Lemma Lessa | Addis Ababa University (original) (raw)

Lemma Lessa

Dr. Lemma Lessa is an assistant professor of Information Systems at School of Information Science, Addis Ababa University (AAU), Ethiopia. He received his doctorate in Information Technology (specializing in Information Systems) in 2016, Master of Science degree in Information Science in 2003, and BSc degree in Library Science (Computer Science minor) in 1995 from AAU, Ethiopia. His teaching interest is on the social and management aspects of the design, adoption and use of Information Systems. Over the years, Dr. Lemma has taught numerous undergraduate and postgraduate courses that pertain to Information Systems at AAU and other higher learning institutions in Ethiopia. His postgraduate teaching at AAU includes Information Systems Security Management, Information Systems Strategy & Management, Enterprise Systems, Information Systems Project Management, Information Systems Workshop, Research Methods for Information Science and Systems, and Information Systems Analysis, Modelling & Design. His research interest is on the behavioral, socio-cultural, and organizational aspects of Information Systems in general and the adoption and evaluation of e-Government in particular. Dr. Lemma has authored or coauthored over 22 articles - 2 journal articles, and about 20 conference papers. His articles have been presented and published in the International Journal of Leadership and Management, African Journal of Information Systems, proceedings of Americas Conference on Information Systems, International Conference on Theory and Practice of Electronic Governance, and European Conference of Information Systems among others. He also co-authored two peer-reviewed book chapters. He is serving as editor and reviewer for African Journal of Information Systems, reviewer for reputable conferences such as the International Conference on e-Democracy & e-Government, International Conference on Digital Transformations and Global Society, Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences, and International Conference on Electronic Governance and Open Society. He has advised over 30 master’s thesis in his research area in AAU and other higher learning institutions on topics such as E-Government, E-Health, Cloud computing, Information Systems Governance and Management, IT Adoption, IT outsourcing, Information Systems security, Open source solutions, Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems, etc. He is member of Association for Information Systems (AIS) and current president for the Ethiopian chapter of AIS. In his career, he has served in different administrative positions such as college librarian at Defence Engineering College; university librarian and director for information & communications services at Defence University, department head and postgraduate programme coordinator at School of Information Science, AAU; Member of Institutional Review Board (IRB) at College of Natural and Computational Sciences at AAU; Software project manager at TechSol software development PLC; senior manager for business management solutions at CIMAC Microsoft Dynamics ERP consulting PLC; and head of research & community services at SRI SAI college. Dr. Lemma has attended different short-term trainings. Among subject-oriented short-term trainings are Usable security, Cyber security and its Domains, Fundamentals of Cyber Attacks, Cyber Attack Countermeasures, Real-time Cyber Threat Detection and Mitigation, Enterprise and Infrastructure Security, Digital Transformations, Research Ethics, IT Project Management, Big Data, Blockchain, Internet of Things, Cloud Computing, Virtual Reality, Business Analytics and Digital Media, Geospatial Information Systems and Planning for Territorial Development, Role of e-Commerce in Economic Development, Research Writing in the Sciences and more. He has also attended organizational-oriented short-term trainings such as Leadership and Emotional Intelligence, Strategy Formulation, Strategy Implementation, Strategic Management, Accounting and Finance for IT, and more.

less

Uploads

Papers by Lemma Lessa

Advances in human and social aspects of technology book series, Nov 8, 2023

The Electronic Journal of Information Systems in Developing Countries, Nov 27, 2023

Extant literature reveals that many e-government initiatives fail especially in developing cou... more Extant literature reveals that many e-government initiatives fail especially in developing
countries. Despite the alarming failure rate of e-government initiatives, governments of
developing countries are allocating a huge budget to support and improve
e-government services. Prior research suggested that maturity is a prerequisite for
e-government sustainability, but the relationship between e-government maturity and
sustainability is not investigated. Hence, this research is aimed at developing a concep
tual framework that maps e-government maturity to a sustainable e-government
service. First, the determinants of e-government maturity and sustainability were
derived from the extant literature. Then, the proposed conceptual framework is revised
based on qualitative research using a multiple exploratory case study considering four
G2C cases selected from the e-government portal of Ethiopia. The conceptual frame
work was evaluated by domain experts, and the empirical data were analyzed using the
thematic analysis technique. The study results show that manager's commitment to
prioritize e-government projects, availability of an ICT department with an independent
annual budget for the e-government development, human resource capability, degree
and frequency of customer contacts, ICT infrastructure development, integration,
website age, legal and political strategies, organizational e-government operational
plan, and e-payments were identified to be the determinants of e-government matu
rity. The study contributes to e-government literature by providing a better under
standing of the determinants of e-government service maturity and sustainability and
the link between the two constructs. The outcome of the research could also be of value
for practitioners as a quality tool to assess the maturity and sustainability of
e-government initiatives. Evaluating the applicability of the proposed framework in differ
ent country contexts, a cross-case study across nations, and conducting a longitudinal
investigation of e-government maturity and sustainability are avenues for future research.

