Information And Communication Technology Investment Research Articles

Investigating the Role of Information and Communication Technologies, Economic Growth, and Foreign Direct Investment in the Mitigation of Ecological Damages for Achieving Sustainable Development Goals.

At the present time, information and communication technology (ICT) has played a vital role in socio-economic development such as economic growth, literacy, life expectancy, and employment levels in societies, however, such development has come with various environmental damages perspectives. This study scrutinizes the impact of ICT, economic growth, and foreign direct investment (FDI) on carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in the 44 One Belt and Road Initiative (OBRI) countries split into sub-region from 1991 to 2019. This study applied various econometrics approaches such as cross-sectional dependence, second-generation unit root, and Westerlund panel cointegration techniques are executed to analyze the panel data set. The full modified ordinary lease square and dynamic ordinary lease square estimators are applied to investigate the long-term influence of ICT development, GDP (economic growth), and FDI on CO2 emissions. The empirical analysis was performed at a disaggregated level to assess the possible environmental influences across the OBRI countries. Overall, the results reported that broadband and mobile development have an adverse effect on CO2 emissions. The finding further reveals that the broadband indicator negatively affects CO2 emissions in all OBRI regions except South Asia. Similarly, the mobile use indicator protects the environmental quality in all OBRI regions except MENA (Middle East and North Africa) and Central Asia. Regarding country-wise analysis, broadband has alleviated the pollution level in 21 countries, while mobile has alleviated it in 15 countries. Moreover, economic growth is responsible to increase pollution levels in all panels and regions except Europe. Besides, the results highlight that higher FDI reduces environmental pollution whereby, the pollution halo hypothesis is supported to hold for all OBRI panels and regions except MENA countries. Based on the empirical findings, the policymakers and governments of these economies should design policies to grow smarter cities, transportation systems, electrical grids, industrial processes, and energy-saving production through ICT development on a macro level.

Analysing the issues surrounding information and communication technology penetration and growth

AbstractThe main aim of this study is to analyse the issues surrounding information and communication technology (ICT) penetration and growth based on the 13 measurable factors of the technology, organisation and environment framework. Furthermore, to investigate the most common technology and sector where ICT is most prevalent, 38 articles were selected for this study sample size. Systematic literature review and descriptive statistics were employed as methods of data analysis and presentation using tables and charts. According to the study's findings, top management support, competitive pressure, security and privacy and relative advantage backing were all cited as key challenges, respectively. Furthermore, the most popular ICT industry used by small and medium‐sized enterprises is cloud computing. The government should encourage huge investment in ICT.

Multiple effects of ICT investment on carbon emissions: evidence from China.

Little research has been conducted on the multiple possible future environmental effects of different types of information and communication technology (ICT) investment. This paper innovatively calculates the ICT productive capital stock (PCS) in China from 2007 to 2018 and explores the multiple effects of ICT PCS on carbon emissions. The results show that (1) ICT PCS is conducive to carbon emission reduction; furthermore, ICT software PCS has a significant carbon emission reduction effect, while ICT hardware PCS has the opposite outcome. (2) The spatial effect demonstrates that ICT and its hardware and software PCS can significantly reduce carbon emissions in surrounding areas. (3) The ICT PCS indirectly affects carbon emissions through the digital economy and energy efficiency, but the role of the influence mechanism varies according to the type of ICT PCS. (4) There is a nonlinear relationship between all ICT PCS and carbon emissions due to differences in green productivity and ICT PCS levels. Finally, this study provides valuable references for optimizing ICT investment and promoting low-carbon development.

The impact of digitalization on the Russian economy

Subject. This article discusses the development of digital technologies and their impact on workforce productivity and economic growth in Russia. Objectives. The article aims to assess the impact of digital technologies on labor productivity and economic growth in Russia. Methods. For the study, I used regression estimation using the two-stage least squares method. Expenditures on information and communication technologies (ICT) and investments in assets for the acquisition of ICT equipment were used as baseline variables. The Rosstat, Bank of Russia, World Bank, and the International Data Corporation data have been considered. Results. The article presents the results of an assessment of the impact of ICT development on labor productivity and economic growth in Russia. Conclusions and Relevance. The article establishes the positive impact of growth in spending and investment in ICT on labor productivity and economic growth in Russia. The hypothesis of a positive impact of ICT infrastructure development on these indicators is not confirmed. The results of the study can be used by market participants and public authorities when making decisions on investing in the ICT sector.

