Impact of information technology on SMEs survival rate in Malaysian manufacturing industry

This study focuses on the impact of information technology on the survival rate of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the manufacturing sector in Malaysia. It analyses the effects of information technology on survival of SMEs in 2000 and 2005, based on two separate groups of closed firms. The study attempts to present a rational relationship between theories of firm survival and information technology. It sets out to show that while factors such as minimum efficient size, market and firms attributes, transaction cost, uncertainty, opportunism, information asymmetry and atmosphere, profitability and learning have an impact on the survival of SMEs, the effect of information technology is also significant. The Cox Proportional Hazard Regression Model is used for estimation of coefficients and survival functions. Evidence suggests that factors such as minimum economies of scale, productivity, technology usage, profits, R&D, location and capital-labor ratio affect the survival of SMEs. Of equal importance is the expenditure on information technology, which is said to have an impact on the viability of firms. By employing the model this study presents that information technology expenditure has positive effect on survival of SMEs in Malaysian manufacturing sector in this period. The model further shows that information technology plays a bigger role among the larger SMEs than the smaller ones. Thus, policy maker with regard to main finding of this study should consider some policy for promoting the IT among SMEs, especially larger ones in Malaysian manufacturing sector. Moreover, for increasing survival of SMEs, policy maker should encourage R&D among SMEs and concentrate on some sector, which have high entry rate

S&T activities and firm performance - microeconomic evidence from manufacturing in Shanghai

This paper examines the impact of R&D expenditure and technology import on the level and the growth of productivity, as well as on the general economic performance in manufacturing firms with various ownership structures in Shanghai, China. The empirical analyses are based on the firm-level information of a sample of manufacturing firms for the period 1998–2003. We find clear-cut evidence indicating that firms with foreign participation have a productivity advantage over their domestic counterparts. The expenditures on technology import not only have a direct and positive effect on productivity, but also indirectly enhance the absorptive capacity of firms to facilitate in-house R&D activities. This is particularly true for firms with foreign participation, or for firms in sectors with relatively high technical standards. Furthermore, R&D expenditure and technology import may also have positive effects on profitability and export performance, depending on the ownership structure of the firm and the technical standard in the sector.Science and Technology policy; Science and Technology investment; R&D

The Effect of Information Technology Application on Organizational Performance Through Cross Functional Team and Total Quality Management Implementation

In this thesis discuss the effect of Information Technology Application on Organizational Performance through Cross Functional Team and Total Quality Management Implementation on the company. In this study using primary data with 102 population and 50 samples of manufacturing companies using data collection methods, namely 5 points Likert scale in the form of questionnaires distributed in companies that are open or closed that have large and medium industrial groups on firm manufacturing in East Java. This study uses Structural Equation Modeling analysis techniques, also called path modeling with SmartPLS tools. The questionnaire collected was 57 questionnaires. The result showed that the effect of Information Technology Application on Organizational Performance was significant. The results showed that Information Technology Application affects Cross Functional Team. Information Technology Application influence Total Quality Management Implementation. Cross-Functional Team affects Organizational Performance. CrossFunctional Team affects Total Quality Management Implementation. Total Quality Management Implementation influences Organizational Performanc

Factors Influencing the Performance of Supply Chain Management in Manufacturing Industry of Pakistan

The aim of this paper is to find out the effect of critical factors like trade management, information technology, uncertainties, manufacturing and customer satisfaction on the performance of supply chain management in Pakistan. The research was based on primary data which was collected through questionnaire by 172 selected manufacturing companies in Pakistan. The random Sampling Technique was used and the regression analysis was made to test the model through SPSS software. The regression analysis shows that R-Square = 0.567 F-Value = 50.76 and significance (P-Value <0.05) which shows strong significance relationship of each independent variable (trade management, information technology, uncertainties, manufacturing and customer satisfaction) on dependant variable (the performance of supply chain management).This research will help manufacturing and related industries in understanding of their current supply chain management practices and improve their performance in future. Keywords: Trade Management (TM), Information Technology (IT), Uncertainties (U), Manufacturing, Customer Satisfaction (CS), Performance of Supply Chain Management

The effect of information technology on wage inequality : evidence from Indian manufacturing sector

A persistent widening of skill based wage inequality in the Indian Organised Manufacturing sector has been reported by many researchers. Two main hypotheses had been tested in developed economies to explain such a phenomenon; an inter-sectoral shift in demand structure and an intra-sectoral shift in production technology. A decomposition of the change in wage share of skilled workers showed that sector bias explained very little of the changes in the share of skilled worker wages while more than 85 percent of the changes occurred within industries, giving support to the argument of changing skill mix within industries, rather than between industries. While scale effect and capital skill complementarities do tend to give partial explanations for the increasing share of skilled worker wage share, the most consistent and quantitatively large explanation seems to appear from the effect of Information Technology intensity in the production process, whatever the specifications be. Moreover, argument of the skill biased wage inequality is only weakly supported by mere IT adoption, but it is the intensity in IT use that is the most dominant factor. However there is no evidence for an enhanced effect of IT on wage shares since the signing of the ITA agreement and the probably increased import of IT goods. Neither is there any evidence to show that technology endowed capital goods have had an impact on the changes in skill biased wage share during 1998-99 to 2004-05. Key words: Skill Biased Technological Change, Wage Inequality, Information Technology, Indian Manufacturing sector. JEL Classification: J31, L6, O3

Technology and Demand for Skilled Labor in Turkish Private Manufacturing Industries

This paper examines the relationship between technology and demand for skilled labor both historically and empirically. First, it is pointed out that the Industrial Revolution substituted skilled labor with unskilled labor since it has a de-skilling characteristic. Second, the skill-bias feature of Information and Communication Technologies Revolution is suggested. Finally, the effect of technological progress on the demand for skilled labor is tested for Turkish Private Manufacturing Industries. According to the static panel data estimation results, there is a positive but weak relationship between technological progress and demand for skilled labor.Skill bias, Technological change, Manufacturing

