15th Panhellenic Logistics Conference & 1st Southeast European Congress on Supply Chain Management
An assessment of Information Technology, Information Systems and Internet usage among Small to Medium size Enterprises in a transition economy The case of
Presented by: Albert Aliu Fotis Missopoulos
Kosovo
Presentation Outline • The role of Small to Medium size Enterprises (SMEs) in transition economies • Structure of SMEs by sector • Adoption of Information Technology (IT) by SMEs in South East Europe • Current trends of technology usage in Kosovo • Supply chain activities and the interconnectivity with Information Technology and the Internet • The use of technology for a better collaboration with partners, suppliers and customers • Influence of the technology in growth opportunities and relation to third parties service providers • Conclusion and recommendations for future research
The role of Small to Medium size Enterprises (SMEs) in transition economies • SMEs play a huge role in economical trends within a country, by encouraging growth, technological innovation and different employment opportunities for citizens (Barth et al. 2011). • 98% of registered enterprises in Europe are SMEs Schmeiman (2008). • Different researchers (Bukvic & Bartlett, 2003; Kolakovic et al. 2009; Pinto, 2005) wrote about the role of SMEs in transition economies in South East Europe. • SMEs in Kosovo were considered by Krasniqi (2007) as the engine of economic growth, due to their ability to influence in lowering unemployment rates.
Structure of SMEs by sector
• Micro and Small enterprises are the ones that were registered in SEE (Karajkov, 2009). • Simiar trend • A report by EBRD (2004) showed that • 50% of registered SMEs were focused in trade sector • 15-18% of SMEs in SEE are focused in service offering sector • 10-13% of SMEs in manufacturing and construction •
15% of SME in other possible sectors
Adoption of Information Technology (IT) by SMEs in South East Europe • The use of IT from SMEs was one of the most innovative moves, which has had a huge impact in the transition economies for better communication channels (Huggins & Johnston, 2009). • IT was perceived by potential users as a • Good tool to achieve better production line • Low cost in storing and processing different activities within the
supply chain(Knol and Stroeken, 2001) • Good tool to achieve strategic objectives (Porter, 2001) • Better decision making (Lawrence, 2009)
• Similar trends were showed in reports for SEE (BERR, 2010; EBRD, 2004; OECD, 2007)
Current trends of technology usage in Kosovo • The findings from current research shows that • 100%
of
the
respondents
indicated
that
they
use Personal
Computers and e-mail • 51.9% used Intranet • 1.3% used other types of Information Systems • 88.6% of SMEs are using Internet for more than 2 years • 87.3% of SMEs had web page
• Web page presence in regards to the structure of SMEs • 18 micro enterprises • 36 small enterprises • 15 medium enterprise
Supply chain activities and the interconnectivity with Information Technology and the Internet • Porter and Donthu (2006) stated that the use of Information Technology and the Internet as business tools to improve processes and supply chain activities were introducing new business models.
• 61% of respondents use the Internet to purchase goods or services. • 41.8% use the Internet to sell goods • 93.7% use the Internet to give information for their products • 79.7% use the Internet to bid for contracts
Supply chain activities and the interconnectivity with Information Technology and the Internet(cont’d) • Findings from the current research showed a strong positive correlation (r= 0.693, n=79, p<0.05) between technology and its use to improve internal communication and to streamline internal operation.
• In addition, the use of the Internet to sell online and to find new markets in order to improve processes, was found to have a moderate positive correlation (r= 0.477, n=79, p<0.05).
• Results show that there is an influence of legal form of business and use of Internet and IT in supply chain activities.
The use of technology for a better collaboration with partners, suppliers and customers The use of technology is mostly perceived as a good indicator to have better collaboration with peers • 88.6% use the Internet to find new suppliers and to find out about competitors • 89.9% to find out about customers • 94.9% perceive the Internet as a positive tool to build business connections •Weak correlation (r=0.266, n=79, p<0.05) between the use of technology to attract new customers •Business activities have an effect on the use of Internet in creation of business connection
Conclusion and recommendations for future research •
Major finding suggested that the use of new technologies compare to other regions is much higher in Kosovo’s SMEs.
•
Transition process was one of the factors which influenced the use of new technology to reach new customers, suppliers. In Kosovo case it can be concluded that high turnover rates and profits influence the use of technology.
•
The main objectives and classification of enterprises within sectors in Kosovo were found to be different compare to other studies for countries in SEE region. In addition, the use of personal computers and e-mail was found to be one of the most important factors within SMEs in Kosovo.
Conclusion and recommendations for future research (cont’d) •
SMEs in Kosovo were reluctant when it comes to the use of ERP or EDI to increase the organizational performance.
•
Other IT and Internet related technologies were seen by enterprises as a key element to have a better interaction within the supply chain activities.
•
Results
from
this
research
can
be
used
by
different
researchers who wish to explore particular issues such as ecommerce in particular, the use of the internet and its impact in strategic choice or different country comparisons in general.
for your attention