MOBILE MONEY AND ARCHETYPE FOR UNDERSTANDING END-USERS ADOPTION BEHAVIOURAL FACTORS VIZ. SOCIOECONOMIC,CULTURAL AND POLITICAL FACTORS IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA

Abstract

Whilst there has been considerable research on innovation adoption and diffusion in the rapid growth of mobile money, fewer studies have been conducted on the active engagement with the technology using a reference theory particularly studies in the context of SSA. Past studies of mobile money based on case studies, interviews and reviews of secondary data have focused on potential benefits, features, and implementation. Research studies on mobile money about SSA are mixed. The existing studies on mobile money adoption based on reference theories focused largely on Southeast Asia and developed nations. Most of these studies presume mobile money is readily available but the anus of accepting or rejecting it resides with end-users. This assumption falls short of realities for SSA, because SSA trails behind the rest of the world in modern technological infrastructures. This study investigates the precursors pertinent to understanding the adoption of mobile money in the context SSA as well as the implications of the interplay between technological infrastructures for mobile money with socioeconomic and political forces. The study makes important contributions to the literature and managerial practice by providing adequate understanding of the factors inherent to SSA contributing to poor mobile money adoption behaviour, building a modified TAM for mobile money adoption for SSA and establishing adequate knowledge for policymakers, governments, private investors, and NGOs in mapping-out key factors managers may have control over for investment in mobile money.