IIMS Journal of Management Science
Search
1Dr. S.D. Uma Mageswari is an Associate Professor at the Department of Management Studies, RMK Engineering College, Thiruvallur, Tamil Nadu, India. She can be reached at sdu.mba@rmkec.ac.in
2Dr. Chitra Sivasubramanian is an Associate Professor at the Department of Management Studies, Pondicherry University, Puducherry, India. She can be reached at chitras.dms@pondiuni.edu.in
3Dr. T.N. Srikantha Dath is a Professor at the Department of Mechanical Engineering, RMK Engineering College, Thiruvallur, Tamil Nadu, India. He can be reached at srikanthadath@yahoo.com
Business environment today is highly dynamic, volatile, ambiguous, complex and uncertain. The complexity of the business world necessitates the organisations to be proactive and agile. Manufacturing organisations face heightened competition and the survival and growth is dependent on their ability to keep abreast with the changes in the environment. Manufacturing firms have to collect information across their supply chain and integrate this information for higher productivity. Advent of information and communication technology (ICT) and ICT tools facilitate the organisations to gather information faster and cheaper. This study focuses on analysing the extent of use of these ICT tools by the manufacturing firms in India and the perceptions of the firms on the ICT adoption benefits and the perceived barriers for effective deployment of ICT. Primary data is collected through a survey using questionnaire. Data are analysed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) Results show that ICT tools have been widely deployed by the manufacturing firms. Age and size of the firms significantly influence the extent of use of the ICT tools. Internet and emails have been used by the firms irrespective of the changes in the demographic features. Perceptions of the firms on the benefits and barriers to adopting ICT are also explored by the study. The outcomes of the study facilitate the practicing managers and the policy makers in understanding the current status of ICT tools deployment and, hence, to suitably articulate and implement strategies for enhancing the awareness and benefits of using ICT tools for productivity
Manufacturing firms, Information and communication technology, ICT tools, ICT benefits, ICT barriers
JEL Classification: M15
Ahsan, N. (2007). ICT adoption in Malaysian SMEs from services sectors: preliminary findings. Journal of Internet Banking & Commerce, Vol. 12, No. 3, pp. 1-11 ((http://www.arraydev.com/commerce/jibc/)
Alamgir, R. and Shahid, A. (2011). ICT Enabled Knowledge Sharing – Impact of ICT on Knowledge Sharing Barriers: The Case of Avanade. University essay from Mälardalens högskola/Akademin för hållbar samhällsoch teknikutveckli. Available at http://www.essays.se/essay/377eba33f2/. Accessed 6 May 2014.
Bajpai, M.B. (2013). Information and knowledge sharing through intranet. https://www.academia.edu/324778/ Information_and_Knowledge_Sharing_Through_Intranet. Accessed on 5 November 2013.
Benbya, H., Passiante, G. and Aissa Belbaly, N. (2004). Corporate portal: a tool for knowledge management synchronization. International Journal of Information Management’, Vol. 24, No. 3, pp. 201–220.
Bostock, A. (2002). JISC, Acro-Report. www.acrologic.co.uk/cgi-bin/src.pl?r=ikm-16.446. Accessed on 14 January 2014.
Carr, N.G. (2003). IT doesn’t matter. Educause Review, Vol. 38, pp24-38. (available at http://www.simoes.com.br/ mba/material/ebusiness/ITDOESNTMATTER.pdf )
Casimir, G., Lee, K. and Loon, M. (2012). Knowledge sharing: influences of trust, commitment and cost. Journal of Knowledge Management, Vol. 16, No. 5, pp. 740–753.
Chinn, M.D. and Fairlie, R.W. (2006). The determinants of the global digital divide: a cross-country analysis of computer and Internet penetration. Oxford Economic Papers Advance Access, Oxford University Press. pp 16–44.
Clayton, T., Sadun, R. and Farooqui, S. (2005). IT investment, ICT use and UK firm productivity. Office of National Statistics. www.ons.gov.uk/.../it-investment—ict-use-and-uk-firm-productivity.pdf. Accessed on 5 November, 2013.
Consoli, D. (2012). Literature analysis on determinant factors and the impact of ICT in SMEs Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, Vol. 62, pp. 93–97.
Corso, M., Martini, A., Paolucci, E. and Pellegrini, L. (2001). Information and communication technologies in product innovation within SMEs – the role of product complexity. Enterprise and Innovation Management Studies, Vol. 2, No. 1, pp. 35–48.
Cristea, D. and Capatina, A. (2010). Knowledge economy and the necessity of knowledge management. The Annals of Dunarea de Jos, Vol. 1, pp. 181–188.
