ICT innovation, adoption and diffusion: an exploratory analysis on usage patterns for economic productivity

The rapid development of information and communication technologies (ICT) has prompted many nations, developed and developing, to devote scarce resources to building impressive physical infrastructure and formulating range of ICT policies in the hope that such moves would enhance economic development. Most governments in developing countries, including that of Malaysia, tend to hold a firm belief that huge investments in ICT will result in immediate and long term economic payoffs, although a large body of academic literature is ambiguous concerning the economic impact of ICT innovation, adoption and diffusion across the various sectors of the economy. The paper argues that the effective innovation, adaption and diffusion of ICT application for economic productivity is dependent on a number of key factors including pattern of usage, economic and political stability of a country