Direct and Indirect Effects of ICT Infrastructure, Skills, and Use on Entrepreneurship

Utkarsh Shrivastava,Laurel Ofstein,Damodar Golhar

doi:10.4018/jgim.20211101.oa48

Abstract

The information and communication technology (ICT) enabling infrastructure, requisite skills, and subsequent usage in the country could facilitate ease of doing business (EDB) and support the heterogeneous distribution of resources for new businesses to flourish and remain competitive. However, from a policy perspective, the pathways through which ICT impacts entrepreneurial activities in a country are not clearly understood. In this study, we empirically investigate the direct and indirect (via EDB) effect of ICT infrastructure, skills, and use (at business, government, and individual level) in influencing entrepreneurial activity in a country. The results show that the citizens' ICT skills and ICT use, directly and indirectly, impact entrepreneurial initiatives in a country. In contrast, ICT infrastructure and use by the government only have an indirect impact on them. The study's findings should help guide national initiatives for promoting the creation of new businesses in a country.

Highlights

Entrepreneurial activities are essential for the sustained economic viability of a country
We access the fit of both models using the Comparative Fit Index (CFI), Tucker Fit Index (TFI), Akaike Information Criterion (AIC), and Log-Likelihood Value (LL)
Both CFI and TFI values for models 1 and 2 across all five information and communication technology (ICT) variables are greater than the suggested cutoff values of 0.90 and 0.95, respectively (Tables 2-5)

Summary

Introduction

Entrepreneurial activities are essential for the sustained economic viability of a country. In today’s environment, society needs more job creators than job seekers. Governmental institutions can severely impact entrepreneurship within their borders. It is no surprise that researchers have called for more detailed studies of entrepreneurial activities within a country, labeling them as an under-represented area of investigation (Busenitz et al, 2000). The World Bank defines entrepreneurship as “the activities of an individual or a group aimed at initiating economic activities in the formal sector under a legal form of business” (Klapper et al, 2006). Researchers have found that the pace of new business creation is greatly influenced by differences in institutional environments across countries (Karlsson & Acs, 2002).

Results

Discussion

Conclusion