HOW TO INCREASE WORKFLOW EFFICIENCY FOR MICRO AND SMALL BUSINESSES WITH A CUSTOM-BUILT MOBILE APP IN HUNGARY - A CASE STUDY FOR A LANGUAGE LEARNING SCHOOL

It has been widely recognized that Small and Medium size Enterprises(SMEs) not only play an important role in the economy of a country, but are crucial to the country’s economic stability. This article reviews UN and World Economic Forum ICT indicators for assessing the adoption of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in Gulf Cooperation Countries (GCC). Also, it presents the results of an exploratory study carried out to learn about the adoption of ICT in SMEs in Oman. The study investigates infrastructure, software used, driver for ICT investment, perceptions about business benefits of ICT and outsourcing trends of SMEs. The study provides an insight on the barriers for the adoption of ICT. Data on these aspects of ICT was collected from 51 SMEs through a survey questionnaire. The results of the study show that only a small number of SMEs in Oman are aware of the benefits of ICT adoption. The main driving forces for ICT investment are to provide better and faster customer service and to stay ahead of the competition. A majority of surveyed SMEs have reported a positive performance and other benefits by utilizing ICT in their businesses. A number of SMEs outsource most of their ICT activities. Lack of internal capabilities, high cost of ICT and lack of information about suitable ICT solutions and implementation were some of the major barriers in adopting ICT. These findings are consistent with other studies. There is a need for more focus and concerted efforts on increasing awareness among SMEs on the benefits of ICT adoption. The results of the study recognize the need for more training facilities in ICT for SMEs, measures to provide ICT products and services at an affordable cost, availability of free professional advice and/or consulting services at reasonable cost to SMEs. Our findings can help policy makers focusing on ICT adoption by SMEs. Also, the findings of this research will provide a foundation for future research and will help policy makers in understanding the current state of affairs of the usage and impact of ICT on SMEs in Oman and other GCC countries.

A company’s ability to be mobile is the capability to transact anytime, anywhere, Mobile information and communication technologies (ICT) ability to transform businesses is attributed to the dynamic capabilities (DCs) of ICT. In response to changing technologies and as a means to gain profits, organizations use DC, which is a catalyst of the business ability to design and adjust resources. As such DCs effect is also felt on resource base affording the organization competitive advantage. In this qualitative Namibian case study, the DCs of mobile ICT were closely analyzed as a means to investigate the usage of DCs of mobile ICT by Namibian Small and Medium Enterprises (SME), and how it can enhance SME transformation and strategies used for its adoption. The analysis of this study was conducted using the Theory of Dynamic Capabilities. For this study 40 SMEs were identified by means of convenience sampling and one employee per SME by means of purposive sampling. The collection of data was primarily through interviews and questionnaires subsequently the data was coded. The results showed that although some SMEs in Namibia use technology, there is still a significant number that is oblivious to the advantages that DCs of mobile ICT can offer. The researcher therefore recommends that governing bodies of Namibian SMEs enforce policies that facilitate the adoption of mobile ICT and sponsor local SMEs as conduit for economic advancement; that owners of SMEs adopt mobile ICT as a means to gain competitive advantage; that SMEs with existing mobile ICT infrastructure should look into ways of adopting diverse DCs of mobile ICT thus creating a better environment for faster service delivery; that SMEs should adopt the culture of ICT training to enable employees to effectively use mobile ICT; that in order to reduce software costs SMEs should opt for open source applications; and that as means to gain visibility and increase customer base SMEs should make use of mobile technology to market their services and products.

