Contextual Drawbacks to Implementing Digital Systems in Selected countries in the Southern African Public Sector: An integrative review
Keywords:
Digital Systems, Digital Transformation, Implementation Challenges, Public Sector Digitalization, Southern AfricaAbstract
Digital transformation holds considerable promise for improving public service delivery across the African continent. However, despite various regional and international initiatives aimed at advancing digital governance, the implementation of digital systems in Southern Africa’s public sector has encountered persistent challenges. This study presents an integrative review of the literature on the contextual drawbacks to the adoption of digital systems in the Southern African region. The study is guided by the Technology-Organization-Environment (TOE) framework and supported by complementary theoretical lenses including the Technology Adoption Model, the Design-Reality Gap Model, Institutional Theory, the Sociotechnical Systems Theory, and the Digital Divide Framework. A systematic literature search, screening, and synthesis process was conducted using the Elicit software, leading to the selection of relevant peer-reviewed publications. The findings were thematically analysed and categorised into three overarching domains: technological, institutional, and environmental challenges. Key technological impediments include outdated infrastructure, cybersecurity vulnerabilities, and insufficient ICT capacity. Institutional challenges stem from bureaucratic inertia, limited managerial support, digital hesitancy, and leadership instability, while environmental constraints are shaped by poor interdepartmental coordination, low citizen participation, and digital inequality. The study argues that these challenges are interdependent and mutually reinforcing and therefore require a multidimensional policy response. Recommendations include targeted digital investments in underserved areas, capacity-building for public servants, user-centric system design, and institutional reforms that foster inter-agency collaboration and inclusive digital governance.
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