فناوری اطلاعات و ارتباطات چقدر ارزشمند است؟ مطالعه در حال ظهور بنگاههای اقتصاد  How valuable is information and communication technology? A study of emerging economy enterprises

1. Introduction Information and communication technology (hereafter, ICT) has improved rapidly and drastically in recent years, affecting business development in most countries of the world, including emerging economies. According to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU, 2013), the past decade has seen fast growth in ICT uptake worldwide, with an increase in all indicators (mobilecellular telephone subscriptions, Internet access, mobile and fixed broadband subscriptions, etc.). Mobile-cellular subscriptions reached 6.8 billion by 2013—almost as many as the total global population. The fast move from using mobile to broadband has also enabled the rapid development of numerous new information and communication channels, such as social media, portable cloud computing, big data, and smart terminals. Undoubtedly, such development is shaping human life and creating new ways of operating and managing businesses. We know generally little on how valuable or how important ICT is for emerging economy enterprises (hereafter, EEEs), a gap requiring a significant attention for not only theoretical advancement but also practical implications. EEEs are competing in an increasingly knowledge-intensive and interconnected global marketplace, and at the same time are coping with the overflow of data and information which serves as one of the most importantissues influencing strategic business decisions, according to the 2012 IBM Global CEO study based on a survey of more than 1700 CEOs in 64 countries.1 EEEs, while generally lack proprietary or core technologies, are taking advantages of ICT-enabled connectivity to gain access to knowledge, narrow the gap with market leaders in global competition, and exploit opportunities to leapfrog, both technologically and operationally (The Economist, 2007). Moreover, the information explosion era places a premium on an appropriate ICT strategy, which enables a firm to astutely manage knowledge and information database, make effective managerial decisions, and enhance its competitiveness. This ICT strategy is particularly important for EEEs as they are undergoing tremendous transformations and pursuing fast catch-up on the global stage. A properly designed and implemented ICT strategy fosters effective information and knowledge flows, and therefore is central to organizational learning, knowledge development, knowledge sharing and integration (Kogut & Zander, 1992). We thus use the knowledge-based view to explain how ICT helps EEEs to catch up and improve their competitiveness. Our research advances the theoretical development of both ICT and emerging economy firms and sheds light on the role of ICT in fostering knowledge integration and utilization and in compensating EEEs’ weaknesses. This study makes several theoretical contributions. We demonstrate that ICT facilitates effective knowledge sharing and knowledge integration, a mechanism through which ICT enhances efficiency and competitiveness of EEEs. While past literature has acknowledged the importance of ICT, the underlying mechanisms through which superior firm performance is achieved are not clear (Bharadwaj, 2000). Our research enriches the ICT literature by addressing how ICT fosters organizational learning, knowledge sharing, and knowledge integration for latecomers in international competition, such as EEEs. These firms can benefit from the learning advantage of newness (LAN) because they possess fewer deeply embedded routines and face less cognitive complexity (Autio, Sapienza, & Almeida, 2000). ICT bolsters such advantages by allowing EEEs to quickly learn lessons from more experienced and resourceful competitors and gain access to up-to-date information and knowledge worldwide. ICT can perform as a strategic enabler that helps close the gap in competitiveness (i.e., productivity in this study) between EEEs and their benchmark targets such as competent firms in developed countries. Also, we present the logic of fit, suggesting that the positive effect of ICT on firm competitiveness is further determined by the alignment between the firm’s ICT and its specific needs and capability for ICT-enabled knowledge sharing and integration. The macro-level (country development) and micro-level contingencies (the firm’s quality control and internationalization) moderate the extent to which ICT contributes to competitiveness.