Indicative findings from a study of information behaviour in digital business ideation: insights from the developing world

Abstract

Though a wealth of information behaviour research has been undertaken in various contexts over the years, less has been done on entrepreneurship. In particular, there is a lack of literature around the ideation component in the early stages of business formation. This study seeks to address the theoretical and empirical gap within this research stream, bringing together information, innovation, and creativity theory, as lenses through which to explore the phenomenon. Twelve semi-structured interviews were conducted with business founders. Participants operated in a variety of segments of the digital technology spectrum. Critical Realism and Grounded Theory were used as theoretical and practical data techniques, using abduction in the theoretical redescription of concepts (codes) identified in the empirical data, and retroduction to identify the necessary contextual conditions for a particular causal mechanism to take effect and result in the observed empirical trends. Indicative results show several societal and personal factors play a role in shaping the information behaviour of digital entrepreneurs. These factors include but are not limited to poverty, parenting, and unequal power between mentors and mentees. While this research project is ongoing, early findings emerge in previously unexplored aspects of information behaviour such as the importance of reading passion and early exposure to digital devices amongst digital entrepreneurs.