In the wake of the global financial crisis, we lately see upgraded competitiveness of small-and-medium-sized business which forms the foundation of Korean economy and takes up its large portion as a solution for overcoming crises such as the depressed...
In the wake of the global financial crisis, we lately see upgraded competitiveness of small-and-medium-sized business which forms the foundation of Korean economy and takes up its large portion as a solution for overcoming crises such as the depressed domestic market, the Europe-originated economic crisis, and low yen. National competitiveness can be upgraded through technological innovation, job creating innovation, and R&D innovation by small-and-medium-sized business. In response, the Korean government created a variety of support policies and programs for informatization of small-and-medium-sized business in the first decade of the millennium and has since implemented them. As a result, the information system adopted by small-and-medium-sized business has greatly improved. However, the utilization of information system by small-and-medium-sized business remains half as much as its utilization by big corporations, thus posing difficulty in improving the competitiveness of small-and-medium-sized business through utilization of information system.
The change in the Korean society brought in earlier studies related to the utilization of information system. A summary of the earlier studies suggests that they have focused on success stories and big business, thus resulting in insufficient research on the characteristics and environment of small-and-medium-sized business.
In this study, I have presented a plan to upgrade the utilization of information system by small-and-medium-sized business by extracting factors that influence the utilization of information system by small-and-medium-sized business and its satisfaction with it and from earlier studies on the characteristics of small-and-medium-sized business and its utilization of information system and figuring out the relationship between the utilization of and the satisfaction with information system.
First, I have presented antecedent variables with respect to strategic values in the utilization of information system. And I have shown the antecedent variables, redefined as befitting the characteristics of small-and-medium-sized business and the utilization of information system. Second, I have extracted and presented the factors that constitute the suppliers’ support capacity from the antecedent variables involved in the small-and-medium-sized business’ characteristic introduction from external suppliers and utilization of information system. Third, I have extracted and presented the organizational characteristic factors from the antecedent variables related to the influence that the organizational characteristics of small-and-medium-sized business have on the utilization of information system.
In order to analyze the relationship between the factors that influence the utilization of information system by small-and-medium-sized business and its satisfaction with it, I collected 1,209 copies of the questionnaire from small-and-medium-sized companies that acquired information system and performed a statistical analysis on the established research model, using SPSS 18.0 and AMOS 18.0. Following demographic analysis, exploratory data analysis, reliability and validity analysis, I performed adequacy analysis and empirical analysis on the structural equation model.
The empirical analysis shows that the positive influence exercised on the utilization of information system by small-and-medium-sized business and its satisfaction with it comes from the factors of the perception of strategic value (applied in upgrading the competitiveness of products and services and supporting decision-making), the supplier’s support capacity (applied in the professionalism of a supplier and supporting education and training), and the organizational characteristic factors (applied in the level of understanding of business environment and the organizational reception of IT).
For theoretical suggestions from this study, I have presented a theory and performed an empirical analysis on the factors that influence the utilization of information system by small-and-medium-sized business and its satisfaction with it to present tested variables and parameters. Second, I have developed the definition for the factors that constitute the perception of strategic values and the parameters of which reliability and validity are established, thus creating a theoretical basis for empirical analysis. Third, as a greater variety of factors are taken into consideration by extracting and applying the perception of strategic values, a user-oriented variable which is emphasized in this study, it may help test models in future studies.
For practical suggestions from the study, I expect, first of all, that it will verify the utilization of information system by small-and -medium-sized business and its satisfaction with it and the factors that constitute the perception of strategic values, a supplier’s support capacity, and the organizational characteristic factors, thus contributing to upgrade the utilization of information system in the way of securing competitiveness for small-and-medium-sized business. Secondly, as what should be considered by suppliers of information system to small-and-medium-sized business, I have come up with securing professionalism for suppliers and supporting their education and training. Thirdly, I have come up with the level of understanding of business environment and the organization’s reception of IT, which have to be considered to upgrade the utilization of information system by small-and-medium-sized business through verifying the relationship with the factors that reflect the organizational characteristics. For policy implications from the study, it may be expected to upgrade the utilization of information system by small-and-medium-sized business and moreover, contribute to establishing policies that can exercise positive influence on the national economy.