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Background: In a competition for scarce resources, higher education institutions in developing countries have lost to other priorities. The article examines specific barriers to innovation in the higher education context. A thorough understanding and removal of these impediments paves a way to innovation in developing countries, specifically Zimbabwe. Objectives: Firstly, the study sought to evaluate the barriers to innovation in higher education and secondly recommend strategies to improve the innovation capabilities of the institutions. Method: A survey strategy was adopted to collect data from 240 purposefully selected academics at four state universities in Zimbabwe with a 66.6% response rate. Results: The results indicate that the lack of funding for research is the biggest barrier to innovation in higher education with a 46% representation. Along the same spectrum, the lack of incentives is also another barrier with an account of 21% of the participants who participated. The organisational structure is also a pertinent barrier with 24% representation. Lastly, the organisational culture accounts 9% of the participants. Conclusion: Adequate resource allocation and funding is crucial to the success and transformation of the higher education system. Implementing policies that align with the strategic goals of the institutions is imperative to bring about innovation not only in Zimbabwe but also in other developing countries too. Contribution: Higher education institutions should provide adequate funding for research and reassess their organisational cultures and structures for them to be on the cutting edge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Government departments are under increasing pressure to demonstrate technology effectiveness. One approach that government departments can use to be perceived as more technology effective is to understand the Management Information Systems (MIS) maturity issues that affect their departments. There are gaps in the academic literature about how African governments are dealing with the issues of MIS maturity; and this is also applicable to Nigeria. The purpose of this research is to gain a better understanding of some of the MIS maturity concerns of Nigerian Ministries, Department, and Agencies (MDAs). This is important because senior managers and policymakers can more effectively understand the challenges that affect their respective departments and develop context‐appropriate policies. This study is quantitative in nature and primary data in the form of questionnaires were collected from 109 key stakeholders from selected Nigerian government departments. The data were analyzed using Factor analysis as a primary tool. The analysis provided a deeper understanding of some of the issues affecting the maturity within the selected Nigerian MDAs. The results of the analysis were used to develop a model that outlines some of the maturity concerns for the selected Nigerian MDAs. The issues that affect MIS maturity in Nigerian MDAs are related to: (1) integration of MIS initiatives, creating MIS vision, implementation of MIS management policies and the development of supportive MIS objectives which influence MIS maturity, (2) robust MIS objectives and robust MIS management that influences service delivery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Knowledge-sharing culture permits knowledge reuse, exchange of knowledge, experiences and insights in an institution to achieve strategic goals. Knowledge-sharing requires motivation through rewards and recognition to improve employee engagement. The article provides an analysis of factors to promote a knowledge-sharing culture change. Objectives: The two objectives were designed to examine the factors that promote knowledgesharing culture change and to recommend strategies that encourage knowledge-sharing. Method: An online questionnaire was used to gather quantitative data from a higher education institution in Zimbabwe: a developing country on the African continent. Results: The results established that rewards, recognition, promotion and bonuses are significant factors in promoting a knowledge-sharing culture change. It emerged that 53.3% of the participants approved that knowledge-sharing is dependent on the disposition of the individual whilst the other 46.7% of the participants were either indecisive or disagreed with the proposition. Rewards are important to the extent that 91.7% of the participants approved the proposition. It was also confirmed by 95% of the participants that recognition adds value to an institution. Moreover, 80% of the participants submitted that recognition contributes to employee retention and engagement. Fascinatingly, 88.3% of the participants settled on the proposition that recognition allows access to top talent and 68.3% concurred that promotion encourages loyalty. Conclusion: Rewards, recognition, promotion and bonuses are important factors that encourage a knowledge-sharing culture. Rewards strengthen employee value proposition whilst recognition allows access to top talent. Promotion inspires employees whilst bonuses are perceived as signalling employee appreciation, which stimulates a knowledge-sharing culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]