The Impact of the Information and Communication Technology and Electricity on Inter-island Interactions in Indonesia

The purpose of this study is to examine the economic interaction in Indonesia and the impact of the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and electricity on inter-island interactions in Indonesia. Data used Indonesian Inter-Regional Input-Output (IRIO) table 2016. The result is the largest inter-island interaction occurred between Java and Sumatra, Java-Sulawesi and Java-Kalimantan. Java was more dependent on Sumatra than Sumatra's dependence on Java. Java was more dependent on other islands than other islands' dependence on Java. The impact of ICT on the economy was higher than the impact of electricity. The ICT had more impact on the interregional economy than intraregional. Meanwhile, the electricity had more effect on the intraregional economy than interregional. The intervention to increase investment in ICT resulted in the highest increase in output of Bali and Nusa Tenggara. Both when the intervention was carried out on Bali and Nusa Tenggara islands or in other islands. The same was true for electricity investment interventions. Therefore, Bali and Nusa Tenggara islands should be given more priority in ICT and electricity investment. Investment in ICT and electricity will accelerate the economic development of eastern Indonesia so that it can become a reference for equitable development.

ICT and Economic Growth in EU: A macro Level Comparison of Estimated ICT Output Elasticities

ABSTRACT This paper examines the impact of information and communication technology (ICT) investments on the economic growth of EU-27. Our work responds to the lack of sufficient number of econometric estimation studies at country level coupled with a large variation in ICT elasticity results. We estimate an augmented Cobb Douglas production function using panel data techniques based on a sample of 27 countries for the period 1996–2016. The results suggest a significant effect of ICT investments on GDP growth. Further comparisons are drawn with studies using similar databases and sample periods. The results also reveal that the estimated returns to ICT are three times higher than the ICT factor share. Having excluded several sources of potential excess returns, we conclude that omitted variables and possible complementarities between ICT and organizational capital could serve as a plausible explanation.

ICT, Energy Intensity, and CO2 Emission Nexus

The relationship between information and communication technology investment (ICT), environmental impacts, and economic growth has received increasing attention in the last 20 years. However, the relationship between ICT, energy intensity, environmental impacts, and economic growth was relatively neglected. In this paper, we aimed to contribute to the environmental literature by simultaneously analyzing the relationship between ICT, energy intensity, economic growth, Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, and energy consumption for the period of 1990–2020 in G7 countries. We employed the Panel Quantile Auto Regressive Distributed Lag (PQARDL) method and Panel Quantile Granger Causality (PQGC) methods. According to the results of PQARDL method, energy consumption, ICT, CO2 emission, and energy intensity have effects on economic growth in the long and short run. According to the of PQGC methods allowing causality results for different quantiles, there is evidence of a bidirectional causality between ICT investment and economic growth for all quantiles and evidence of a unidirectional causality from ICT to energy consumption and from CO2 emissions to ICT investment and energy efficiency. Our results indicate that the governments of the G7 countries have placed energy efficiency and ICT investment at the center of their policies while determining their environmental and energy policies, since energy consumption is a continuous process.

Investigating the relationship between ICT, green energy, total factor productivity, and ecological footprint: Empirical evidence from Saudi Arabia

Today, the increasing use of technology and the industrial revolution are affecting the economy and the environment, such as the development of economies and the increase of the ecological footprint (EFP). This study focuses on the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) to assess the impact of information and communication technologies (ICTs), green energy (renewable energy and electric power consumption), and economic activities (total factor productivity: TFP) on the environmental quality (EFP) by applying the Johansen cointegration technique and vector error correction method (VECM). Our empirical investigation shows a long-run negative and significant association between renewable energy, electricity consumption, technology trade, TFP, and EFP. The results also show that there is a negative and significant link between ICT and EFP in the short-run. The results of this research have potential importance for policymakers to address economic activities, green energy, and investment in ICTs and environmental issues simultaneously in the context of the KSA.

Impact of ICTs on Innovation and Performance of Firms: Do Start-ups, Regional Proximity and Skills Matter?