Information and communications technology (ICT) offers enormous opportunities for individuals, businesses and society. The application of ICT is equally important to economic and non-economic activities. Researchers have increasingly focused on the adoption and use of ICT by small and medium enterprises (SMEs) as the economic development of a country is largely dependent on them. Following the success of ICT utilisation in SMEs in developed countries, many developing countries are looking to utilise the potential of the technology to develop SMEs. Past studies have shown that the contribution of ICT to the performance of SMEs is not clear and certain. Thus, it is crucial to determine the effectiveness of ICT in generating firm performance since this has implications for SMEs’ expenditure on the technology. This research examines the diffusion of ICT among SMEs with respect to the typical stages from innovation adoption to post-adoption, by analysing the actual usage of ICT and value creation. The mediating effects of integration and utilisation on SME performance are also studied. Grounded in the innovation diffusion literature, institutional theory and resource-based theory, this study has developed a comprehensive integrated research model focused on the research objectives. Following a positivist research paradigm, this study employs a mixed-method research approach. A preliminary conceptual framework is developed through an extensive literature review and is refined by results from an in-depth field study. During the field study, a total of 11 SME owners or decision-makers were interviewed. The recorded interviews were transcribed and analysed using NVivo 10 to refine the model to develop the research hypotheses. The final research model is composed of 30 first-order and five higher-order constructs which involve both reflective and formative measures. Partial least squares-based structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) is employed to test the theoretical model with a cross-sectional data set of 282 SMEs in Bangladesh. Survey data were collected using a structured questionnaire issued to SMEs selected by applying a stratified random sampling technique. The structural equation modelling utilises a two-step procedure of data analysis. Prior to estimating the structural model, the measurement model is examined for construct validity of the study variables (i.e. convergent and discriminant validity). The estimates show cognitive evaluation as an important antecedent for expectation which is shaped primarily by the entrepreneurs’ beliefs (perception) and also influenced by the owners’ innovativeness and culture. Culture further influences expectation. The study finds that facilitating condition, environmental pressure and country readiness are important antecedents of expectation and ICT use. The results also reveal that integration and the degree of ICT utilisation significantly affect SMEs’ performance. Surprisingly, the findings do not reveal any significant impact of ICT usage on performance which apparently suggests the possibility of the ICT productivity paradox. However, the analysis finally proves the non-existence of the paradox by demonstrating the mediating role of ICT integration and degree of utilisation explain the influence of information technology (IT) usage on firm performance which is consistent with the resource-based theory. The results suggest that the use of ICT can enhance SMEs’ performance if the technology is integrated and properly utilised. SME owners or managers, interested stakeholders and policy makers may follow the study’s outcomes and focus on ICT integration and degree of utilisation with a view to attaining superior organisational performance. This study urges concerned business enterprises and government to look at the environmental and cultural factors with a view to achieving ICT usage success in terms of enhanced firm performance. In particular, improving organisational practices and procedures by eliminating the traditional power distance inside organisations and implementing necessary rules and regulations are important actions for managing environmental and cultural uncertainties. The application of a Bengali user interface may help to ensure the productivity of ICT use by SMEs in Bangladesh. Establishing a favourable national technology infrastructure and legal environment may contribute positively to improving the overall situation. This study also suggests some changes and modifications in the country’s existing policies and strategies. The government and policy makers should undertake mass promotional programs to disseminate information about the various uses of computers and their contribution in developing better organisational performance. Organising specialised training programs for SME capacity building may succeed in attaining the motivation for SMEs to use ICT. Ensuring easy access to the technology by providing loans, grants and subsidies is important. Various stakeholders, partners and related organisations should come forward to support government policies and priorities in order to ensure the productive use of ICT among SMEs which finally will help to foster Bangladesh’s economic development.

