Mobilizing Culture for E‐Business in Developing Countries: An Actor Network Theory Account

Abstract The purpose of this study is to understand how developing country cultures can be mobilized for e‐business. Within the developing country e‐business literature, culture has been highlighted as a barrier. Less is however known about culture as an enabler. Despite calls for cultural fit, empirical evidence on how to achieve the fit remains limited. This study follows actor‐network theory (ANT) as a lens and interpretive case study as a methodology to understand how funeral culture in the developing country context of Ghana was mobilized for an e‐business venture. The findings demonstrate an enabling perspective of developing country culture, complementing the dominant constraining view in the literature. The paper argues that although e‐business emerged from the developed world, it could be malleable to varied contexts. The paper encourages developing country entrepreneurs and researchers to seek ways to align e‐business to local contexts.