Dalkir, K. (2005). Knowledge management in theory and practice, Elsevier Butterworth–Heinemann
Esselaar, S., Stork, C., Ndiwalana, A. and Deen-Swarray, M. (2006). ICT usage and its impact on profitability of SMEs in 13 African countries. Information and Communication Technologies and Development, 2006. ICTD’06. International Conference on IEEE, May 2006, pp. 40–47.
Harindranath, G., Dyerson, R. and Barnes, D. (2008). ICT adoption and use in UK SMEs: a failure of initiatives? The Electronic Journal Information Systems Evaluation, Vol. 11, No. 2, pp. 91–96.
IAMAI (2008–2009). Annual Report, http://www.iamai.in/pdf/lowres.pdf. Accessed on 6 May 2014.
Ionut-Andrei, C. (1993). Analysis and processing-introduction to knowledge management. Journal of Knowledge Management, Economics and Information Technology, Vol. 1, No. 2.
Loane, S. (2006). The role of the internet in the internationalization of small and medium sized companies. Journal of International Entrepreneurship, Vol. 3, pp. 263–277.
Lucas Jr, H.C. and Olson, M. (1994). The impact of information technology on organizational flexibility. Journal of Organizational Computing and Electronic Commerce, Vol. 4, No. 2, pp. 155–176.
In: Mansell, R. and U. Wehn (eds.). (1998). Knowledge Societies: Information Technology for Sustainable Development, Oxford: Published for the United Nations Commission on Science and Technology for Development by Oxford University Press.
Matambalya, F. and Wolf, S. (2001). The role of ICT for the performance of SMEs in East Africa: empirical evidence from Kenya and Tanzania (No. 42). ZEF Discussion Papers on Development Policy. (available at http:// www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/84717/1/zef_dp42.pdf )
Metaxiotis, K. (2009). Exploring the rationales for ERP and knowledge management integration in SMEs. Journal of Enterprise Information Management, Vol. 22, No. 1/2, pp. 51–62.
NASSCOM Report (2010). NMCC – a roadmap to enhance ICT adoption in the Indian manufacturing sector. http://www.nasscom.in/nmcc-roadmap-enhance-ict-adoption-indian-manufacturing-sector. Accessed 6 May 2014.
OECD, (2001). Knowledge management: learning-by-comparing experiences from private firms and public organisations. Summary Record of the High Level Forum held in Copenhagen, 8–9 Feb. 2001, PUMA/ HRM (2001) 3, CERI/CD (2001)2.
Palvalin, M., Lönnqvist, A. and Vuolle, M. (2013). Analysing the impacts of ICT on knowledge work productivity. Journal of Knowledge Management, Vol. 17, No. 4, pp. 545–557.
Panahi, S., Watson, J. and Partridge, H. (2013). Towards tacit knowledge sharing over social web tools. Journal of Knowledge Management, Vol. 17, No. 3, pp. 379–397.
Qiang, C.Z., Clarke, G.R. and Halewood, N. (2006). The role of ICT in doing business. Information and Communications for Development – Global Trends and Policies, Washington DC: World Bank.
Raymond, L., Bergeron, F. and Blili, S. (2005). The assimilation of e-business in manufacturing SMEs: determinants and effects on growth and internalization. Journal of Electronic Markets, Vol. 5, No. 2, pp. 106–118.
Sarkar, R.J. and Bandyopadhyay, S. (2002). Developing an intranet-based knowledge management framework in a consulting firm: a conceptual model and its implementation. Workshop on Knowledge Management and Organizational Memories (ECAI02), Lyon, France.
Schwartz, D.G., Divitini, M. and Brasethvik, T. (2000). On knowledge management in the Internet age. InternetBased Organizational Memory and Knowledge Management, pp. 1–19.
Silwattananusarn, T. and Tuamsuk, K. (2012). Data mining and its applications for knowledge management: a literature review from 2007 to 2012. arXiv preprint arXiv:1210.2872
. Skok, W. and Kalmanovitch, C. (2005). Evaluating the role and effectiveness of an intranet in facilitating knowledge management: a case study at Surrey County Council. Information & Management, Vol. 42, No. 5, pp. 731–744.
Stenmark, D. (2002). Information vs. knowledge: the role of intranets in knowledge management. System Sciences, 2002. HICSS. Proceedings of the 35th Annual Hawaii International Conference on. IEEE, January 2012, pp. 928–937.
Tan, K., Choy Chong, S., Lin, B. and Cyril Eze, U. (2009). Internet-based ICT adoption: evidence from Malaysian SMEs. Industrial Management & Data Systems, Vol. 109, No. 2, pp. 224-244.
Teece, D.J. (1998). Capturing value from knowledge assets: the new economy, markets for know-how, and intangible assets. California Management Review, Vol. 40, No. 3, pp. 55–79.
Wymer, S.A. and Regan, E.A. (2005). Factors influencing e-commerce adoption and use by small and medium businesses. Electronic Markets, Vol. 15, No. 4, pp. 438–453.