Advances in information security, privacy, and ethics book series, Jan 20, 2023

Americas Conference on Information Systems, 2019

Notices Knowledge and best practice in this field are constantly changing. As new research and ex... more Notices Knowledge and best practice in this field are constantly changing. As new research and experience broaden our understanding, changes in research methods, professional practices, or medical treatment may become necessary. Practitioners and researchers must always rely on their own experience and knowledge in evaluating and using any information, methods, compounds, or experiments described herein. In using such information or methods they should be mindful of their own safety and the safety of others, including parties for whom they have a professional responsibility.

IT services and solutions in the banking sector should be protected to keep the business continui... more IT services and solutions in the banking sector should be protected to keep the business continuity in a disastrous scenario. This study aims to develop an Information Technology Disaster Recovery Plan (IT DRP) framework in the case of Ethiopian Banks. Qualitative case study method is employed to investigate current best practices and challenges in Ethiopian banks. The findings indicated that Banks do not have IT DRP in place. Lack of framework, lack of focused group, lack of experiences, and lack of standardization are some of the challenges identified. Accordingly, the IT DRP framework is proposed for Banks of Ethiopia. The framework is confirmed and validated by the subject experts. The framework can serve banks as a quality tool to evaluate existing IT DRP or develop new ones based on their business needs. Recommendations are also forwarded and related topics are suggested for future research to extend this work.

IGI Global eBooks, Feb 3, 2023

International Journal of Industrial Engineering and Operations Management

PurposeThis study is aimed at assessing the information security management practice with a focus... more PurposeThis study is aimed at assessing the information security management practice with a focus on banking card security in selected financial institutions in Ethiopia, using an international information security standard as a benchmark. It is to identify the gaps and recommend best security practices to help financial institutions meet the required security compliance.Design/methodology/approachTwo financial sectors were purposively selected. A total of twenty-five respondents (IT executives and IT staff) were included in the study. Quantitative data was collected using the PCI-DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard) security standard questionnaire. In addition, observation and document analysis were made.FindingsThe result shows that most of the essential security management activities in the financial sectors do not comply with the international security standard. Similarly, the level of most of the indispensable security requirements that should be in place is found...

International Journal of Industrial Engineering and Operations Management

PurposeInformation systems' security is more critical than ever before since security threats... more PurposeInformation systems' security is more critical than ever before since security threats are rapidly growing. Before putting in place information systems' security measures, organizations are required to determine the maturity level of their information security governance. Literature review reveals that there is no recent study on information systems' security maturity level of banks in Ethiopia. This study thus seeks to measure the existing maturity level and examine the security gaps in order to propose possible changes in Ethiopian private banking industry's information system security maturity indicators.Design/methodology/approachFour private banks are selected as a representative sample. The system security engineering capability maturity model (SSE-CMM) is used as the maturity measurement criteria, and the measurement was based on ISO/IEC 27001 information security control areas. The data for the study were gathered using a questionnaire.FindingsA total ...

Driving Transformative Change in E-Business Through Applied Intelligence and Emerging Technologies

Prior research attempted to develop enterprise resource planning (ERP) pre-implementation readine... more Prior research attempted to develop enterprise resource planning (ERP) pre-implementation readiness models and frameworks, but developing a measurement model for the same has not been addressed. This study is aimed at developing and validating an ERP pre-implementation readiness measurement tool for ERP systems. The research question addressed in this study is: “What pre-implementation readiness measurement tool could be developed for ERP system implementation?” The study has proposed a research model based on prior researchers. Then, a survey was conducted using a self-administered questionnaire. The proposed model was tested using a partial least square with the help of the Smart PLS 2.0 software. The empirical evidence of the study indicated that IT strategy and planning, top management commitment, planning, technology application management, service management, individual commitment, and individual capability were found as major influencing factors of ERP pre-implementation read...

