This article condenses various empirical results on the effects of the introduction of information technology has at the aggregate and organizational level.
Although the bulk of the authors consulted statistically verify the significant benefits derived from advances in information technologies, for such a virtuous circle to take place, essential critical elements are required. Likewise, it is pointed out that both the improvement in the information process and the use of the Internet have led to significant effects on the geographical conformation of productive relationships. Finally, the case of e-finance is studied, which refers to the introduction of information technology to the financial sector.
Introduction
The rapid advance in information technology has impacted practically all activities in modern society. Today, it is unthinkable to wake up without the Internet, or without information systems in the workplace. In this sense, most economic activities require the presence of technological advances to translate into efficient processes, and above all, to give dynamism to all productive sectors of the economy.
Although it is a generally accepted idea that technological advances, especially information technology and the Internet, have favorably impacted the efficiency of economic activity, it is important to review the literature that identifies the impact of such advances on the productivity of organizations.
In this situation, this article collects some results from various research articles and publication reports that indicate that the adoption of advances in information technology (IT) brings with it beneficial effects. However, investment in IT is not enough, but it must be accompanied by adequate implementation and a change in the organizational culture so that higher levels of productivity materialize.
Likewise, it is pointed out that the positive impact of IT is not only remitted at the microeconomic level, but at the macroeconomic level it has favored productivity and economic growth in the countries in per capita terms.
In the second part, the case of the impact of information technology on financial transactions and on various activities in the financial sector is analyzed. Specifically, it is commented that e-finance, a concept that he calls the implementation of technological advances to carry out financial transactions, has favored exchange.
Methodology
This article was prepared by extracting the arguments of renowned authors on the subject of information technologies, and economic and financial measurement. The ITESM digital library was consulted and the most relevant articles for the topic to be developed were located. The databases from which the bibliographic documents were collected were: EBSCO Premier, Esmerald, IEE Explore, JSTOR and Proquest.
VIRTUOUS EFFECTS OF ADVANCES IN INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
The 1990s were a key decade for what is called the information or computer revolution. According to Jorgenson and Vu (2005), the great advances in the technological platform for information processing, digital and satellite data transfer, and the advancement in telecommunications had a positive influence on business processes in the world. This new way of business, governmental and social organization has been translated into new forms of organization, production processes, ways of communicating and ways of interacting between human beings. However, it is necessary to identify the effects that the information revolution has conferred on economic activity.
In their study on the macroeconomic impacts of investment in technology, Martinsons and Martinsons (2002) statistically demonstrated that the introduction of technology projects for information processing does not depend on the amounts made, but on what is done with it. On the other hand, Yoo (2003) found that the virtuous impacts of information technology permeate the entire economy by demonstrating that investment in information technology favored per capita GDP growth in a sample of 56 developing countries. developing.
At the same time, various studies have attempted to measure the impact of advances in information technology at the industrial level. For example, Stiroh (2002) found that the effects of investment in information technology spread through multiplier effects to other sectors via the productivity of labor. In particular, the industries that implemented advances in information technology in their production processes considerably increased the productivity of their operations. The author estimated that productivity in this sector increased by 0.9 percentage points after the IT boom of the 1990s. Likewise, Stiroh affirms that the multiplier effects of investment in technology are transferred to other industries,which creates a virtuous circle between investment in technology-productivity-performance.
In the case of multiplier effects generated by investment in information technology, there is strong evidence that supports the existence of substantial improvements in total factor productivity not only in IT-intensive industries. In this sense, the study carried out by Neil and Lawrence (2001) provides important insights in this regard. The authors point out that tertiary industries, that is, those focused on generating services, have been significantly benefited by the introduction of technological advances that have allowed them to accelerate the processing of information in their value chains. It is estimated that the improvement in this case is 1.6 percent compared to the level registered before the implementation of the information technology projects.
