Dr Pamela Abbott
BSc (University of the West Indies), MMath (Waterloo, Canada), MPhil (Cambridge), PhD (Cambridge)
Information School
Senior Lecturer in Information Systems
+44 114 222 2669
Full contact details
Information School
Room C242
The Wave
2 Whitham Road
Sheffield
S10 2AH
- Profile
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I started in academia as a computer scientist and mathematician, however, my academic career in Information Systems spans over some 11 years during which I have held various lecturing positions both in the UK (Brunel University London) and abroad (University College Dublin, Ireland).
I obtained my PhD in Management Studies from Cambridge University in 2004, having pioneered research in an area of global sourcing called “Nearshore Software Outsourcing”. This research interest stemmed from my former career as a Software Quality Analyst at a Barbados-based software outsourcing company specialising in providing services to US-based clients.
My more recent work in global sourcing looks at sources of collaboration and innovation through knowledge processes in software and services outsourcing. I carried out most of this research for this latter interest in China in collaboration with Chinese scholars.
I have attracted funding of up to £69,931 to pursue this research and won a prestigious AIS Senior Scholars best paper award for one of the ensuing publications.
My early work in nearshoring also spawned an interest in ICTs and their effects on developing countries since I, myself, am from the Caribbean islands and witnessed the transformation to work practices that took place during the “boom” years of digitization. Most scholars agree that the relationship between ICTs and development is contested; my work helps to uncover some of these contradictions and seek reasons for their continued existence.
I recently participated in two Horizon 2020 EU projects based in Africa which are trying to promote sustainable research and education networks (TANDEM) and science gateways (SciGaIA) to support African scientific communities of practice.
- Research interests
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My current research interests can be summarised in the following areas:
Global sourcing
- location of outsourced work (as influenced by geography, culture, economic and non-economic factors related to location)
- knowledge processes, collaboration and innovation in global sourcing arrangements
- distributed collaborative work and the relationship with time, space and knowledge/cultural boundaries
- sustainable sourcing
ICTs and development
- sustainability of ICT interventions in developing countries
- sustainable e-infrastructure development in the African subcontinent
Others
- the transformative potential of ICTs in various work situations e.g. hospital discharge processes
- e-health interventions and personalisation of healthcare as it relates to wellbeing enhancement
- passing interest in cybersocial issues such as privacy and security in online and integrated ICT-enabled interactions.
- Publications
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Books
- Preface.
- Collaboration, Learning and Innovation Across Outsourced Services Value Networks Software Services Outsourcing in China. Springer International Publishing.
Journal articles
- State-steered smartmentality in Chinese smart urbanism. Urban Studies. View this article in WRRO
- Potential opportunities and risks of sharing agricultural research data in Tanzania. IASSIST Quarterly, 45(3-4). View this article in WRRO
- In-betweenness in ICT4D research: critically examining the role of the researcher. European Journal of Information Systems. View this article in WRRO
- Minding the design reality gap : an empirical evaluation of telecentre initiatives in rural Ghana. The International Journal of Information, Diversity, & Inclusion (IJIDI), 5(3), 64-97. View this article in WRRO
- Librarians’ perceptions of the challenges for researchers in Rwanda and the potential of open scholarship. Libri, 71(2), 93-107. View this article in WRRO
- Exploring the contribution of mobile money to well-being from a capability perspective. The Electronic Journal of Information Systems in Developing Countries, 85(4). View this article in WRRO
- User requirements for national research and education networks for research in West and Central Africa. Information Development, 35(4), 575-591.
- The Influence of Intangible (‘Soft’) Constructs on the Outcome of Community ICT Initiatives in Ghana: A Gap Archetype Analysis. Electronic Journal of Information Systems in Developing Countries, 77(1), 1-22.
- Offshore Business Process Outsourcing for Developing Countries: A South African Perspective. Electronic Journal of Information Systems in Developing Countries, 74(1), 1-24.
- A Socio-Technical Analysis of ICT Investments in Developing Countries: A Capability Perspective. The Electronic Journal of Information Systems in Developing Countries, 67(1), 1-29.
- A study on the state-of-the-art of e-Infrastructures uptake in Africa. Palgrave Communications, 1(1).
- ICT and empowerment to participate. Information Development, 30(4), 321-331.
- How can African countries advance their outsourcing industries: An overview of possible approaches. The African Journal of Information Systems, 5(1), 27-35.
- IT Cultural Enclaves and Social Change: The Interplay Between Indian Cultural values and Western Ways of Working in an Indian IT Organization. Information Technology for Development, 19(3), 193-214.
- Innovation through Collaborative Partnerships: Creating the MSN News for iPad App at VanceInfo Technologies. Journal of Information Technology Teaching Cases, 3(1), 16-28.