SINET: Ethiopian Journal of Science

Enterprise Resource Planning (erp) are integrated software solutions that transform organizations... more Enterprise Resource Planning (erp) are integrated software solutions that transform organizations’ internal processes, provide collaboration with partners, external applications and information systems. Extant literature reveals that organizations are showing interest to transit from an on-premise erp to the new cloud-based erp solutions due to their extra benefits. There are few recent initiatives in Ethiopia to adopt cloud-based erp but challenges faced in the course of the adoption are not explored. Using the technology-organization-environment, diffusion of innovation, and the model of innovation resistance frameworks as lenses, this research aims at identifying factors contributing to the adoption of cloud-based erp in the Ethiopian context. A quantitative approach is adopted and survey was conducted using a self-administered online questionnaire using Google’s online form to gather data from employees of Ethiopian Shipping and Logistics Services Enterprise. Out of 295 question...

Driving Transformative Change in E-Business Through Applied Intelligence and Emerging Technologies

Extant literature reveals that organizations have interest to transit from an on-premise ERP to t... more Extant literature reveals that organizations have interest to transit from an on-premise ERP to the new cloud-based ERP. Using technology-organization-environment, diffusion of innovation, and the model of innovation resistance frameworks as lens, the study aims at identifying factors contributing to adoption of cloud-ERP in Ethiopia. An online survey was conducted using Google Forms. Out of 295 questionnaires distributed, 152 valid questionnaires were collected and considered for the data analysis. The proposed model was tested using a partial least square with the help of SmartPLS. The proposed model explained 58.5% of variance in cloud ERP adoption factors. The result indicated that relative advantage, trust, IT skill, and external pressure had significant influence (P<0.05) on the adoption of cloud ERP in Ethiopia whereas organizational culture, observability, and trialability had no significant impact (P > 0.05) on the adoption of cloud ERP service. The study provides a c...

These days, there is a growing trend towards ERP systems in Ethiopia. This in turn created an opp... more These days, there is a growing trend towards ERP systems in Ethiopia. This in turn created an opportunity for ERP vendors to promote their products in the country. Due to large size and inherent complexity of ERP systems, organizations are strongly advised to check their readiness prior ERP system implementation. There are some prior research attempts to develop ERP pre-implementation readiness assessment models and frameworks. However, extant literature reveal that multi stakeholders’ perspective is not well considered in those prior attempts. Besides, most of the prior attempts are in the context of developed countries. The purpose of this study is to develop a framework to evaluate ERP pre-implementation readiness from multi-stakeholders perspective in developing country context. As a foundation, a set of critical success factors were identified from prior literature. Interview and survey questionnaire were used for data collection. Based on the result, an ERP pre-implementation ...

Proceedings of the 12th International Conference on Theory and Practice of Electronic Governance

Electronic government (e-government) refers to the use of information and communication technolog... more Electronic government (e-government) refers to the use of information and communication technologies to help public organizations more accessible, productive, responsive and responsible. Extant studies confirmed that organizations granted trust and goodwill from the public or the customer through the e-government services delivery seeing that the public value is settled. However, research conducted in this area focused on the initiatives, sustainability, and success of the e-government project. Although the public value of e-government services is the emerging concept and it requires adequate research, in the knowledge of the researcher, there is no research conducted in Ethiopia. The objective of this study is to evaluate the public value of e-government services and to identify challenges associated with it. Specifically, it aims to identify the evaluation framework from extant literature, perceive the status of e-Government services public value, find the challenges associated with meeting the public value of the e-government services in Federal Supreme Court and forward possible recommendations to address challenges associated with e-government services in attaining public value. To achieve these objectives, both qualitative and quantitative methodologies were employed on survey data. Both quantitative and qualitative findings were triangulated for better investigating the public value of e-government services. The revised framework consists of three main dimensions: (i) delivery of quality public services, (ii) the effectiveness of public organizations, and (iii) achievement of socially desirable outcomes were applied for evaluation. The response from 35.77% respondents confirms that quality public service delivery achievement but 64.23% disregarded. The answer from 33% participants revealed that the public organization is effective despite 77% respondents not accepted. The reaction from 25% participant assured that socially desirable outcome is achieved through e-government services while 75% said not. In general, 31.25% respondents agreed on public value of e-government services achievement whereas the rest 68.75% said it is not achieved. This leads to the development of some specific recommendation for improving the public value of e-government in FSC. The study has a contribution to the e-government services public value research domain from both the theoretical and practical perspectives. From the theoretical perspective, it demonstrates the applicability of the concept of public value for evaluating the performance of e-government. From the practical perspective, it presents an investigation of the public value of e-government. Such an investigation provides the stakeholders with a realistic assessment of the overall performance of e-government in FSC. It helps to the development of some specific recommendations for enhancing and improving the public value of e-government. Such findings are not only significant for the continuous development of e-government services in FSC but also for meeting the expectation and demand of the customers.