PurposeLiterature on small and medium enterprises (SMEs) has so far produced limited evidence on how these firms pursue their organizational flexibility with information and communication technology (ICT) and ad hoc work practices. The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the extant literature by focusing on how SMEs use flexible work practices that provide latitude with respect to when employees work, where they work and via which communication medium. Specifically, the authors analyze how such practices are related to the conditions that SMEs face in reference to their competitive environment and their patterns of ICT usage.Design/methodology/approachA survey was conducted on 304 Italian SMEs, with the aim of identifying the contextual dimensions where flexible work is chosen and the different typologies of flexible work implemented by companies.FindingsFlexible work in SMEs is chosen for different reasons associated to different conditions in the competitive environments and in ICT usage where SMEs operate. In general, SMEs use flexible work when they are more capable of improving their external orientation toward suppliers, customers, and the entrance in new markets with ICT. This duality is more likely in the competitive environments where external orientation and information processing is more needed, namely, environments that are uncertain and complex for product and breadth of the geographical complexity (scope) covered.Research limitations/implicationsIn this paper, the authors offer an analysis on the contextual characterizations of flexible work practices. Future studies should disentangle more in depth the ways these characterizations are related to different ICT usages.Practical implicationsIn uncertain and complex environments, SMEs should increase their external information processing with ICT and organizational practices that support the latitude of employees involved in boundary spanning with respect to where, when, and how they work.Originality/valueThis paper offers an interpretation of flexible work as an organizational mechanism used to cope with uncertain and complex environments where more external orientation is needed. This paper also shows that there are four different typologies of flexible work implemented by companies, namely, flexible work for cheaper input costs, flexible work for operational drivers, flexible work for strategic drivers, and flexible work for individual motivations, and that in some cases the conditions under which they are chosen are different.

Digital Business Ecosystem (DBE), as it sounds, is a digitized form of business ecosystem amalgamating ICT (Information and Communication Technology) with business networks. Malaysian small and medium enterprises (SME) can be tuned into a collaborative and interdependent socio-economic business environment when they are jacketed with ecosystem. In a DBE, small and medium enterprises are provided with the freedom to integrate their services across organization and turn them into offerings. This helps them in many ways resulting in improved performance of employees and customer satisfaction. Surveys have shown that Perceived Usefulness (PU) and Perceived Ease of Use of SME employees are some of the key variables which are amplified. In Malaysian context, small and medium enterprises are very important to regional economy which is largely dependent open state market. DBE links the small and medium enterprises in a way to create a win-win situation for all the stake holders. The paper provides an evolutionary framework for small and medium enterprises which is hoped to achieve the long standing goal of a true collaborated network. It should help small and medium enterprises climb up the ladder of Eadoption by taking a step further ahead of ecommerce and ebusiness.

The intense global competition, technology advances, and rapid changes in the business environment are forcing enterprises to become agile. Corporate agility is about firm’s ability to adapt quickly to change, constantly innovate across the value chain, engage the customer to create new value, and be integrated to the global market. Information and communication technology (ICT) plays a critical role in improving corporate agility, especially for small and medium enterprises (SMEs). SMEs need to maintain the competitive edge that they traditionally have over their larger counterparts: their resiliency and agility to adapt while sustaining innovation and strengthening customer relationships. Having access to and adopting ICT, which were not available to previous generations, are helping SMEs not only to achieve and sustain their traditional edge, but also to enable them to expand across customers, products, and geographies, thus growing their market share and expanding globally. Through ICT, SMEs can compete with larger players on a more level playing field and also participate in extended supply chains more effectively. ICT and the Internet are enabling SMEs to be as competitive and successful as large businesses not only at the local, but also at the global level. The impetus with which ICT has rooted itself in the business world has brought about a veritable revolution whose true consequences and scope are yet to be seen. Effective ICT management is particularly important for SMEs not only because they have much less financial resources to invest in IT and training, but also because they operate differently from large companies. Countries where they operate also have an impact on IT and SMEs, because of differences in technological status and available infrastructure, economic development, government regulations, and cultures. This special issue ‘‘The impact and use of ICT in SMEs’’ deals with the important issue of improving agility and global competitiveness of SMEs through