- From boundary spanning to creolization: A study of Chinese software and services outsourcing vendors. The Journal of Strategic Information Systems, 22(2), 121-136.
- Everywhere and nowhere: nearshore software development in the context of globalisation. European Journal of Information Systems, 21(5), 529-551.
- The Influences of Employees’ Emotions and Cognition on IT Adoption. International Journal of Social and Organizational Dynamics in IT, 2(3), 1-16.
- Internal and contextual factors, knowledge processes and performance: From the Chinese provider’s perspective. Expert Systems with Applications, 39(4), 4464-4472.
- The impact of ICT investments on development using the capability approach: The case of the Nigerian pre-paid electricity billing system. The African Journal of Information Systems, 4(1), 31-45.
- Contextual Factors, Knowledge Processes and Performance in Global Sourcing of IT Services. Journal of Global Information Management, 19(2), 1-26.
- Why 'nearshore' means that distance matters. Communications of the ACM, 50(10), 40-46.
- Nearshore locations in three principal global clusters and their respective attributes. Communications of the ACM, 50(10), 45-45.
- The Information Technology Workforce: Trends and Implications 2005-2008.. MIS Q. Executive, 5.
- Software-export Strategies for Developing Countries: A Caribbean Perspective. The Electronic Journal of Information Systems in Developing Countries, 20(1), 1-19.
- Engaging Students in an MIS Course through the Creation of E-Business: A Self-Determination Theory Analysis. Communications of the Association for Information Systems, 36.
Chapters
- Reflections on Post Hoc Theorization of ICT4D Action Research Projects, IFIP Advances in Information and Communication Technology (pp. 338-349). Springer Nature Switzerland
- BIM as a Boundary Object in Construction Projects: A Knowledge-as-Practice Perspective, Responsible AI and Analytics for an Ethical and Inclusive Digitized Society (pp. 371-382). Springer International Publishing
- Perceptions of Rwanda’s Research Environment in the Context of Digitalization: Reflections on Deficit Discourses, IFIP Advances in Information and Communication Technology (pp. 50-64). Springer International Publishing
- The Potential of Open Science for Research Visibility in the Global South: Rwandan Librarians’ Perspectives, Information and Communication Technologies for Development (pp. 41-53). Springer International Publishing
- The Main Factors Affecting E-voting Service Implementation: The Case of Palestine, Complexity in Information Systems Development (pp. 221-236). Springer International Publishing
- Offshoring: Cross-Cultural Strategies from the Offshore Provider’s Perspective, The New IT Outsourcing Landscape (pp. 206-221). Palgrave Macmillan UK
- Shared services centres: A case study on a dispersed services oriented organization In Kotlarsky J, Willcocks LP & Oshri I (Ed.), New Studies in Global IT and Business Service Outsourcing (pp. 175-200).
- Contextual Factors, Knowledge Processes and Performance in Global Sourcing of IT Services, Global Diffusion and Adoption of Technologies for Knowledge and Information Sharing (pp. 82-109). IGI Global
Book reviews
- [Book Review] Connecting ICTs to Development: The IDRC Experience. Information Technologies and International Development, 10(3), 83-85.
Conference proceedings papers
- Reflections on Post Hoc Theorization of ICT4D Action Research Projects: Research-In-Progress. IFIP Advances in Information and Communication Technology, Vol. 696 AICT (pp 338-349)
- Understanding the Interplay between Boundary Resources and Governance Practices in influencing Ecosystem Value Co-Creation for Digital Platforms: A Case from the Global South. IFIP Working Group 9.4: Implications of Information and Digital Technologies for Development
- Smart Farming in sub-Saharan Africa: Challenges and Opportunities. Proceedings of the 10th International Conference on Sensor Networks, 9 February 2021 - 10 February 2021.
- Themes and Difficulties in Distributed Agile Email Activity. Proceedings of the Evaluation and Assessment in Software Engineering
- Investigating users' IT adaptation behaviors: A case of a computerized work system. International Conference on Information Systems 2018, ICIS 2018
- An ontology for clinical laboratory standard operating procedures. CEUR Workshop Proceedings, Vol. 2050
- Exploring the emergence of collaborative practices in globally distributed agile software development. AMCIS 2017 - America's Conference on Information Systems: A Tradition of Innovation, Vol. 2017-August
- The main factors affecting E-voting service implementation: The case of palestine. 25th International Conference on Information Systems Development, ISD 2016 (pp 495-507)
- User IT adaptation behaviors: What have we learned and why does IT matter?. 2015 Americas Conference on Information Systems, AMCIS 2015
- Student modeling & simulation projects in healthcare: Experiences with Hillingdon Hospital. IEEE Press, Vol. 2015-January (pp 3650-3661)
- Case-based reasoning system for predicting the sustainability of a telecentre. 2015 10th International Conference for Internet Technology and Secured Transactions (ICITST), 14 December 2015 - 16 December 2015.
