IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/jinten/v3y2005i4p251-262.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The role of information technology in corporate strategy of small and medium enterprises

Author

Listed:
  • María Nieto
  • Zulima Fernández

Abstract

The crisis of the new economy might have cast doubt on the usefulness of the Internet for business activities. However, it is unquestionable that the possibilities offered by Internet-based technologies in terms of information processing, transfer and collection enable the firm to improve market knowledge and the relationship with clients and suppliers. This work explores, theoretically and empirically, the possibilities offered by the Internet to facilitate the internationalization process of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) as well as to improve the relationship with other firms within the same value chain. Using a wide representative sample of Spanish SMEs, the empirical analysis confirms the benefits of the Internet in both cases. Copyright Springer Science + Business Media, Inc. 2005

Suggested Citation

  • María Nieto & Zulima Fernández, 2005. "The role of information technology in corporate strategy of small and medium enterprises," Journal of International Entrepreneurship, Springer, vol. 3(4), pages 251-262, December.
  • Handle: RePEc:kap:jinten:v:3:y:2005:i:4:p:251-262
    DOI: 10.1007/s10843-006-7854-z
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1007/s10843-006-7854-z
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10843-006-7854-z?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Gary A Knight & S Tamar Cavusgil, 2004. "Innovation, organizational capabilities, and the born-global firm," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 35(2), pages 124-141, March.
    2. Madsen, Tage Koed & Servais, Per, 1997. "The internationalization of Born Globals: An evolutionary process?," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 6(6), pages 561-583, December.
    3. Andrea Bonaccorsi, 1992. "On the Relationship Between Firm Size and Export Intensity," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 23(4), pages 605-635, December.
    4. John Hagedoorn, 1993. "Understanding the rationale of strategic technology partnering: Interorganizational modes of cooperation and sectoral differences," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 14(5), pages 371-385, July.
    5. Lorin M. Hitt, 1999. "Information Technology and Firm Boundaries: Evidence from Panel Data," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 10(2), pages 134-149, June.
    6. Wakelin, Katharine, 1998. "Innovation and export behaviour at the firm level," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 26(7-8), pages 829-841, April.
    7. Erik Brynjolfsson & Thomas W. Malone & Vijay Gurbaxani & Ajit Kambil, 1994. "Does Information Technology Lead to Smaller Firms?," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 40(12), pages 1628-1644, December.
    8. Gary A Knight & S Tamer Cavusgil, 2004. "Innovation, organizational capabilities, and the born-global firm," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 35(4), pages 334-334, July.
    9. Benjamin M Oviatt & Patricia P McDougall, 2005. "The internationalization of entrepreneurship," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 36(1), pages 2-8, January.
    10. Kiyohiko Ito & Vladimir Pucik, 1993. "Abstract," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 14(1), pages 61-75, January.
    11. Dutta, Soumitra & Evrard, Philippe, 1999. "Information technology and organisation within European small enterprises," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 17(3), pages 239-251, June.
    12. Jan Johanson & Jan-Erik Vahlne, 1977. "The Internationalization Process of the Firm—A Model of Knowledge Development and Increasing Foreign Market Commitments," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 8(1), pages 23-32, March.
    13. Jane W. Lu & Paul W. Beamish, 2001. "The internationalization and performance of SMEs," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 22(6‐7), pages 565-586, June.
    14. Acs, Zoltan J & Preston, Lee, 1997. "Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises, Technology, and Globalization: Introduction to a Special Issue on Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises in the Global Economy," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 9(1), pages 1-6, February.
    15. Sanjeev Dewan & Steven C. Michael & Chung-ki Min, 1998. "Firm Characteristics and Investments in Information Technology: Scale and Scope Effects," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 9(3), pages 219-232, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Marieme Chouki & Mohamed Talea & Chafik Okar & Razane Chroqui, 2020. "Barriers to Information Technology Adoption Within Small and Medium Enterprises: A Systematic Literature Review," International Journal of Innovation and Technology Management (IJITM), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 17(01), pages 1-42, February.
    2. Tobias Kollmann & Julia Christofor, 2014. "International entrepreneurship in the network economy: Internationalization propensity and the role of entrepreneurial orientation," Journal of International Entrepreneurship, Springer, vol. 12(1), pages 43-66, March.
    3. Magaly Gaviria-Marin & Jorge Matute-Vallejo & Hugo Baier-Fuentes, 2021. "The effect of ICT and higher-order capabilities on the performance of Ibero-American SMEs," Computational and Mathematical Organization Theory, Springer, vol. 27(4), pages 414-450, December.
    4. Ale Ebrahim, Nader & Ahmed, Shamsuddin & Taha, Zahari, 2009. "Virtual R & D teams in small and medium enterprises: A literature review," MPRA Paper 27045, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised Oct 2009.
    5. Ale Ebrahim, Nader & Ahmed, Shamsuddin & Taha, Zahari, 2010. "SMEs; Virtual research and development (R&D) teams and new product development: A literature review," MPRA Paper 26989, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 10 Jun 2010.
