ABSTRACT New-venture development is usually constrained by the availability of resources. Effective and efficient mobilization of resources hence becomes a prerogative for new-venture development. In recent years, information technology (IT) has emerged as an “enabler” for business growth and development. Thus, there is clear evidence that IT is penetrating into businesses of all categories, including new ventures. In Singapore, a biannual IT survey is conducted to study the patterns and rate of IT penetration into Singaporean firms operating in different industries. The study enables the government agencies involved in the promotion of IT usage in Singapore to evaluate the impacts of IT penetration and so provides useful information for policy formulation and for designing various incentive schemes for industries, including incentive schemes for computerization of small and medium-sized companies (SMEs). In this paper, a conceptual framework for studying the role of IT in new-venture development is prese...