Managers need to better understand how information and communication technologies (ICTs) lead to informed decisions about the investment and advantages of such technologies. However, at best, the empirical evidence on the business value of technology is mixed in relation to small firms. A total of 43 firms satisfied the study’s definition of start-ups. The final survey included 54 questions on access to and use of ICTs, innovation, firm characteristics, as well as the participants’ demographics, of which 11 factors were analyzed as part of this study. We found compelling evidence to support the positive effects of ICTs on firm-level innovation and performance based on the primary survey data of 270 small and medium enterprises (SMEs) operating in an Australian regional area. Moreover, we found that ICT strategies and skills are important factors that drive innovation and the overall performance of SMEs. In addition, various conditions, such as an agile workplace culture and international trade, can help firms improve their performance. Young businesses, particularly start-ups with ICT skills, show an improved innovation capability. However, remoteness appears to influence innovation negatively for nascent firms. Thus, managers should focus on improving ICT skills, strategies, and networking that help facilitate tangible ICT investments to foster innovation and growth.

The role of private investment in ICT on carbon dioxide emissions (CO2) mitigation: do renewable energy and political risk matter in Morocco?

The present study proposed the relationship among private investment in information and communication technology (ICT), carbon emissions (CO2), renewable energy, political risk, and economic growth over the period of 1985-2020 in Morocco. The dynamic ARDL simulations (ARDL) model suggests that private partnership in ICT plays a significant role in abating CO2 emissions, the adaptation of renewable energy is a key contributor in CO2 degradation, while economic growth shows a positive and significant association with CO2 emissions, indicating that economic growth increases CO2 emissions. The study also analyzed political risk in the study region, which indicates that low political risk mitigates CO2 emissions in Morocco. The findings provide significant enlightenment to acknowledge the importance of private partnership in ICT for the purpose to decarbonize CO2 emissions, and adopting the use of renewable energy. The findings also suggest that a stable political system is inventible towards low-carbon development.

ICT Use, Digital Skills and Students’ Academic Performance: Exploring the Digital Divide

Information and communication technologies (ICTs) are an integral part of our environment, and their uses vary across generations and among individuals. Today’s student population is made up of “digital natives” who have grown up under the ubiquitous influence of digital technologies, and for whom the use of ICT is common and whose daily activities are structured around media use. The aim of this study is to examine the impact of ICT use and digital skills on students’ academic performance and to explore the digital divide in France. Data were collected through face-to-face questionnaires administered to 1323 students enrolled in three French universities. Principal component analysis, a non-hierarchical k-means clustering approach and multilevel ordered logistic regression were used for data analysis and provide four main findings: first, poor investment in ICT affects students’ results; second, the ICT training offered by universities has little impact on students’ results; third, student performance improves with the innovative and collaborative use of ICTs; fourth, the acquisition of digital skills increases students’ academic performance. The results show that the digital divide still exists, and this raises questions about the effectiveness of education policies in France. They suggest also that organizational change in universities is essential to enable an exploitation of ICT.

An Efficiency Measurement of E-Government Performance for Network Readiness: Non-Parametric Frontier Approach

Information and Communications Technology (ICT) network readiness competency improves service quality and provides efficient service in implementing successful e-governments. By confirming ICT network readiness of e-governments, it must be redesigned using limited resources effectively to achieve realistic goals. When ICT investment and economic performance are featured, e-government’s network readiness competency improves potential demand, supply, and service maturity. It reflects information technology (IT) development competency on performance effectively. In this study, we propose the Data Envelope Analysis (DEA) method to present a method of improving ICT network readiness between countries. We derived the ICT network’s readiness competency level and strategic plan by comparing each country for efficient ICT operation of e-governments. If we make rankings in a non-traditional and efficient manner, it will become a successful strategy for ICT in the future. This effort provides guidance for each government and a solution for the growth delay problem, which is required for advancement in ICT investment and productivity. It also guides each government to overcome marginal products.