One of the significant determinant factors in relation to stakeholders engagement in development ... more One of the significant determinant factors in relation to stakeholders engagement in development projects is the degree of their role. Sustainability of a project has a relationship with stakeholders' involvement. However, in the ICT4D domain, there is a lack of insight, literature, theoretical models, and framework to understand stakeholder perspectives. In recent information systems literature, it is argued that there is a lack of formally capturing stakeholder perspectives and lack of knowledge related to stakeholder interactions in relation to sustaining ICT4D projects. This research-in-progress paper aims to explore this issue and attempts to address this gap by proposing a theoretical framework on how sustainability-related issues of ICT4D projects can be better understood through the lens of stakeholders theory and capability approach.

Nowadays the world witnessed a rapid growth in mobile commerce and widespread use of mobile devic... more Nowadays the world witnessed a rapid growth in mobile commerce and widespread use of mobile devices. The growth of mobile commerce depends on widely accepted mobile payment systems. However, this trend is not well experienced in developing countries like Ethiopia. Even though merchants somehow benefited from the rapid growth in electronics commerce and use of mobile devices in ecommerce, they still hesitate to effectively employ in their day to day transactions. Little research has been conducted to examine and explain the merchants' views on the new payment technology. In this paper, we explore the factors that affect merchants’ adoption of mobile payment in Ethiopia. The result suggests that relative advantage, ease of use, usefulness, attitude, trust, risk/security and cost are factors that affect mobile payment adoption positively and significantly. Whereas compatibility is found not significant for merchants adoption of mobile payment systems in Ethiopian context. Based on ...

Americas Conference on Information Systems, 2011

The importance of management support in information systems (IS) implementation has been emphasiz... more The importance of management support in information systems (IS) implementation has been emphasized in previous studies. However, despite its importance, there is lack of empirical evidence to clarify the role of top managers IS intent on IS implementation. This is a research in-progress that will provide an empirical investigation of the influence of IS strategic intent of managers on IS effectiveness in selected organizations in Ethiopia. The research will be conducted as an interpretive case study in two public institutions. Information Systems projects from these two setups will be selected and the role and extent of IS intent of managers in relation to each project will be studied in detail. Interview items will be adapted from related previous studies. By so doing, this research is aimed at increasing our understanding of managers’ role in facilitating success of IS implementation in organizations.

2021 International Conference on Information and Communication Technology for Development for Africa (ICT4DA)

Information security is one of the most vital and demanding issues facing today's financial i... more Information security is one of the most vital and demanding issues facing today's financial institutions such as banks. With widespread use of information technology and ever increasing connectedness to the global environment, financial institutions are increasingly exposed to wide-ranging threats. This research is aimed at assessing the existing information security culture in banks in Ethiopia with the intention to identify possible gaps that need management intervention. To that end, survey research method is employed that mainly uses quantitative data based on primary data collected from the headquarters of eleven banks in the capital Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The study revealed that the level of information security culture in the banking sector in Ethiopia is unsatisfactory.

Advances in human and social aspects of technology book series, Nov 8, 2023

The Electronic Journal of Information Systems in Developing Countries, Nov 27, 2023

Advances in information security, privacy, and ethics book series, Jan 20, 2023

Americas Conference on Information Systems, 2019

IGI Global eBooks, Feb 3, 2023

International Journal of Industrial Engineering and Operations Management

Driving Transformative Change in E-Business Through Applied Intelligence and Emerging Technologies

SINET: Ethiopian Journal of Science

Driving Transformative Change in E-Business Through Applied Intelligence and Emerging Technologies

Proceedings of the 12th International Conference on Theory and Practice of Electronic Governance

Americas Conference on Information Systems, 2011

2021 International Conference on Information and Communication Technology for Development for Africa (ICT4DA)

1st Parliamentary Research Conference, 2021

Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) become essential components of modern life. The... more Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) become essential components of modern life. They are transforming almost everything and the work of legislative bodies is not an exception. ICTs have acquired the necessary flexibility to assist parliaments in their most important responsibilities: making laws, overseeing the executive and communicating with citizens. The development in ICTs is opening new avenues of cooperation among legislatures and started affecting the traditional citizen-parliament relationship by enabling participation through the exchange of user generated content. Extant literature revealed that in today's wired world, parliaments must be able to harness ICTs to be more representative, transparent, accessible, accountable and effective in their functions. This literature-based conceptual research reviewed the potential benefits of ICTs in building a democratic society with emphasis in supporting parliament's basic values of transparency, accessibility, accountability and effectiveness, and, at the same time, its representative, legislative and oversight functions. The study also tries to highlight ICTs role in promoting sustainable development. Lessons that can be learned are pinpointed. Recommendations are also forwarded for practice on how the parliament can fully exploit technology in support of its functions.