Digital development for a progressive networked society

Information and communication technologies (ICT) have the potential to change the way organizations do business in either a positive or negative way. ICTs benefits however usually supersede its negatives, hence business owners both large and small are moving to the digital world. Although there has been studies on ICTs effect on business organizations, little has been done on the Small and Medium Enterprises (SME), in developing countries.The research was conducted to identify how SMEs in the Western Cape of South Africa use ICT. Issues examined included currently employed ICT, person to computer ratios, spending and acquisition of ICT, and adoption of new ICT. The research found that SMEs in the Western Cape are using a wide range of ICT, with 88% using networks, and 70% using some form of customer relationship management software. The person to computer ratio was computed and 78% of SMEs in the Western Cape showed a 1:1 (person:computer) ratio. Spending habits with regards to three ICT sectors (hardware, software and services) were analysed and although majority of SMEs showed no adjustment in their spending habits, 30% did claim an increase is expected for both software and hardware spending. SMEs are intending to adopt more ICT in the future. The majority of SMEs claim to have achieved significant amounts of value from the use of ICT.

PurposeThis study aims to investigate the impact of information and communication technology (ICT) investment on the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) profitability in the Indian context.Design/methodology/approachThis study used a framework based on the ICT investment and firm size, measuring the impact on profit before depreciation, interest, tax and amortisation of MSME by taking a random sampling of 300 Indian MSME manufacturing firm’s secondary data from the Prowess database. This framework was analysed using the design of experiment (DoE) technique.FindingsThe study showed that ICT investment has a significant positive relationship with profitability. This study examines the different ICT investment levels to predict investment strategies and fine-tune profit targets. The critical finding is that ICT investment maximises profit at one million rupees. This discovery aids MSME leaders’ sustainable business decision-making.Research limitations/implicationsThis study has an explicit limit to the Indian context, where the firm requirements of countries are different, and these findings need to be validated with many operating variables and applied to more firms with more data. Even so, as a theoretical implication, this study took a novel approach to ICT adoption (through ICT investment) in the Indian MSME sector with guiding levels of ICT investment for each type of firm (i.e. micro, small and medium). This study opens new avenues for investigating researchers and stakeholders by exploring other factors responsible for ICT adoption.Practical implicationsThis study uniquely provides practitioners with the functional level of ICT investment for MSMEs in the Indian context. These finding guides top management to make strategic ICT adoption decisions with information symmetry. At the same time, these findings suggest financial institutions astern their credit programme to provide credit for ICT investment in MSMEs.Social implicationsThis study highlights the value of ICT as a practical resource for business owners that significantly makes MSMEs more informed and profitable, thus creating more jobs and incrementing the country’s gross domestic product (GDP).Originality/valueThis study offers unique empirical findings on how decision makers in MSMEs maximise profits through optimal ICT investment levels depending upon the firm size in an emerging economy like India. There is evidence in the study to conclude that ICT is a need of MSME and has implications for firm performance.

This study investigates the impact of information and communication technology (ICT) and audited financial statements on small and medium enterprise (SME) financing, as well as their influence on SMEs’ collateral issues in acquiring bank loans, based on the information asymmetry theory. The study applies the ordinary least squares (OLS) test, the two-stage least squares test, and the probit regression model for the analysis. The sample consists of 12,165 firms in eight ASEAN countries between 2009 and 2018. The data used in the analysis was sourced from the Business Environment and Enterprise Performance Surveys (BEEPS) provided by the World Bank. The results reveal that financial statements and ICT have a positive relationship with SMEs’ bank credit accessibility and a negative relationship with collateral issues faced by SMEs in accessing bank loans. Thus, SMEs that use financial statements and ICT have more financing opportunities than those that don’t. The impacts of financial statements and ICT are stronger in counties with a more developed financial infrastructure. Additionally, this study found that economic development enables SMEs to access cheaper finance and mitigate collateral problems. These outcomes contribute to the enhancement of SME financing and promote SMEs’ information disclosure in the ASEAN region. Promoting SMEs’ information disclosure is also crucial for banks in mitigating bad debt. Therefore, encouraging and supporting SMEs to adopt financial statements and ICT can be beneficial to both SMEs and banks.