ИНВЕСТИЦИИ В ИНФОРМАЦИОННО-КОММУНИКАЦИОННУЮ ОТРАСЛЬ РЕСПУБЛИКИ КОРЕЯ КАК КЛЮЧЕВОЙ ФАКТОР РОСТА ЭКОНОМИКИ

The dynamics of today's South Korean economy have been studied and the key factors that have a significant impact on its growth have been identified. The object of the study is the volume of investment in the information and communication industry in the Republic of Korea. The subject of the study is the peculiarities of investment activity in the Republic of Korea in the information and communication industry and the relationship with the economic growth of the country. Thus, the purpose of the study is to investigate the existence of a causal relationship between the volume of investment in ICT and economic growth of the national economy of the Republic of Korea, considering also foreign direct investment and the number of companies in the information and communication industry in the country. One of the main challenges at this stage of economic development is to increase investment activity from internal and external actors for sustainable economic growth. Research methodology and methods. The study proposes an integral indicator of the volume of investment in ICT, GDP, foreign direct investment and the number of organizations in the ICT industry used in international research in the analysis of the growth factor of the economy of the country. Econometric models have been built to analyze the effectiveness of investment in ICT to stimulate economic growth as a whole. Based on the correlation analysis of seasonally adjusted quarterly time series for the period from 2005 to 2021, available from the Korean Statistical Information Service (KOSIS), an econometric model has been developed to determine the degree of influence of repressors on the country's GDP. It means that investments in information and communication technologies (ICT) are interconnected with the growth of the GDP of the Republic of Korea. With an increase in investment in ICT by one thousand US dollars, GDP increases by an average of 9.9 billion won (7.7 million US dollars). Is is also found out that foreign investments (FDI) in the telecommunications industry are not so effective and with their growth, GDP increases by 0.04 billion won (32 thousand US dollars). The ICT investment strategy disclosed in this study is particularly useful for policy makers planning economic growth in South Korea and other ICT-rich countries because promoting the use of ICT across all sectors requires the creation of legal and policy frameworks

Impacts of task interdependence and equivocality on ICT adoption in the construction industry: a task-technology fit view

ABSTRACT Although information and communication technologies (ICTs) are broadly acknowledged as a critical source of competitive advantage in the construction practice, the investment in ICTs in no ways guarantees effective technology adoption and implementation. Based on the Task-Technology Tit (TTF) view, successful adoption of ICT depends on that ICTs fit with the tasks they support and people who use them. Users with different tasks respond to technologies differently. Hence, this paper aims to investigate the linkage among task characteristics (task interdependence and equivocality), personal characteristics, TTF, and users’ intention to adopt ICTs. Based on the Structural Equation Model analysis of 205 questionnaires and additional interviews from the construction industry, the findings show that the fit between ICTs and users’ tasks contributes positively to ICT adoption; individuals with interdependent and equivocal tasks are more likely to favour ICT adoption; users’ educational levels moderate the relationship between task equivocality and ICT adoption. This research extends the TTF view by considering both task and personal characteristics in the technology adoption domain and provides implications for users, managers and software developers to achieve better fit between ICTs, tasks and people.

Nonlinear impacts of information and communications technology investment on industrial structure upgrading: the role of marketization

ABSTRACT This paper employs the dynamic panel threshold model to estimate the industrial upgrading effect of information and communications technology (ICT) investment in view of the role of marketization. Based on provincial-level data from 2008 to 2016 in China, the empirical results show that under a better institutional environment of marketization, ICT investment has an increasing marginal effect on the upgrading of the industrial structure. This implies that the diminishing marginal effect of ICT investment is compensated by the promotion of marketization. Overall, with higher-quality development of the market economy, ICT investment will play a more active role in upgrading the industrial structure.

The Impact of ICT Investment and Diffusion on Economic Growth: Empirical Evidence from Rwanda

This study evaluates the influence of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) investment and diffusion on Rwanda's economic growth. At the level we recommend, ICT imports greatly improve intermediate inputs to capital goods, resulting in increased economic growth. We use the most recent available data on technical innovation and investment for our empirical study, which spans the years 2005Q1 to 2020Q4. The results of regression analysis show that ICT development has little effect on Rwanda's economic growth. However, we notice a patchwork of information on ICT investment. We utilize ICT goods exports and imports as a proxy for ICT investment, based on previous research. Surprisingly, ICT goods exports have had no impact on Rwanda's economic growth. We do notice, however, that a 1% increase in ICT goods imports boosts economic growth by 3.9 percent. At this level, ICT goods import greatly boost the intermediate input to capital goods, resulting in increased economic growth. As a result, officials should ensure that ICT goods imports should be prioritized through supporting ICT investment to boost economic growth.

