Enhancing the productivity of small and medium enterprises through greater adoption of information and communication technology

The challenge for industry stakeholders and public development of programs by colleges, universities, and policy is to find ways to ensure that SMEs are making others to deliver training and education that enhances appropriate investments in ICT by identifying the barriers managers’ and owners’ skills to assess the costs and that can be removed or reduced. [...] Dan Sichel and Stephen Oliner Given the employment importance of SMEs in the from the US Federal Reserve Board found that the sharp Canadian economy – estimated at 64 percent of total decline in the relative prices of computers and semi- employment2 – and given the lower rate of investment conductors and the increased importance of their output in ICT there are undoubtedly significant benefits to [...] It measures the joint effects of many Impact of ICT on Productivity in the factors including research and development (R&D), the new Economy Overall technology itself, economies of scale, managerial skill, and organization of production.7 Sicher and Oliner also found The empirical evidence in Canada and elsewhere on the that IT was an important driver of labour productivity importance of ICT to an [...] Source: Statistics Canada, Survey of Electronic Commerce and Technology, reports for 2000 to 2005 8 Enhancing the Productivity of Small and Medium Enterprises through Greater Adoption of Information and Communication Technology ICT Adoption and Pressure and Support Assessment of the reasons for SMEs’ under investment in It is this pressure and support in each element of the inno- ICT needs to be i [...] Support for the supply of innovative ICT includes the The evidence indicates that suppliers of ICT have been able availability in the Canadian market of ICT solutions and to reach out to SMEs and support them in its introduction – qualified people to market and implement these solutions.