PurposeThis study aims to examine and identify how the resource-based view and dynamic capability theory contribute to information and communication technology (ICT) adoption to improve micro, small and medium enterprise (MSME) performance, mediated by distinctive competencies. This research provides insight into how MSMEs can improve performance by strategically adopting ICT tools and developing distinctive competencies.Design/methodology/approachData were collected through online questionnaires from creative industry MSMEs (fashion, culinary and crafts) in Indonesia. The results were analyzed using the partial least squares-structural equation method technique (Fornell and Cha, 1994) with Smart PLS 3.0 (Ringle et al., 2015).FindingsThe results show that ICT adoption significantly impacts the MSMEs marketing performance in the creative industry sector. In addition, adopting ICT tools influences the development of distinctive competencies among MSMEs, improving MSMEs marketing performance. Distinctive competencies were found to mediate the relationship between ICT adoption and MSMEs marketing performance, which underscores the importance of technology skills, organizational skills, environmental skills and entrepreneurial mindset in driving business success. These findings highlight the critical role of distinctive competencies as a key factor in leveraging ICT adoption to improve MSMEs marketing performance.Research limitations/implicationsThe main limitation is that this research coverage area is less extensive due to the time constraints of this study. Future work could cover different regions and explore other mediators in the ICT–performance relationship.Practical implicationsThis research assists MSMEs in improving performance by adopting ICT and developing distinctive competencies with targeted training in relevant skills.Social implicationsThis research highlights the potential to improve MSMEs marketing performance and drive economic growth and resilience through ICT adoption.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the existing literature by providing empirical evidence of the relationship between ICT adoption, distinctive competencies and MSME marketing performance in the context of the creative industries sector. This study offers a new perspective on how MSMEs can use ICT tools and develop distinctive competencies to enhance their marketing performance competitive advantage and achieve sustainable growth. By emphasizing the mediating role of distinctive competencies, this study highlights how ICT adoption impacts positively MSME marketing performance, providing valuable insights for practitioners, policymakers and researchers in entrepreneurship and technology adoption.

Effective management of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) can improve productivity and performance of an organization. This paper identifies key factors that are essential for achieving business value by Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) through ICT adoption. A survey was conducted to obtain data regarding the current status of ICT adoption among SMEs in Oman. The Chi Square Test was employed to determine the effect of nature of organization on ICT infrastructure capabilities and factor analysis was used to identify the key elements for achieving business value from ICT. Results of this study show that size of an organization plays an important role in its ICT infrastructure. This study has identified seven factors that assess business value of ICT adoption in SMEs. These factors include: organization and management practices, strategic, informational, transactional and organizational change benefits, impetus for ICT investment and support from government contribute to achieving business value through ICT. This study, it is hoped, will be useful to ICT managers and researchers who intend to optimize business value through ICT adoption. Furthermore, results will help understand barriers and benefits of ICT adoptions. This study will make valuable contribution to the literature since the number of studies on the benefits of ICT adoption by SMEs in developing countries are quite limited.

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) play a crucial part in the Indian economy. However, SMEs in India are currently operating in a highly competitive environment (Rajamani et al., 2022). Information and communication technology (ICT) can be intended in helping SMEs to become more competitive. The aim of this research is to develop a strategy for the adoption of ICT in SMEs of India. In empirical research methodology, variables are identified, through literature review, that impact ICT acceptance in SMEs and based on this a research model is developed. Then hypotheses are formulated on the basis of identified variables and data is gathered to test these hypotheses. The value of the path coefficient has been used to prioritize the identified variables. The key result highlights that seven of the eleven hypotheses for ICT adoption in SMEs are being accepted and, a validated model for ICT adoption in SMEs is developed. The relevance of the study is that the evolved model can be used to predict higher rates of ICT adoption in SMEs, which fuels the expansion of businesses. Thus, different strategies are recommended for entrepreneurs and the government for the adoption of ICT in SMEs in India, which will help in the growth of SMEs.