Information and Communication Technology Adoption Strategies of Emerging Multinationals From India

The growth and rising prominence of multinationals from emerging markets (eMNCs) mark a significant phase in the evolution of the world economy in the last decade. This study investigates the effect of eMNCs' institutional embeddedness in terms of age on the adoption strategy of new and emerging information and communication technologies (ICT). Using panel multiple regression on a unique database of 3,756 observations from 394 Indian eMNCs in period of 2009 to 2019, the authors find that firm age has a unique negative impact on ICT investments of eMNCs. However, ownership is able to influence the negative impact of age in unique ways. Business group affiliation attenuates the impact of firm age on ICT investments, such that the reduction in ICT investments with firm age is less for BG-affiliated firms. Meanwhile, the higher the foreign institutional ownership in eMNCs, the lower the impact of firm age on ICT investments.

Decoupling and decomposition analysis of investments and CO2 emissions in information and communication technology sector

Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) economies are facing a substantial increase in the information and communication technology (ICT) investments in the context of rapid spread of the Coronavirus Disease-2019 (COVID-2019) pandemic and constraints of emissions reduction. However, the mechanism of the impact of ICT investments on carbon dioxide is still unclear. Therefore, by employing the decoupling-factor model and Generalized Divisia Index Method, we explore the decoupling states of ICT investments and emission intensity, and the driving factors of ICT investments’ scale, intensity, structure, and efficiency effects on carbon emissions in 20 OECD economies between 2000 and 2018. The results indicate that the number of economies with an ideal state of strong decoupling rose to nine between 2009 and 2018 compared to no economies between 2000 and 2009. The emission intensity of ICT investments contributes to a significant increase of carbon emissions, and the structure and efficiency of ICT investments always restrain the growth of carbon emissions. Significant emissions changes caused by the driving factors are shown in many economies before and after the crisis, reflecting the differences in the strategic choices of ICT investments and the impact on emissions due to the crisis such as the COVID-2019 pandemic. And policy implications for energy and carbon dioxide mitigation strategies in the post-COVID-2019 era are also provided.

Does ICT create a new driving force for manufacturing?—Evidence from Chinese manufacturing firms

The Internet has changed the global economic landscape. In particular, the fast-changing Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has directly led to a far-reaching impact on the production and operation of firms. Many previous studies have discussed the relationship of ICT and the total factor productivity (TFP) of firms, but failed to reach a consistent conclusion. This paper, based on the data of Chinese listed manufacturing firms from 2010 to 2019, explores the impact of ICT on manufacturing firms' TFP and its mechanism, and concludes that ICT have positive correlation with the TFP of manufacturing firms. According to the estimated results of this paper, TFP will increase by about 1.8 % for every 1 % of additional ICT investment. Through channel analysis, this paper finds that the positive effect can be achieved through the following four channels: cutting information search costs, enhancing information processing capabilities, reducing internal capital misallocation, and promoting R&D efficiency. This paper is a supplement to research on firm TFP, provides new micro-evidence for exploring the relationship between ICT and TFP of manufacturing firms, and brings important implications for understanding the role of ICT in firm production activities.

ICT resources and use: examining differences in pathways to improved small firm performance

PurposeThe paper shows how small firms perceive the pathways through which access to and adoption of superfast broadband-enabled resources strengthen business performance. Improvements to broadband infrastructure do not automatically lead to adoption of opportunities made available through the broadband resource. Then, interventions can be used to alert small firms to new opportunities. However, the quality of interventions in terms of education and digital audits can be better targeted with information available on how small firms perceive the benefits from broadband access and whether these perceptions are reflected in business performance outcomes.Design/methodology/approachData are used from the Digital Maturity Survey from Wales. The study uses principal component analysis and a dual stage cluster approach to show how SMEs believe they are benefitting from broadband access. These belief-based perceptions of broadband inferred business benefits are tested against business performance variables.FindingsThe analysis shows variation in SME perceptions of the benefits of broadband-enabled services. This study reveals a cluster of firms which perceived routes to business value in terms of variables linked to security and risk management, and then more commonly held notions linked to communication, competition enhancement and productivity.Originality/valueWhile the research literature points to Information and Communication Technology (ICT) resources (ICT investment and skills) and use (digital applications), leading to new to business value improvements, this study suggests less work has sought to identify the critical themes identified by business owners in explaining how ICT resources and use tie to observed business performance. The study identifies these critical themes. The analysis suggests that these critical themes in terms of business value benefits as perceived by business owners can be summarised in terms of communication and competition benefits, and security and risk related benefits. The findings have a series of implications for interventions in the space.