Effect of Information Technology Investment on Organisational Productivity and Growth of Small and Medium Scale Enterprises in Developing Countries: A Case of Sachet and Table Water Industries in Lagos State, Nigeria

The objective of this paper is to determine the effect of information technological investment on employee’s output performance. Subject for the study consisted of seventy employees of sachet and table water manufacturing industries, Lagos, Nigeria. Data for the study were collected through a well-structured questionnaire delivered to the workers of the sachet and table water companies. We used F test, T test, regression and correlation to test our hypotheses whether information technology usage in production processes , work environment and management style boost up  the output performance  of an employees. The findings of the study showed that there exist strong positive relationship and significant effect between aggregate output, technology usage, work environment, and management style and that the technological usage in production processes has the highest contribution to boost aggregate output performance of an employees in sachet and table water manufacturing companies. Keywords: Information Technology, Output, Performance, Manufacturing Companies, Work Environment, Management Style

Pengaruh Teknologi Informasi Dan Pembagian Informasi Secara Vertikal Terhadap Kinerja Manajerial

This study aims to test and prove empirically the influence of information technology and information sharing vertically on managerial performance in a manufacturing company located in the city of Palembang is expected to be useful for companies and further research. In this study an entire population is used as a manager working in a manufacturing company located in the city of Palembang. The sample used is a manager or head of department-level managers who lead the functional: such as marketing, operasioanal, finance, etc. in a manufacturing company located in the city of Palembang. And techniques used for sampling is purposive sampling technique. Data used for this study is the primary data. Of the 110 questionnaires distributed, 83 questionnaires kembali.Hasil this study indicate that (1) information technology has no effect on managerial performance (2) the vertical distribution of information affects managerial performance

"Effects of Information Technology and Aging Work Force on Labor Demand and Technological Progress in Japanese Industries: 1980-1998"

The purpose of this paper is two-folds. First, we examine the direction and the magnitude of substitutability or complementarity between information- and communication-related capital stock and various labor inputs to know about differential impacts of information and com-munication technology on labor demand. In this way, we can obtain information about what segments of workers information and communication technology can effectively substu-tute for. Second, we estimate contribution of information- and communication-related capital stock and various labor inputs on the value-added growth of the Japanese economy in the recent turbulent era (1980s and 1990s) and explore factors determining technological progress. In particular, we investigate whether rapid accumulation of information-related capital stock has a positive effect on technological progress, examining IT externality. We also discern the effect of compositional changes in labor inputs on technological progress, examining the inflexibility issue and IT-induced technological obsolescence issue. Three remarkable facts emerge from our result with respect to substitutability/complementarity issues. First, IT capital stocks are shown to be significant substitutes for young workers with a low education level, whereas old workers with a low education level are consistently quasi-fixed in all industries under investigation. Second, IT capital stocks have complemen-tary relationship with workers with a high education level in many industries. Third, workers with a high education level and those with a low education level are substitutes. These all suggest that IT investment and human capital accumulation are of utmost importance to overcome possible shortage (in relative terms) of young workers with a low education level caused by rapidly aging population. As for IT externality, we find at first positive correlation between IT stocks and techno-logical progress in manufacturing, suggesting a strong externality effect of IT capital stocks. In the first glance it is very promising, since this suggests that this IT externality can be used for boosting productivity growth. However, the correlation is not robust. First, if non-manufacturing industries are included, the correlation vanishes. Second, if "Electrical Machinery" is excluded from the sample of manufacturing, the correlation also vanishes. Thus, we fail to discern clear-cut evidence for IT externality. Thus, the proposition that IT "revolution"can pop up productivity growth and can counter the pressure of aging population is not supported by our data, although investment in IT-producing industries is surely an important driving force for economic growth through substitution effects. As for the effect of labor force composition on the rate of technological progress, the results do not support that the "inflexible old worker" hypothesis of productivity slowdown. There is no correlation between the rate of technological progress and the ratio of old workers with low education in the total labor inputs. However, the results suggest that information technology development in the 1990s has a negative impact on the past strength of the Japanese economy: productivity increase through high-education workers' learning by doing. In manufacturing industries where Japan has been strong, the rate of technological progress in the 1980s has positive (though weak) correlation with "maturing" high-education labor force. That is, the ratio of old well-educated workers in the total labor inputs has a positive (though weak) effect on technological progress. This suggests that the increased average skill among well-educated workers due to longer experience has a positive effect to improve productivity. However, the relationship changes significantly in the 1990s, and we have rather negative relationship. The nature of technological progress apparently changed adversely.

Effect of IT and quality management on performance

Purpose – The present study aims to draw on operations management and information technology literature to examine the effect of three information technology resources (electronic data interchange (EDI), computer‐aided design and manufacturing (CAD/CAM), and enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems) and three related quality management capabilities (customer and supplier relations, product and process management, and quality data and workforce management) and their effect on a firm's quality performance. Design/methodology/approach – Hypotheses derived from the key features of quality management and information technology presented by previous authors are tested using structural equation modeling through field research on a sample of 229 manufacturing companies in Spain. Findings – Findings from this study indicate that there is significant evidence to support the hypothesized model in which information technology resources (EDI, ERP systems, and CAD/CAM systems) have a direct impact on related quality management capabilities (customer and supplier relations, product and process management, and quality data and workforce management) as well as an indirect impact on quality performance mediated through quality management capabilities. Originality/value – The discrepant findings in the literature suggest the need to identify contingencies that may govern the IT‐performance relationship. This study focuses on the interplay between information technology, quality management, and quality performanc