DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION AND SERVICE DELIVERY IN THE NIGERIAN TELECOMMUNICATIONS INDUSTRY

Authors

  • Olatunde Oluwole Durojaiye Department of Business Administration, Joseph Sarwuan Tarka University, Makurdi, Benue State Nigeria Author
  • Monica Esiebugie Umogbai Department of Business Administration, Joseph Sarwuan Tarka University, Makurdi, Benue State Nigeria Author
  • Nguwasen Kwahar Department of Business Administration, Joseph Sarwuan Tarka University, Makurdi, Benue State Nigeria Author
  • Samuel Igbabee Ucherwuhe Department of Business Administration, Joseph Sarwuan Tarka University, Makurdi, Benue State Nigeria Author

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.61841/nn-bma-12-4-55

Keywords:

Digital Transformation, Service Delivery Quality, Mobile Phone Penetration, Network Coverage, Ardl, Nigeria.

Abstract

This study examined the effect of digital transformation on service delivery in the Nigerian telecommunications industry. An ex-post facto design was adopted, using annual secondary data from 2001 to 2024 (24 observations) sourced from the Nigerian Communications Commission, the Central Bank of Nigeria and the National Bureau of Statistics. Service delivery was proxied by a composite Service Delivery Quality Score, which averaged 0.1714. Digital transformation was captured by mobile phone penetration, internet penetration, mobile money transaction and telecommunication network coverage, with literacy rate as a control. Unit root tests revealed a mixture of I(0) and I(1) series. The Autoregressive Distributed Lag bounds test confirmed cointegration (F = 4.8293), exceeding the 1% upper bound of 4.15. Long-run estimates showed that mobile phone penetration (β = 0.1598, p = 0.0171), telecommunication network coverage (β = 0.0119, p = 0.0000) and literacy rate (β = 0.0591, p = 0.0082) significantly improved service delivery. Internet penetration (β = −0.0503, p = 0.2750) and mobile money transaction (β = −0.1473, p = 0.2782) were negative and insignificant. The error correction term (−0.6007, p = 0.0000) indicated that about 60.07% of disequilibrium is corrected annually, and the short-run model explained 89.58% of the variation in service delivery. Diagnostic tests confirmed normal residuals, no serial correlation, homoskedasticity and parameter stability. The study concluded that infrastructural reach, rather than usage intensity, sustains service quality. It recommended prioritised investment in network coverage, deeper mobile access and targeted digital literacy programmes.

References

1. Aker, J. C., & Mbiti, I. M. (2010). Mobile phones and economic development in Africa. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 24(3), 207–232. https://doi.org/10.1257/jep.24.3.207

2. Akinde, M. A., & Saka, K. A. (2026). Digital financial inclusion: Efficiency analysis of mobile money penetration by Nigerian telecommunication companies. American Journal of Development Studies, 4(1), 44–50. https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajds/article/view/4643

3. Bardesi, H. J. (2020). Measuring the effect of the internet on economic growth: The case of Saudi Arabia. International Journal of Economics and Finance, 12(12), 61–69. https://doi.org/10.5539/ijef.v12n12p61

4. Barney, J. (1991). Firm resources and sustained competitive advantage. Journal of Management, 17(1), 99–120. https://doi.org/10.1177/014920639101700108

5. Breusch, T. S. (1978). Testing for autocorrelation in dynamic linear models. Australian Economic Papers, 17(31), 334–355. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8454.1978.tb00635.x

6. Breusch, T. S., & Pagan, A. R. (1979). A simple test for heteroscedasticity and random coefficient variation. Econometrica, 47(5), 1287–1294. https://doi.org/10.2307/1911963

7. Brown, R. L., Durbin, J., & Evans, J. M. (1975). Techniques for testing the constancy of regression relationships over time. Journal of the Royal Statistical Society: Series B (Methodological), 37(2), 149–192. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.2517-6161.1975.tb01532.x

8. Dickey, D. A., & Fuller, W. A. (1979). Distribution of the estimators for autoregressive time series with a unit root. Journal of the American Statistical Association, 74(366a), 427–431. https://doi.org/10.1080/01621459.1979.10482531

9. Falowo, O., & Falowo, S. (2026). Low internet penetration in Sub-Saharan Africa and the role of LEO satellites in addressing the issue. Telecom, 7(1), Article 7. https://doi.org/10.3390/telecom7010007