Aim/Purpose: The study explores Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) application in terms of social media usage to promote businesses with emphasizes on SMMEs in underdeveloped regions in the information age era. Background: The application of ICTs platform in terms of Social Media in the information age economies era by Small Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMMEs) especially those operating in an underdeveloped regions, opens up the global markets to them without much hindrances but as noted by Buhalis (2003), SMMEs especially those in developing countries are not utilizing ICTs in their business to its full potential. And even though Internet access and ICTs devices are becoming more common in South Africa (Goldstuck, 2012), literature of the application of Social Media to support SMMEs business activities in underdeveloped regions are limited. Methodology: Quantitative and purposive methods were used to collect data through. Findings: The major findings of the study are although in the area of access to ICTs and Internet connectivity the results was encouraging as all respondents (100%) do have one or more means to ICTs and internet, but the results in terms of application of Social Media to project their businesses to the rest of the world and consequently accessing the global market opportunities that ICTs present in the information age is lacking among the respondents. Impact on Society: As explained by Hargittai and DiMaggio (2001) that in order to achieve proper ICTs usage by users, the user will first have to realized the need and what the usage of ICTs will accomplish for them. Therefore, the study recommends that agencies tasked with helping SMMEs needs to come up with educational programmes to educate SMMEs entrepreneurs in the selected regions about the need for integration and benefits of ICTs to businesses in the information age global economies era to encourage the application of ICTs.

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to determine the direct effect of a loyalty program on program loyalty and store loyalty and to determine the role of communication effectiveness as a mediating variable in moving customers from program loyalty to store loyalty in the context of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).Design/methodology/approachRespondents of this study were 100 customers of the MSMEs that sell Batik products in Cirebon, Indonesia who were selected by the purposive sampling method. This study focuses on primary data collected through a structured questionnaire. Data were analyzed using SmartPLS 3.0 to determine the causality relationship between variables and to test the communication effectiveness as a mediating variable.FindingsThe results of this study indicate that the loyalty program has a significant effect on program loyalty; program loyalty has a significant effect on store loyalty and communication effectiveness, and communication effectiveness has a significant effect on store loyalty. Other results indicate that communication effectiveness partially mediates the relationship between program loyalty and store loyalty.Research limitations/implicationsDespite the significant implications, this study has four limitations. First, the research results cannot conclude the store in general because the sampling of this study is limited to MSMEs only. Future research is needed to explore more deeply to compare store loyalty to MSMEs and non-MSMEs. Second, this research is only aimed at MSMEs that have loyalty programs. Future research can be carried out by comparing MSMEs that have loyalty programs and MSMEs without loyalty programs. Third, this study only uses two independent variables and one mediating variable. As is well known, there are many other variables that are antecedents of store loyalty. Future research needs to be done to explore the effect of other variables (mediating and moderating) on store loyalty, such as service quality, company image and customer satisfaction. Fourth, the research sample is only 100 respondents. Future research should use a larger sample as this research is customer-based.Practical implicationsThis study has a significant impact on MSMEs management by providing strategies that can increase and retain customers who have high store loyalty. MSMEs need to design loyalty programs to influence customer perceptions of status, buying habits and relationships with companies. If a customer associates a high value with loyalty program membership, the customer is more likely to find the communication relevant and credible, leading to effective communication that can increase store loyalty.Social implicationsThis study provides real strategies and opportunities for MSMEs to develop so that they can survive or compete with similar companies. It is hoped that MSMEs will be able to absorb more labor so that it can increase the contribution of MSMEs to the national economy.Originality/valueThis study addresses the inconsistency of various results from previous studies regarding the relationship between program loyalty, loyalty programs, communication effectiveness and store loyalty, both directly and indirectly. In addition, several studies have been carried out in large corporate contexts. However, according to the authors’ knowledge, this research is for the first time being conducted in the context of MSMEs.