Gender Differences in Entrepreneurial Traits, Perceptions and Usage of Information and Communication Technologies‪.‬

INTRODUCTION The benefits of deploying information and communication technology (ICT) in business cannot be over stated. There is a growing understanding of how businesses should operate using ICT to achieve optimal effectiveness. Information technology in general has become the major facilitators of business activities in the world today (Tapscott & Caston, 1993; Mankin, 1996) hence, business organization investments in ICT have increased significantly in the past two decades. Albeit, advances in technology continue at a fast pace, the use of emerging information and communication technologies has not been commensurate (Ndubisi & Richardson, 2002) or has fallen below expectations (Johansen & Swigart, 1996; Wiener, 1993; Moore, 1991). Landauer (1995) and Sichel (1997) had argued that low usage of systems is a plausible explanation for the 'productivity paradox'. As such, an understanding of the salient factors that determine ICT usage among male and female entrepreneurs is important for researchers, system designers, and vendors.