    6. Martin Hannibal, 2020. "The influence of additive manufacturing on early internationalization: considerations into potential avenues of IE research," Journal of International Entrepreneurship, Springer, vol. 18(4), pages 473-491, December.
    7. Francioni, Barbara & Musso, Fabio & Pagano, Alessandro, 2012. "Il ruolo dei consorzi per la valorizzazione del Made in Italy nel mercato indiano [The role of export consortia for the promotion of Made in Italy products in the Indian market]," MPRA Paper 49757, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised Dec 2012.
    8. Dolores Añón Higón & Daniel Bonvin, 2024. "Digitalization and trade participation of SMEs," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 62(3), pages 857-877, March.
    9. Dolores Añon Higón & Juan A. Daniel Bonvin, 2023. "Do digitalization spurs SMEs’ participation in foreign markets?," Working Papers 2307, Department of Applied Economics II, Universidad de Valencia.
    10. Serrano, Raúl & Acero, Isabel, 2015. "Rethinking Entry Mode Choice of Agro-Exporters: The Effect of the Internet," International Food and Agribusiness Management Review, International Food and Agribusiness Management Association, vol. 18(3), pages 1-18, September.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Oliva, Fábio Lotti & Teberga, Pedro Marins Freire & Testi, Lucas Israel Oliveira & Kotabe, Masaaki & Giudice, Manlio Del & Kelle, Peter & Cunha, Miguel Pina, 2022. "Risks and critical success factors in the internationalization of born global startups of industry 4.0: A social, environmental, economic, and institutional analysis," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 175(C).
    2. Paul, Justin, 2020. "SCOPE framework for SMEs: A new theoretical lens for success and internationalization," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 38(2), pages 219-230.
    3. Dzikowski, Piotr, 2018. "A bibliometric analysis of born global firms," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 85(C), pages 281-294.
    4. Knight, Gary A. & Liesch, Peter W., 2016. "Internationalization: From incremental to born global," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 51(1), pages 93-102.
    5. Sandberg, Susanne & Sui, Sui & Baum, Matthias, 2019. "Effects of prior market experiences and firm-specific resources on developed economy SMEs' export exit from emerging markets: Complementary or compensatory?," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 98(C), pages 489-502.
    6. Głodowska Agnieszka & Pera Bożena & Wach Krzysztof, 2019. "International Strategy as the Facilitator of the Speed, Scope, and Scale of Firms’ Internationalization," Journal of Management and Business Administration. Central Europe, Sciendo, vol. 27(3), pages 55-84, September.
    7. D’Angelo, Alfredo & Buck, Trevor, 2019. "The earliness of exporting and creeping sclerosis? The moderating effects of firm age, size and centralization," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 28(3), pages 428-437.
    8. Oskar Villarreal Larrinaga, 2010. "The Dodecagon of Internationalisation: A Theoretical Integration Model," European Research Studies Journal, European Research Studies Journal, vol. 0(1), pages 3-24.
    9. Ciravegna, Luciano & Majano, Sara B. & Zhan, Ge, 2014. "The inception of internationalization of small and medium enterprises: The role of activeness and networks," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 67(6), pages 1081-1089.
    10. Zhou, Lianxi & Wu, Aiqi, 2014. "Earliness of internationalization and performance outcomes: Exploring the moderating effects of venture age and international commitment," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 49(1), pages 132-142.
    11. Jolanda Hessels & André Stel, 2011. "Entrepreneurship, export orientation, and economic growth," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 37(2), pages 255-268, September.
    12. Glavas, Charmaine & Mathews, Shane, 2014. "How international entrepreneurship characteristics influence Internet capabilities for the international business processes of the firm," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 23(1), pages 228-245.
    13. Hultman, Magnus & Iveson, Abbie & Oghazi, Pejvak, 2021. "The Information Paradox in Internationalization: Can ignorance ever be bliss? Evidence from emerging market SME managers," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 131(C), pages 268-277.
    14. Farhad Uddin Ahmed & Louis Brennan, 2021. "A review of methodological diversity within the domain of international entrepreneurship," Journal of International Entrepreneurship, Springer, vol. 19(2), pages 256-299, June.
    15. Nowinski, Witold & Rialp, Alex, 2013. "Drivers and strategies of international new ventures from a Central European transition economy," Journal of East European Management Studies, Rainer Hampp Verlag, vol. 18(2), pages 191-231.
    16. Sinéad Monaghan & Esther Tippmann, 2018. "Becoming a multinational enterprise: Using industry recipes to achieve rapid multinationalization," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 49(4), pages 473-495, May.
    17. Santos-Álvarez, Valle & García-Merino, Teresa, 2010. "The role of the entrepreneur in identifying international expansion as a strategic opportunity," International Journal of Information Management, Elsevier, vol. 30(6), pages 512-520.
    18. Maria Ripollés & Andreu Blesa, 0. "Entry mode choices in the international new ventures context. A study from different theoretical perspectives," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 0, pages 1-21.
    19. Alain Verbeke & Luciano Ciravegna, 2018. "International entrepreneurship research versus international business research: A false dichotomy?," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 49(4), pages 387-394, May.
    20. Hashai, Niron & Zahra, Shaker A., 2022. "A double-edged sword? Founder Teams' Prior International Experience and INV International Scale-up," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 57(2).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:kap:jinten:v:3:y:2005:i:4:p:251-262. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.