- Cybersecurity information sharing: A framework for information security management in UK SME supply chains. ECIS 2014 Proceedings - 22nd European Conference on Information Systems
- Moving up the value chain or reconfiguring the value network? An organizational learning perspective on born global outsourcing vendors. ECIS 2013 - Proceedings of the 21st European Conference on Information Systems
- Understanding Collaborative Practices in Distributed Agile Development: Research Proposal. 2013 IEEE 8th International Conference on Global Software Engineering Workshops, 26 August 2013 - 26 August 2013.
- Negotiating Common Ground in Distributed Agile Development: A Case Study Perspective. 2013 IEEE 8th International Conference on Global Software Engineering, 26 August 2013 - 29 August 2013.
- Moving up the value chain: Exploring the issues for Chinese software & services outsourcers. PACIS 2012
- The Influences of Employees' Emotions and Cognition on IT Adoption: Some Perspectives from Iran. 2012 45th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences, 4 January 2012 - 7 January 2012.
- ICT and empowerment to participate: A capability approach. 17th Americas Conference on Information Systems 2011, AMCIS 2011, Vol. 1 (pp 148-158)
- The impact of ICT investments on development: Lessons from the Nigeria pre-paid electricity billing system. 11th IFIP 9.4, 22 May 2011 - 25 May 2011.
- An empirical research of relation norms on IT outsourcing performance. Procedia Engineering, Vol. 24 (pp 214-218)
- Evaluating the effects of ICTs on development using the capability approach: The case of the Nigeria pre-paid electricity billing meter. International Conference on Information Systems
- From boundary spanning to creolization: Cross-cultural strategies from the offshore provider's perspective. 16th Americas Conference on Information Systems 2010, AMCIS 2010, Vol. 1 (pp 1-10)
- Cultural enclaves: the interplay between Indian cultural values and Western ways of working in an Indian IT organisation. International Conference on Information Systems, 14 December 2009 - 18 December 2009.
- Knowledge processes in offshore outsourcing in Xi’an China. Hong Kong, 3 December 2009 - 4 December 2009.
- Everywhere and nowhere: nearshore software development in the context of globalisation. Bangalore. GDW Foundation (pp 339-350)
- What do we know about distance in offshore outsourcing?. .
- Configurations of global software development. Proceedings of the 2006 international workshop on Global software development for the practitioner - GSD '06, 23 May 2006 - 23 May 2006.
- The influence of location and proximity in offshore/nearshore outsourcing arrangements: a survey of industry practitioners. Supply Chain Management
- Implementing global strategies in a local context: software outsourcing in the Caribbean. Working Conference on Information Systems Perspectives and Challenges in the Context of Globalization
- Global and Organizational Discourse about Information Technology
- An Investigation into the Role of Data Governance in Improving Data Quality: A Case Study of the Omani Banking Sector. ECIS 2022
- In Defense of Content Analysis Methodology. SSRN Electronic Journal
Reports
Posters
- Research group
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Current PhD Students
Jihad Al Wahshi: Data Analysis for Business Intelligence: A Critical Evaluation of the role of Business Intelligence and Data Analysis in Money Laundering and Fraud Detections in Oman Banking Industry
Lily Sepulveda Garcia: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis of Informal Caregivers use of Assistive Technologies to care for people with dementia at home
Elijah Chirwa: An Examination on the impact of digital disruptive innovations on central banks and formulating a strategy for the digital age
David Pinto: Self-Discipline System
- Teaching interests
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I have teaching experience in subject areas such as business analysis and business/enterprise modelling, global sourcing, research methods, e-business and IS strategy. I have also coordinated industry certification in enterprise software and business analytics applications.
I believe in active learning approaches to module delivery, practical skills development, engagement with industry and peer learning.
- Teaching activities
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I am currently module coordinator of INF6021 Information Systems Change Management and programme coordinator of the MSc in Information Systems.
- Professional activities and memberships
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- Senior Editor, Journal of Information Technology
- External Examiner, BSc Accounting and Information Management, Department of Accounting, Finance and Economics, Business School, Oxford Brookes University
- External Examiner, Business Information Systems, J.E. Cairnes School of Business and Economics, National University of Ireland, Galway
- Member of the Association for Information Systems (AIS)
- Member of the AIS Special Interest Group on Global Development (SIG GlobDev)
- Friend, IFIP Working Group 8.2 Information Systems and Organizations