The Role of Planning and Implementation of ICT in Operational Benefits

Rubén Pérez-López,Juan López-Barreras,Jesús Olguín-Tiznado,Claudia Camargo-Wilson,Jorge García-Alcaraz

doi:10.3390/su10072261

Rubén Pérez-López, Juan López-Barreras + Show 3 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/su10072261

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Journal: Sustainability	Publication Date: Jun 30, 2018
Citations: 12	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: Autonomous University of Baja California

Abstract

This article reports a model of structural equations that integrates four latent variables and six hypotheses among them: Integration of information and communication technology (ICT), investment in ICT, training in ICT, and operational benefits obtained in the supply chain (SC). The model is validated with information obtained from 80 surveys applied to manufacturing companies in the municipalities of Ensenada, Mexicali, Tecate, and Tijuana in Mexico. The information is validated by the Cronbach alpha index for internal validity and the R-square index for predictive validity. Partial least-squares algorithms are used to validate the hypotheses in the model and the results indicate that the integration of technology is the basis for the success of the implementation of information technologies, and that the application of these guarantees the obtaining of operational benefits in the productive system.

Highlights

Organizations manage their resources to be more competitive and stay in the globalized market by following several strategies, including the optimization of the supply chain (SC) [1], which is integrated by all those parties directly or indirectly involved in the satisfaction of a client’s request [2]
It is recommended that when investing in information and communication technologies (ICT), training in ICT is considered, given that this variable is affected by investment in technology, which means that should there be investment in ICT, and the company must work hard to train the staff to manage, program, and maintain the specialized software, resulting in greater confidence to solve the existing needs of the productive processes
This finding is similar to reports from Skorupinska and Torrent-Sellens [73] who argue that ICT is associated to productivity and innovation

Summary

Introduction

Organizations manage their resources to be more competitive and stay in the globalized market by following several strategies, including the optimization of the supply chain (SC) [1], which is integrated by all those parties directly or indirectly involved in the satisfaction of a client’s request [2]. There is an exchange of information with customers and suppliers, and a flow of materials and economic resources [3], which generates networks of companies, services, and production processes [4]. Companies resort to the implementation of information and communication technologies (ICT), which are defined as a set of elements and techniques that allow the manipulation, storage, management, transmission, and facilitation of information through the use of computers, software, and computer networks [5]. One advantage of ICT is that they allow information to be processed and disseminated simultaneously and in real time [6], since they include integrated information systems, data exploration, and intelligent systems, among others. The application of ICT in the SC can improve the speed of information exchange [7], which allows for greater agility and flexibility. With the use of ICT, online commercial transactions (e-commerce) are carried out and, because of this, ICT is rapidly changing the conventional way to create business enterprises and SC management [8] while diminishing SC uncertainty [9]

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