User-driven technology in NGOs—A computationally intensive theory approach

Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) typically have restrained information and communication technology (ICT) budgets and resources. At the same time, they face high pressure to reduce administrative costs. A possible solution to the resulting conundrum could be user-driven technology. This term de...

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Main Authors: Marie-E. Zubler, (née Godefroid), Julian Koch, Ralf Plattfaut
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-06-01
Series:International Journal of Information Management Data Insights
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S266709682400096X
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author Marie-E. Zubler, (née Godefroid)
Julian Koch
Ralf Plattfaut
author_facet Marie-E. Zubler, (née Godefroid)
Julian Koch
Ralf Plattfaut
author_sort Marie-E. Zubler, (née Godefroid)
collection DOAJ
description Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) typically have restrained information and communication technology (ICT) budgets and resources. At the same time, they face high pressure to reduce administrative costs. A possible solution to the resulting conundrum could be user-driven technology. This term describes a selection of technologies, including intelligent process automation, low-code platforms, and business intelligence tools that push innovation and user-centricity by letting operational employees directly deploy comparably cheap solutions without the need for central ICT support. Practitioner literature indicates, however, that user-driven technologies are lagging in the social sector despite evidence from some individual success stories published by researchers. Thus, a systematic assessment of user-driven technologies within NGOs and of potential challenges in their introduction is necessary. To close this research gap, we employ the method of computationally intensive theory construction, combining data mining with qualitative interviews. Results indicate that user-driven technologies are indeed lagging and that forming a problem-mindset and creating adequate governance structures are the main challenges to their introduction within NGOs.
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institution OA Journals
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publishDate 2025-06-01
publisher Elsevier
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series International Journal of Information Management Data Insights
spelling doaj-art-03c8d445fb3e4e449cfda50ab4b08ebe2025-08-20T02:31:12ZengElsevierInternational Journal of Information Management Data Insights2667-09682025-06-015110030710.1016/j.jjimei.2024.100307User-driven technology in NGOs—A computationally intensive theory approachMarie-E. Zubler, (née Godefroid)0Julian Koch1Ralf Plattfaut2University of Duisburg-Essen, Rhine-Ruhr Institute of Information Systems, Universitätsstraße 9, 45141 Essen, GermanySouth-Westphalia University of Applied Sciences, Haldener Straße 182, 58095 Hagen, GermanyUniversity of Duisburg-Essen, Rhine-Ruhr Institute of Information Systems, Universitätsstraße 9, 45141 Essen, Germany; Corresponding author.Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) typically have restrained information and communication technology (ICT) budgets and resources. At the same time, they face high pressure to reduce administrative costs. A possible solution to the resulting conundrum could be user-driven technology. This term describes a selection of technologies, including intelligent process automation, low-code platforms, and business intelligence tools that push innovation and user-centricity by letting operational employees directly deploy comparably cheap solutions without the need for central ICT support. Practitioner literature indicates, however, that user-driven technologies are lagging in the social sector despite evidence from some individual success stories published by researchers. Thus, a systematic assessment of user-driven technologies within NGOs and of potential challenges in their introduction is necessary. To close this research gap, we employ the method of computationally intensive theory construction, combining data mining with qualitative interviews. Results indicate that user-driven technologies are indeed lagging and that forming a problem-mindset and creating adequate governance structures are the main challenges to their introduction within NGOs.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S266709682400096XNon-governmental organizationsIT managementAutomationJob miningDigitalisation
spellingShingle Marie-E. Zubler, (née Godefroid)
Julian Koch
Ralf Plattfaut
User-driven technology in NGOs—A computationally intensive theory approach
International Journal of Information Management Data Insights
Non-governmental organizations
IT management
Automation
Job mining
Digitalisation
title User-driven technology in NGOs—A computationally intensive theory approach
title_full User-driven technology in NGOs—A computationally intensive theory approach
title_fullStr User-driven technology in NGOs—A computationally intensive theory approach
title_full_unstemmed User-driven technology in NGOs—A computationally intensive theory approach
title_short User-driven technology in NGOs—A computationally intensive theory approach
title_sort user driven technology in ngos a computationally intensive theory approach
topic Non-governmental organizations
IT management
Automation
Job mining
Digitalisation
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S266709682400096X
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