Do Information and Communication Technologies Empower Female Workers? Firm-Level Evidence from Viet Nam

This paper studies the effects of firms’ investments in information and communication technologies (ICT) on their demand for female and skilled workers. Using the gradual liberalization of the broadband Internet sector across provinces from 2006 to 2009 as a source of exogenous variation to identify the causal impacts of ICT, we find evidence from the country’s comprehensive enterprise survey data that firms’ adoption of broadband Internet and other related ICT increased their relative demand for female and college-educated workers. The effect of ICT on firms’ female employment is particularly strong among the college-educated workers, and is stronger in industries that are more dependent on highly manual and physical tasks. These results suggest that ICT can lower gender inequality in the labor market by shifting the labor demand from highly manual, routine tasks in which men have a comparative advantage toward more nonroutine, interactive tasks in which women hold a comparative advantage. However, the effect of ICT is weaker in industries relying more on complex and interactive tasks, suggesting that gender differences in education may have limited female labor supply for the most innovative industries that require highly technical skills to complement ICT

Contribución del comercio electrónico al desempeño de las PyMEs industriales: un modelo estructural

El rol que juegan las Tecnologías de la Información y comunicación (TIC) para lograr un mejor desempeño organizacional aún requiere de un análisis más profundo entre las pequeñas y medianas empresas (PyMEs) de los países en desarrollo. Este estudio pretende ampliar la literatura empírica sobre la relación entre TIC, comercio electrónico y desempeño de las PyMEs en países en desarrollo. Para alcanzar este objetivo, utilizamos una muestra de 87 empresas manufactureras de la ciudad de Bahia Blanca, Argentina correspondiente al año 2015. Mediante la estimación de un Modelo de ecuación estructura, se obtiene que la adopción del comercio electrónico posee una influencia positiva y significativa en las ventas de las PyMEs la cual es potenciada por el nivel de uso de las TIC. Otros factores organizacionales tales como el tamaño de la empresa y los programas públicos explican el desempeño, pero no son predictores significativos de la adopción del comercio electrónico.The role Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) play in achieving a better organizational performance still needs further analysis among small and medium sized enterprises (SME) from developing countries. This study aims to extend the empirical literature on the relationship between ICT, electronic commerce and SME performance in developing countries. To achieve this goal, we employ a sample of 87 manufacturing firms from the city of Bahía Blanca, Argentina in the year 2015. By estimating a structural equation model, we obtain that electronic commerce adoption has a positive and significant influence on SME sales which is reinforced by the level of ICT use. Other organizational factors such as firm size and public programs explain performance, but are not significant predictors of the electronic commerce adoption.Fil: Alderete, Maria Veronica. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Economía; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Instituto de Investigaciones Económicas y Sociales del Sur. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Economía. Instituto de Investigaciones Económicas y Sociales del Sur; Argentin

Global communication part 1: the use of apparel CAD technology

Trends needed for improved communication systems, through the development of future computer-aided design technology (CAD) applications, is a theme that has received attention due to its perceived benefits in improving global supply chain efficiencies. This article discusses the developments of both 2D and 3D computer-aided design capabilities, found within global fashion supply chain relationships and environments. Major characteristics identified within the data suggest that CAD/CAM technology appears to be improving; however, evidence also suggest a plateau effect, which is accrediting forced profits towards information technology manufactures, and arguably compromising the industry's competitive advantage. Nevertheless, 2D CAD increases communication speed; whereas 3D human interaction technology is seen to be evolving slowly and questionably with limited success. The article discusses the findings and also presents the issues regarding human interaction; technology education; and individual communication enhancements using technology processes. These are still prevalent topics for the future developments of global strategy and cultural communication amalgamation

Service Trade and Occupational Tasks: An Empirical Investigation

Using micro data for Belgium we investigate the relationship between occupational tasks changes and the rise of service trade. We focus the analysis on the extensive margin and look at the heterogeneous proliferation of firms involved in exports and imports of services across sectors characterized by different tasks changes patterns. Occupational tasks changes display an extremely consistent relationship with participation to service trade across firm groups pointing to strong churning effects. The change in analytical (interactive and routine cognitive) tasks intensity has a positive (negative) impact across the board meaning that, in industries characterized by larger changes, firms have experienced both higher (lower) likelihood of entry and exit. The negative relationship between the change in interactive tasks and service exports participation underlines the special role that proximity between demand and supply plays for services. Interestingly, we find exactly the opposite result (a positive relationship) between the extensive margin of goods exports and interactive tasks. Moreover, our analysis suggests that the change in IT use per se does not strike as being a key underlying force behind the increase in the extensive margin of service exports.Trade in services, extensive margin, occupational tasks, technological change

