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ICT Impact Within the SME Sector
Edited by Paul Jones & Paul Beynon-Davies
Introduction
Since 1990s, the adoption of information technology (IT) by small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), though for different tasks, to support operations and/or to improve decision quality, attracts the most nascent global attention ([60] Markus et al. , 2000). Most industries have witnessed acute operational disruption following the demands of social media, internet platforms and/or Cluetrain Manifesto transparency, democratization of ideas, many-to-many conversation and information creation and sharing. Recently, firms long for digitalized social software platforms within and beyond traditional boundaries ([64] McAfee, 2008); they build computer-supported collaborative work and form online communities. [51] Kim et al. (2005) recorded that the success stories of such adoption, especially in SMEs, leave much to be desired. Previous inquiries ([46] Jutla et al. , 2002; [92] Stanyon, 2004) and recent ones ([37] Federici, 2009; [88] Shiau et al. , 2009; [80] Ramdani et al. , 2009; [72] Nwogu, 2010; [75] Osagie, 2010) demonstrate that SMEs are the bedrock for industrialization as they balance political and economic independence. Moreover, SMEs are the drivers of diversified socio-economic infrastructures in the forms of employment creation, flexibility and innovations ([68] Muuka, 2002; [69] Mutuala and Brakel, 2006). Against the backdrops of electronic digital interchange, barcoding, product numbering, modern IT permits optimization of the entire value chain through real-time inter- and intra-organizational information exchanges. Often this involves costs reduction and improved operational efficiencies via total cycle time and lead-time compression, communication, inventory holding (JiT), network relationship and search activities ([10] Bakos, 1991; [32] Davenport and Brooks, 2004); improved customer service and consistency through transparency, value-added information and new levels of innovation from network externalities and knowledge sharing ([34] de Burca et al. , 2005).
Ideally, SMEs are able to exploit these IT opportunities more than large organizations because of their limited resources, and operational flexibility leading to faster decisions. All things being equal, IT provides SMEs with opportunities that are largely unexploited ([80] Ramdani et al. , 2009) and plausible ways to strengthen competitive capabilities against their larger counterparts ([95] Thong, 1999; [81] Raymond, 2001; [41] Gengatharen and Standing, 2005). But the lack of cognate resources on the part of SMEs ([29] Chuang et al. , 2009; [88] Shiau et...