Abstract

Despite the continuous increase of investment in Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), research has not persuasively established corresponding productivity increases. In contrast, many studies investigating the ICT impact have found no significant relationships between productivity and ICT. However, several shortcomings have been identified in past studies, e.g. measurement errors, redistribution of impacts and mismanagement of ICT. This study proposes a methodology for assessing the ICT productivity impact that overcomes these shortcomings. The methodology is tested in a dataset of hotel restaurants in the UK by using a non-parametric technique called Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). Findings revealed that productivity gains do not accrue from ICT investments per se, but from the exploitation of ICT “informate” and networking capabilities. Suggestions for enhancing the productivity impact of ICT are provided.

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