The Impacts of Knowledge Interaction with Manufacturing Clients on KIBS Firms Innovation Behaviour

knowledge-intensive business services (KIBS), knowledge interaction, innovations systems

Tone from the Top in Risk Management: A Complementarity Perspective on How Control Systems Influence Risk Awareness

Prompted by the weaknesses of standardized risk management approaches in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis, scholars, regulators, and practitioners alike emphasize the importance of creating a risk-aware culture in organizations. Recent insights highlight the special role of tone from the top as crucial driver of risk awareness. In this study, we take a systems-perspective on control system design to investigate the role of tone from the top in creating risk awareness. In particular, we argue that both interactive and diagnostic use of budgets and performance measures interact with tone from the top in managing risk awareness. Our results show that interactive control strengthens the effect of tone from the top on risk awareness, while tone from the top and diagnostic control are, on average, not interrelated with regard to creating risk awareness. To shed light on the boundary conditions of the proposed interdependencies, we further investigate whether the predicted interdependencies are sensitive to the level of perceived environmental uncertainty. We find that the effect of tone from the top and interactive control becomes significantly stronger in a situation of high perceived environmental uncertainty. Most interestingly, tone from the top and diagnostic control are complements with regard to risk awareness in settings of low perceived environmental uncertainty and substitutes at high levels of perceived environmental uncertainty.Series: Department of Strategy and Innovation Working Paper Serie

IT Capital, Job Content and Educational Attainment

Based on a large data set containing information on occupations between 1979 and 1999, this study explores the ?black box? surrounding the skill?biased technological change hypothesis by analyzing the mechanisms that induce information technologies to be complementary to employees with higher skill levels. Using direct, multidimensional measures of occupational skill requirements, the analysis shows that IT capital substitutes repetitive manual and repetitive cognitive skills, whereas it complements analytical and interactive skills. These changes in the within occupational task mix result in an increased deployment of employees with high levels of education who have comparative advantages in performing non?repetitive cognitive tasks. --skill-biased technological change,job task content,vocational education

Challenges of cloud technology in manufacturing environment

The rapid growth Information systems and advanced network technologies have significant impact on enterprises around the world. Enterprises are trying to gain competitive advantage in open global markets by using the latest technologies, along with advanced networks, to create collaboration, reduce costs, and maximize productivity. The combination of latest technologies and advanced manufacturing networks technologies lead to growth of new manufacturing model named Cloud Manufacturing which can shift the manufacturing industry from product-oriented manufacturing to services-oriented manufacturing. This paper explores the literature about the current Manufacturing problems, understands the concept of Cloud Computing Technology, introduces Cloud Manufacturing and its role in the enterprise, and investigates the obstacles and challenges of adopting Cloud Manufacturing in enterprises

Innovation in Services - Theoretical Approach

The aim of this article is to present the evolution of theoretical studies on service innovation. The author also attempts to put these different approaches to service innovation into order and to indicate the possible forms of service innovation that emerge from these researches. In further part of the article the issue of the availability of statistical data and its relevance to the possible forms of service innovation, as well as some changes that has been implemented recently in order to improve this relevance, are discussed.Celem artykułu jest przedstawienie ewolucji teoretycznych badań nad innowacjami w usługach. Autorka podejmuje również próbę uporządkowania różnych podejść do kwestii innowacji usługowych oraz wskazać możliwe formy tych innowacji, wyłaniające się z analizowanych badań. W dalszej części artykułu, podejmowana jest kwestia dostępności danych statystycznych oraz ich adekwatności, jeśli chodzi o możliwość zastosowania do analizy różnych form innowacji usługowych. Omawiane są również wprowadzone ostatnio zmiany, mające na celu poprawę adekwatności tych danych