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ICT and resilience in times of crisis: evidence from cross-country micro moments data

Author

Listed:
  • Irene Bertschek
  • Michael Polder
  • Patrick Schulte

Abstract

ICT-intensive firms are often found to have a better performance than their non-ICT-intensive counterparts. Along with investing in ICT capital they have to adapt their production and business processes in order to reap the potentials implied by the use of ICT. Are these firms also more resilient in times of crisis? We study this question by exploiting a novel and unique data set from the Micro Moments Database. Covering 12 countries, 7 industries and the period from 2001 to 2010, the data allow us to distinguish between ICT-intensive and non-ICT-intensive firms within industries. We find evidence that indeed during the crisis in 2008 and 2009, ICT-intensive firms were hit less hard with respect to their productivity. This holds in particular for firms from service industries. Moreover, ICT-intensive firms were also more successful in introducing process innovations during that period which could explain their better productivity performance compared to non-ICT intensive firms.

Suggested Citation

  • Irene Bertschek & Michael Polder & Patrick Schulte, 2019. "ICT and resilience in times of crisis: evidence from cross-country micro moments data," Economics of Innovation and New Technology, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 28(8), pages 759-774, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:ecinnt:v:28:y:2019:i:8:p:759-774
    DOI: 10.1080/10438599.2018.1557417
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    Cited by:

    1. Bertschek, Irene & Erdsiek, Daniel, 2020. "Soloselbstständigkeit in der Corona-Krise: Digitalisierung hilft bei der Bewältigung der Krise," ZEW Expert Briefs 20-08, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    2. Bürgel, Tobias R. & Hiebl, Martin R.W. & Pielsticker, David I., 2023. "Digitalization and entrepreneurial firms' resilience to pandemic crises: Evidence from COVID-19 and the German Mittelstand," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 186(PA).
    3. Charles Shaaba Saba & Nicholas Ngepah & Nicholas M. Odhiambo, 2024. "Information and Communication Technology (ICT), Growth and Development in Developing Regions: Evidence from a Comparative Analysis and a New Approach," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 15(3), pages 14700-14748, September.
    4. Duso, Tomaso & Schiersch, Alexander, 2025. "Let's switch to the cloud: Cloud usage and its effect on labor productivity," Information Economics and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    5. Eggenberger, Christian & Backes-Gellner, Uschi, 2023. "IT skills, occupation specificity and job separations," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).
    6. Sarra Ben Yahmed & Francesco Berlingieri & Eduard Brüll, 2025. "Local Labour Market Resilience: The Role of Digitalisation and Working From Home," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 65(5), pages 1506-1532, November.
    7. Axenbeck, Janna & Breithaupt, Patrick, 2022. "Measuring the digitalisation of firms: A novel text mining approach," ZEW Discussion Papers 22-065, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    8. Irene Bertschek & Joern Block & Alexander S. Kritikos & Caroline Stiel, 2024. "German financial state aid during Covid-19 pandemic: Higher impact among digitalized self-employed," Entrepreneurship & Regional Development, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 36(1-2), pages 76-97, January.
    9. Irene Bertschek, 2020. "Digitalisierung — der Corona-Impfstoff für die Wirtschaft," Wirtschaftsdienst, Springer;ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 100(9), pages 653-656, September.
    10. Bronzini, Raffaello & Giunta, Anna & Pierucci, Eleonora & Sforza, Marco, 2025. "More technology, more loans? How advanced digital technologies influence firms’ financing conditions," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 47-66.
    11. Spyros Arvanitis & Euripidis Loukis, 2020. "Reduction of ICT Investment Due to the 2008 Economic Crisis and ICT-Enabled Innovation Performance of Firms," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 11(1), pages 1-27, March.
    12. Achim Wambach, 2021. "Besseres Marktdesign im Gesundheitswesen," Wirtschaftsdienst, Springer;ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 101(8), pages 590-593, August.
    13. Kuosmanen, Natalia & Pajarinen, Mika & Heshmati, Almas, 2026. "Digital technology adoption and firm performance: Evidence from Finland ’s service sector using linked microdata," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 50(1).
    14. Ghinami, Francesca, 2023. "Effects of remote work on population distribution across cities: US evidence from a QSE model," SocArXiv krnzq, Center for Open Science.
    15. Papaioannou, Sotiris K., 2023. "ICT and economic resilience: Evidence from the COVID-19 pandemic," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 128(C).
    16. Tomaso Duso & Alexander Schiersch, 2022. "Let's Switch to the Cloud: Cloud Adaption and Its Effect on IT Investment and Productivity," Discussion Papers of DIW Berlin 2017, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research.
    17. Alhusen, Harm & Bennat, Tatjana & Bizer, Kilian & Cantner, Uwe & Horstmann, Elaine & Kalthaus, Martin & Proeger, Till & Sternberg, Rolf G. & Töpfer, Stefan, 2019. "Measuring the "doing-using-interacting mode" of innovation in SMEs - A qualitative approach," ifh Working Papers 23/2019, Volkswirtschaftliches Institut für Mittelstand und Handwerk an der Universität Göttingen (ifh).
    18. Banal-Estanol, Albert & Seldeslachts, Jo & Vives, Xavier, 2022. "Ownership Diversification and Product Market Pricing Incentives," CEPR Discussion Papers 17686, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    19. Axenbeck, Janna & Bertschek, Irene & Breithaupt, Patrick & Erdsiek, Daniel, 2023. "Firm digitalisation and mobility - Do Covid-19-related changes persist?," ZEW Discussion Papers 23-011, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    20. Sonja Brlečić Valčić & Anita Peša & Dijana Čičin-Šain, 2022. "Analysis of the Eurozone’s Resilience to Crises and Disturbances in the Context of EU Development Strategies—Contemporary Approach Using Anfis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(23), pages 1-28, November.
    21. Anderton, Robert & Jarvis, Valerie & Labhard, Vincent & Morgan, Julian & Petroulakis, Filippos & Vivian, Lara, 2020. "Virtually everywhere? Digitalisation and the euro area and EU economies," Occasional Paper Series 244, European Central Bank.
    22. Zimmermann Volker & Köhler-Geib Fritzi, 2023. "Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Different Groups of SMEs in Germany and Their Recovery," Intereconomics: Review of European Economic Policy, Sciendo, vol. 58(6), pages 333-341, December.
    23. Duso, Tomaso & Nardotto, Mattia & Schiersch, Alexander, 2025. "Broadband and productivity: Structural estimates for Germany," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 237(C).
    24. Iman Cheratian & Saleh Goltabar & Mohammad Reza Farzanegan, 2022. "Survival Strategies Under Sanctions: Firm-Level Evidence from Iran," Working Papers 1569, Economic Research Forum, revised 20 Aug 2022.
    25. Ben Yahmed, Sarra & Berlingieri, Francesco & Brüll, Eduard, 2022. "Adjustments of local labour markets to the COVID-19 crisis: The role of digitalisation and working-from-home," ZEW Discussion Papers 22-031, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • H12 - Public Economics - - Structure and Scope of Government - - - Crisis Management
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • O31 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Innovation and Invention: Processes and Incentives
    • O47 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity - - - Empirical Studies of Economic Growth; Aggregate Productivity; Cross-Country Output Convergence

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