Investigating the Strategic Utilization of IT Resources in the Small and Medium-Sized Firms of the Eastern Free State Province

This study investigated the extent to which the Small-to-Medium sized firms (SMEs) utilized their IT resources strategically, and also identified factors inhibiting such utilization. An attribute approach was adopted to identify attributes characterizing strategic IT utilization in SMEs. Seventy SMEs participated in the study and factor analysis was conducted to identify the underlying factors that explained the inhibitors of strategic IT utilization. While the results show that some SMEs utilize IT resources to reduce costs and improve customer services, many SME managers are still ignorant about their business environment. They do not use IT resources to create links with suppliers, neither do they use them to differentiate products/services nor to enable innovations. Lack of skills and knowledge to employ IT competitively emerged as the prime inhibitor of strategic IT utilization. Other factors were: poor planning; lack of resources; poor IT vision and leadership; and environmental uncertainty.

[1]  Natasa Rupcic,et al.  The fifth discipline-the art and practice of the learning organisation , 2002 .

[2]  Paul N. Finlay,et al.  An empirical model of IT usage in the Malaysian public sector , 2001, J. Strateg. Inf. Syst..

[3]  Helen Hasan,et al.  Strategic management of electronic commerce: an adaptation of the balanced scorecard , 2000, Internet Res..

[4]  Richard Heeks,et al.  Information, ICTs and Small Enterprise: Findings from Botswana , 1999 .

[5]  Michael J. Peel,et al.  A Study of Computer Usage and Strategic Planning in the SME Sector , 1999 .

[6]  Helen Hasan,et al.  The mediating role of technology in making sense of information in a knowledge‐intensive industry , 1999 .

[7]  Henry B. Rwigema,et al.  SMME development in Johannesburg's Southern Metropolitan Local Council: An assessment , 1999 .

[8]  林月雲,et al.  Success factors of small- and medium-sized enterprises in Taiwan: An analysis of cases , 1998 .

[9]  Stephen C. Hayne,et al.  The Changing Face of Information System Issues in Small Firms , 1998 .

[10]  Jaideep Motwani,et al.  Managing Innovation in French Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises , 1997 .

[11]  Jeffrey G. Covin,et al.  Entrepreneurial strategy making and firm performance: tests of contingency and configurational models , 1997 .

[12]  Magid Igbaria,et al.  Personal Computing Acceptance Factors in Small Firms: A Structural Equation Model , 1997, MIS Q..

[13]  J. Thong,et al.  Programme evaluation of a government information technology programme for small businesses , 1997, J. Inf. Technol..

[14]  Janek Ratnatunga,et al.  The role of marketing , 1995 .

[15]  J. C. Visagie,et al.  SME's IN SOUTH AFRICA: THE CHALLENGE OF CHANGE , 1995 .

[16]  P. English,et al.  Agents of change : studies on the policy environment for small enterprise in Africa , 1995 .

[17]  South Africa,et al.  White paper on national strategy for the development and promotion of small business in South Africa , 1995 .

[18]  Vijay Sethi,et al.  Development of measures to assess the extent to which an information technology application provides competitive advantage , 1994 .

[19]  Maryellen R. Kelley,et al.  Productivity and Information Technology: The Elusive Connection , 1994 .

[20]  K. Raman,et al.  Effect of government incentives on computerisation in small business , 1994 .

[21]  Magid Igbaria,et al.  An examination of the factors contributing to microcomputer technology acceptance , 1994 .

[22]  Louis Raymond,et al.  Information technology: Threats and opportunities for small and medium-sized enterprises , 1993 .

[23]  C. Mason,et al.  Strategies for Expanding the Informal Venture Capital Market , 1993 .

[24]  Kwasi Amoako-Gyampah,et al.  User involvement and user satisfaction: An exploratory contingency model , 1993, Inf. Manag..

[25]  M. Dodgson.  Organizational Learning: A Review of Some Literatures , 1993 .

[26]  Paul B. Cragg,et al.  Small-Firm Computing: Motivators and Inhibitors , 1993, MIS Q..

[27]  John C. Henderson,et al.  Strategic Alignment: Leveraging Information Technology for Transforming Organizations , 1993, IBM Syst. J..

[28]  Louis Raymond,et al.  Computerisation as a Factor in the Development of Young Entrepreneurs , 1992 .

[29]  Rajiv Sabherwal,et al.  The factors affecting strategic information systems applications: An empirical assessment , 1992, Inf. Manag..

[30]  Guy G. Gable,et al.  Government initiatives for IT adoption in small businesses: experiences of the Singapore Small Enterprise Computerization Program , 1992 .

[31]  Clive Holtham,et al.  The Business Value of Computers , 1991, J. Inf. Technol..

[32]  Rajiv Sabherwal,et al.  Towards a theory of strategic use of information resources: An inductive approach , 1991, Inf. Manag..

[33]  Guy G. Gable,et al.  Consultant engagement for computer system selection: A pro-active client role in small businesses , 1991, Inf. Manag..

[34]  R. McKenna,et al.  Marketing is everything. , 1991, Harvard business review.

[35]  P. Strassmann.  The business value of computers , 1990 .

[36]  John M. Stevens,et al.  The Utilization of Information Systems Technology and Its Impact on Organizational Decision Making , 1990 .

[37]  Henry Mintzberg.  The design school: Reconsidering the basic premises of strategic management , 1990 .

[38]  R. Whittington,et al.  Exploring Corporate Strategy: Text and Cases , 1989 .

[39]  D. Slevin,et al.  Strategic management of small firms in hostile and benign environments , 1989 .

[40]  David Jones,et al.  Corporate strategy , 1989, Nature.

[41]  D. Finegold,et al.  The Failure of Training in Britain: Analysis and Prescription , 1988 .

[42]  David J. Miller,et al.  Relating Porter's Business Strategies to Environment and Structure: Analysis and Performance Implications , 1988 .

[43]  William H. DeLone.  Determinants of Success for Computer Usage in Small Business , 1988, MIS Q..

[44]  E. B. Swanson,et al.  Measuring Business Value of Information Technologies , 1988 .

[45]  John C. Henderson,et al.  The Value of Strategic IS Planning: Understanding Consistency, Validity, and IS Markets , 1988, MIS Q..

[46]  Yannis Bakos,et al.  Information Technology and Corporate Strategy: A Research Perspective , 2015, MIS Q..

[47]  Albert L. Lederer,et al.  Issues in information systems planning , 1986, Inf. Manag..

[48]  Raymond W. Smilor,et al.  The Art and Science of Entrepreneurship , 1986 .

[49]  Tan Thiam Soon.  Small Business in the Third World -Guidelines for Practical Assistance , 1985 .

[50]  M. Porter,et al.  How Information Gives You Competitive Advantage , 1985 .

[51]  Blake Ives,et al.  The information system as a competitive weapon , 1984, CACM.

[52]  I. MacMillan,et al.  Creating competitive weapons from information systems. , 1984, The Journal of business strategy.

[53]  Th.P. van Hoorn,et al.  Strategic planning in small and medium-sized companies , 1979 .