5 Literature Gap 7.3 Methodology 7.3.1 Research Design 7.3.2 Population and Sampling Design 7.3.3 Data Collection 7.3.4 Research Procedure 7.3.5 Data Analysis Methods 7.3.6 Summary 7.4 Analysis of Data and Interpretation of Results 7.4.1 Introduction 7.4.2 General Information of the Respondents 7.4.3 Level of Use 7.4.4 Factors Influencing the Adoption of Telemedicine 7.4.5 Regression Analysis 7.4.6 Summary 7.5 Conclusions, Discussion, and Recommendations 7.5.1 Introduction 7.5.2 Summary 7.5.3 Discussion 7.5.4 Interviews with Key Persons 7.5.5 Recommendations Appendix 1: Letter to Respondents Appendix 2: Survey Questions References Part III Lean Services and Internet Banking 8 Transforming Lean to Service: Application to the Kurdistan Banking Industry 8.1 Introduction 8.2 Literature Review 8.2.1 Origin and Definitions of Lean Thinking 8.2.2 Principles of Lean 8.2.3 Leanness Level (Philosophical and Practical Application) 8.2.4 Lean Service 8.2.5 The CSFs of Lean Service Application 8.2.6 Lean Banking and Characteristics of Banking Industry 8.3 Methodology, Data and Model Specification 8.3.1 Data Collection 8.3.2 Questionnaire Design 8.3.3 Descriptive Analysis 8.3.4 Model Specifications 8.4 Data Analysis and Discussion 8.4.1 Description of the Variables 8.4.2 Correlation Analysis 8.4.3 Multinomial Logit Model for Employee’s Choice of Objective 8.5 Conclusion and Recommendation Appendix 8.1: Survey Questionnaire (English) Appendix 8.2: Graphs of Survey Responses Appendix 8.3 References 9 Consumers’ Current State Preferences for Internet Banking Services: The Case of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq's Private Banks 9.1 Introduction 9.2 Perspective of Internet Banking 9.2.1 Historical Background of Internet Banking 9.2.2 Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) of Online Banking 9.2.3 Factor Affecting Online Banking Adoption 9.2.4 Customer Satisfaction in Online Banking 9.3 Methodology, Data and Model Specification 9.3.1 Data Collection 9.3.2 Model Specifications 9.3.3 Conjoint Survey 9.3.4 Attributes and Attribute Levels 9.4 Data Analysis and Presentation of the Results 9.4.1 Data Collection 9.4.2 Descriptive Analysis 9.4.3 Rank-Ordered Logit Model 9.4.4 Participants Preferences for Each Profile 9.5 Conclusion and Policy Implication 9.5.1 Conclusion 9.5.2 Policy Implication 9.5.3 Managerial and Overall Recommendation 9.5.4 Recommendations Appendix 1: Descriptive Statistics Appendix 2: Questionnaires (Internet Banking) References 10 Summary, Conclusion, and Policy Recommendations 10.1 Introduction 10.2 Part One: Information and Communication Technology Readiness 10.3 Part Two: Information and Communication Technology Adoption 10.4 Part Three: Lean and Banking Services 10.5 Recommendations