The contribution of small clinical centers to local and national sustainable development in developing countries: Can information systems help?

Abstract

This paper reports the findings of an empirical study of the impact of information systems on the capacity of small enterprises in the healthcare industry to contribute to sustainable development in developing countries. Despite the significant advances in enterprise systems over the past four decades, our understanding of the contribution of information systems to sustainability, especially in developing countries, is limited. This is mainly due to prior research being largely interested in large enterprises, in developed and Western countries, or both. In this study, we examined the impact of information technologies on sustainable development in developing countries. We were particularly interested in how the implementation of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) could help medical clinics to contribute to the sustainability of their local and national development by providing better-quality services to patients and improving their operations. The research objective drew upon the understanding that healthcare systems have significant impact on the sustainable development of developing countries (Anyika, 2014). A model of the relationship between CRM and the sustainability capacity of small medical centres is provided and is based on the findings.