Perceived performance effects of ICT in manufacturing SMEs

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether information and communication technologies (ICT) resources, including investment and use of specific types of ICT as well as innovative work practices, have a positive impact on several dimensions of firm performance, taking into account both direct and indirect effects and both short and long‐term effects.Design/methodology/approach – An empirical study using data from a sample of 267 Spanish manufacturing SMEs was conducted. Path analysis was used to study direct and indirect ICT impacts and OLS regression was the estimation method employed.Findings – The findings show a positive relationship between ICT adoption and all the measures of perceived performance analyzed, although the impact is not always immediate since the lag effects and length differ according to the type of ICT. Managers' perceptions of ICT impact are related to the adoption of new work practices but the effects also depend positively on the number of years since new work pr...

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