Title: Decision making of agrarian communities: exploring the impact of e-governance initiatives in India

Authors: Sushil Kumar, Jabir Ali

Addresses: Centre for Food and Agribusiness Management, Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Lucknow – 226013, Uttar Pradesh, India. ' Centre for Food and Agribusiness Management, Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Lucknow – 226013, Uttar Pradesh, India

Abstract: E-governance systems are argued to enhance the quality of decision-making. Differences in quality of decisions by users of e-governance systems and non-users are examined. Data from 461 farmers, collected using a questionnaire survey, are used to assess decision quality on 14 aspects related to agriculture production processes. Results indicate a significantly better quality of decisions made by user group as compared to the non-user group. Differences are also found between qualities of decisions made by user groups of two service providers – one public and another private – which indicate the difference in the delivery approach of the two organisations.

Keywords: e-governance; decision making; agriculture; India; ICTs; information technology; communication technology; electronic governance; farmers.

DOI: 10.1504/IJEG.2009.029127

International Journal of Electronic Governance, 2009 Vol.2 No.2/3, pp.156 - 169

Accepted: 14 May 2009
Published online: 06 Nov 2009 *

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