ABSTRACT
The purpose of this research is to a quantitative study on the impact of information technology among small and medium enterprises in Nigeria. The study was carried out in Abuja, Nigeria and focused on 380 SMEs. The study established how types of information communication technologies influence performance of small and medium enterprises in Abuja, by finding out how the use of information communication technologies influence performance of small and medium, assessing how awareness levels on information communication technologies influence performance of small and medium enterprises, establishing the extent to which cost of information communication technologies influence performance of small and medium enterprises and ascertained the extent organizational leadership in information communication technologies influence performance of small and medium enterprises. The descriptive survey design was used to carry out this study. The study employed in the design of this research was descriptive correlation survey technique where a sample of 380 respondents was picked. The data was collected using questionnaires for the SMEs. The data was analyzed both quantitatively and qualitatively using SPSS and content method respectively. The study established that ICT influence performance of small and medium enterprises, with cost of ICTs, being the leading determinant on performance of SMEs, followed closely by organizational leadership in ICTs. Use of ICT and awareness levels of ICT are both closely correlated on their influence on performance of SMEs; both affecting performance of SMEs nearly on the same scale. On the use of multiple types of ICTs in SMEs the study showed that this negatively affected performance of SMEs however use of mobile technologies was most prevalent, accounting for 92% on the types of ICTs, in SMEs. It is hoped that this study is significant in the generation of new knowledge, providing business owners and scholars with information concerning the influence of ICTs on small and medium enterprises. Providing answers to questions such as which types of ICTs to adopt ICTs, when and what is ICT return on investments to the business. By providing qualitative and quantitative information about ICTs and SMEs, the study recommends that SMEs adopt focused types of ICTs that are affordable to the SMEs this are most likely to impact positively on the performance of the SMEs. Also the awareness levels in ICTs should be appraised by the SME to ensure these are in harmony with use of ICTs in the SME.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the Study
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs, sometimes small and medium-sized enterprises) or small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are companies whose level of personnel is below certain limits. The abbreviation “PYMES” is used in the European Union and in international organizations such as the World Bank, the United Nations and the World Trade Organization (WTO). The technocrats have examined and proposed different definitions to define SMEs in different economies. These efforts have led to the understanding of the perception of SMEs in a variety of ways. Therefore, SMEs are perceived and defined differently in different countries and regions.
In Europe there are three main parameters that define SMEs: micro enterprises with up to 10 employees, small companies with up to 50 employees and medium companies with up to 250 employees (European Commission, 2013). The European definition of SMEs provides that the category of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) is formed by companies that employ less than 250 people and has an annual turnover of no more than 50 million euros and / or a general balance No more than 43 million euros, (Petrakis and Kostis, 2012). The EU Member States have individual definitions of what constitutes an SME. For example, the definition in Germany was limited to 255 employees, while in Belgium it was 100 (European Commission, 2013). The result is that a Belgian company with 249 employees in Belgium would have to pay taxes at the full rate, but would still be eligible for subsidies to SMEs in a program with the European label. According to the German economist Hans-Heinrich Bass, the empirical research of the middle class and the promotion policy of the middle class in West Germany has a long tradition and dates back to the 19th century. In the middle of the 20th century, most researchers considered SMEs as a barrier to greater economic development, and SME policy was shaped by social policy (Petrakis and Kostis, 2012). Only the liberal-liberal school, the founding fathers of the German social market economy, discovered its strengths, considered the middle class as a solution to the economic problems of the mid-twentieth century (mass unemployment, abuse of power) and set the bases to promote a non-selective (functional) industrial policy to promote SMEs (Walczak and Voss, 2010).
In accordance with Section 7 of the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Act (MSMED) of 2006, the Government of India defined the size of micro, small and medium enterprises, as in the case of companies that manufacture or manufacture every industry. in the First Annex of the Industries (Development and Regulation) Act of 1951, it appears as a microenterprise (Erasmus and Strydom, 2013), in which the investment in machinery and equipment does not exceed twenty-five lakh rupees; a small company in which the investment in machinery and equipment is more than 25 lakh rupees, but no more than 5 crore rupees; or a medium-sized company where the investment in machinery and equipment exceeds five million rupees, but no more than ten million rupees; in the case of companies that provide or provide services as microenterprises, where the investment in equipment does not exceed ten lakh rupees; a small company that invests more than ten lakh rupees, but no more than two crore rupees; or a medium-sized company where the investment in equipment is more than two rupees, but not more than five rupees (Erasmus and Strydom, 2013). Assets declared as MSMEs that are found in certain sectors and criteria can be requested to grant loans to “senior sectors” to reduce the cost of doing business. The banks have annual objectives established by the Prime Minister’s work team so that MSMEs can increase loans to different categories of MSMEs during the previous year.