10. Feroz, A., Jabeen, R., & Saleem, S. (2020). Using mobile phones to improve community health workers performance in low-and-middle-income countries. BMC Public Health, 20, Article 49. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-020-8173-3

11. Godfrey, L. G. (1978). Testing against general autoregressive and moving average error models when the regressors include lagged dependent variables. Econometrica, 46(6), 1293–1301. https://doi.org/10.2307/1913829

12. Grönroos, C. (1984). A service quality model and its marketing implications. European Journal of Marketing, 18(4), 36–44. https://doi.org/10.1108/EUM0000000004784

13. Hanelt, A., Bohnsack, R., Marz, D., & Antunes Marante, C. (2021). A systematic review of the literature on digital transformation: Insights and implications for strategy and organizational change. Journal of Management Studies, 58(5), 1159–1197. https://doi.org/10.1111/joms.12639

14. Inakefe, G. I., Bassey, V. U., Ikeanyibe, O. M., Nwagboso, C. I., Agbor, U. I., Ebegbulem, J., Mbonu, F. I., & Ike, G. U. (2023). Digital literacy and e-governance adoption for service delivery in Cross River State Civil Service. International Journal of Electronic Government Research, 19(1), 1–23. https://doi.org/10.4018/IJEGR.328327

15. Jarque, C. M., & Bera, A. K. (1980). Efficient tests for normality, homoscedasticity and serial independence of regression residuals. Economics Letters, 6(3), 255–259. https://doi.org/10.1016/0165-1765(80)90024-5

16. Kulu, E., Opoku, A., Gbolonyo, E., & Kodwo, M. A. T. (2022). Mobile money transactions and banking sector performance in Ghana. Heliyon, 8(10), Article e10761. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2022.e10761

17. Liana, P., Jaensson, J.-E., & Mmari, G. (2023). Service quality dimensions as predictors of customer loyalty in mobile payment services: Moderating effect of gender. Future Business Journal, 9, Article 98. https://doi.org/10.1186/s43093-023-00277-2

18. Mothobi, O., & Kebotsamang, K. (2024). The impact of network coverage on adoption of Fintech and financial inclusion in sub-Saharan Africa. Journal of Economic Structures, 13, Article 5. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40008-023-00326-7

19. Parasuraman, A., Zeithaml, V. A., & Berry, L. L. (1988). SERVQUAL: A multiple-item scale for measuring consumer perceptions of service quality. Journal of Retailing, 64(1), 12–40.

20. Pesaran, M. H., Shin, Y., & Smith, R. J. (2001). Bounds testing approaches to the analysis of level relationships. Journal of Applied Econometrics, 16(3), 289–326. https://doi.org/10.1002/jae.616

21. Ramsey, J. B. (1969). Tests for specification errors in classical linear least-squares regression analysis. Journal of the Royal Statistical Society: Series B (Methodological), 31(2), 350–371. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.2517-6161.1969.tb00796.x

22. Uzochukwu, I., Nwoye, M. I., & Azu, N. P. (2025). Effect of digital technology adoption on the performance of supervisory agencies of the Nigerian communications sector: Does behavioural intention matter? International Journal of Innovative Research and Scientific Studies, 8(7), 281–291. https://ijirss.com/index.php/ijirss/article/view/10436

23. Venkatesh, V., Morris, M. G., Davis, G. B., & Davis, F. D. (2003). User acceptance of information technology: Toward a unified view. MIS Quarterly, 27(3), 425–478. https://doi.org/10.2307/30036540

24. Verhoef, P. C., Broekhuizen, T., Bart, Y., Bhattacharya, A., Dong, J. Q., Fabian, N., & Haenlein, M. (2021). Digital transformation: A multidisciplinary reflection and research agenda. Journal of Business Research, 122, 889–901. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2019.09.022

25. Vial, G. (2019). Understanding digital transformation: A review and a research agenda. The Journal of Strategic Information Systems, 28(2), 118–144. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsis.2019.01.003

26. Wernerfelt, B. (1984). A resource-based view of the firm. Strategic Management Journal, 5(2), 171–180. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.4250050207

Downloads

Published

2026-10-30

How to Cite

Durojaiye, O. O., Umogbai, M. E., Kwahar, N., & Ucherwuhe, S. I. (2026). DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION AND SERVICE DELIVERY IN THE NIGERIAN TELECOMMUNICATIONS INDUSTRY. Journal of Advance Research in Business, Management and Accounting (ISSN: 2456-3544), 12(4), 13-23. https://doi.org/10.61841/nn-bma-12-4-55