Issues Affecting the Social Sustainability of Telecentres in Developing Contexts: A Field Study of Sixteen Telecentres in Jamaica

Abstract

This paper examines issues faced by Jamaican telecentres in their ongoing operations as their roles evolve to address new issues that may arise in communities they serve. An empirical study was conducted through interviews with a range of stakeholders including telecentre users, telecentre staff, development partners, government representatives and community host organizations, and participants in a conference of community access points. A thematic framework of issues that arise as the roles of telecentres evolve and the relationships between these issues was developed through content analysis. This study contributes to theory and practice by a) the use of content analysis to discover and explicate key issues faced by telecentres as they aim to fulfill their development mandate; b) support for the role of telecentre staff in enhancing participation by community stakeholders, c) the identification of core capabilities, grounded in social context, for effective, socially sustainable telecentre operations and d) the identification of the dynamic capabilities theory as an appropriate theory that can inform future telecentre research.