Despite the attractiveness of investing in the design of a technology strategy, the benefits do not come automatically. Clemons and Wilkinson (1996) point out that the implementation of technological advances in organizations entails significant increases in productivity and efficiency in business processes. However, the results and benefits derived from said investment projects are subject to the internal and external conditions present at the time of implementing technological advances. Thus, there are three critical elements that condition the realization of benefits in a competitive environment:
- Adequate implementation Institutional framework
Table 1
One of the most important aspects, and at the same time, the most difficult to adapt is precisely organizational change. It is very important that companies build the necessary foundations so that the human factor of the organization sees advances in information technology as an ally and not as an enemy.
In this sense, Gattenio (2002) points out that investment in technology does not in itself represent a source of competitive advantage, but rather that more elements are required that allow said investment to enhance the efficiency and productivity of business processes. Among the main suggested actions are:
Link business units through information technology
Link the implementation of information technology to the benefits received by employees, customers and businessmen, and
promote the transaction of operations in real time.
Along with technological advances in the transfer, management and analysis of information, the massive use of the Internet has brought important benefits to society. According to Daly (2000), the impact of the Internet can be summarized in three fronts: 1) lower transaction costs, 2) changes in business processes, and 3) greater efficiency in operation and competition in markets. See Table 2.
Table 2
Transaction costs have decreased considerably as the reduction in telecommunications services worldwide has favored the interaction between the parties involved. In turn, advances in information technology have reduced the time to complete business processes and improved the functioning of markets through increased competition, thereby reducing the costs of producing goods and services.
In the same situation, Leamer and Storper (2001) comment that the use of information technologies to communicate has led to a dispersion of productive activities, thereby favoring the regional economic development of various geographical areas. In particular, it is expected that the intensive use of information technologies will provide better opportunities for developing countries, which invest significantly in education and research, to become centers of intellectual activities through the exchange of knowledge with the countries of the first. world. In addition, it will facilitate the generation of global brands with local resources thanks to advances in telecommunications.
In addition to the great benefits that have been obtained due to advances in information processing, the introduction of such technology brings with it some disadvantages. In this sense, the extensive use of the Internet also entails difficulties derived from the excessive dependence on said application. According to Leamer and Storper (2001), the negative impacts of the Internet are mainly: the interdependence of productive activities in real time and the temporal agglomeration of various activities. These two disadvantages have resulted in greater stress and saturation of telecommunication lines.
In addition to the above, the arrival of the technological revolution has promoted the formation of a mass of skilled labor in the management of computer systems. In fact, the generation of an educated workforce represents a latent need to ensure that the benefits derived from the introduction of technological advances. Specifically, Dedrick, Gurbaxani and Kraemer (2003) point out that in order to ensure that the benefits of investment in IT are sustained, it is necessary to implement schemes so that the human factor has a better educational and technical level. In accordance with this, Vejovar and Lesjak (2007) identified that it is essential to educate people so that the implementation of new technologies is translated into better business practices.
THE ARRIVAL OF E-FINANCE
The introduction of advances in information technology has occurred in practically all sectors of the economy. In the particular case of the financial industry, this phenomenon has given rise to the coinage of the term “e-finance”. This term refers to the application of data processing technologies to financial information technologies.
According to Hauswald and Marquez (2003), e-finance has fostered a deepening of the global financial system, since it has favored the creation of specialized commercial instruments and services, in accordance with the particular demands of clients. In aggregate terms, the introduction of new technologies for the processing of financial data has improved and deepened the analysis of financial information through three fronts: 1) the reduction of costs in data processing, 2) the creation of spillovers to all the financial system and 3) improvement in decision-making. In sum, these three factors have played an essential role in the gradual reduction of prices and greater access to financial instruments worldwide.
However, the introduction of technological platforms in the financial field is not immune to the implementation problems of any advance in information technology. In the particular case of e-finance platforms, Tate (2000) identified seven fundamental steps to substantially increase the chances of success.
Table 3 shows these stages.
Table 3
It should be noted that in the case of the information store implementation, this represents the first and most important step. The security that must be guaranteed to the database that will store all the transactions of the organization must be adequately shielded against possible attacks on its infrastructure. For this reason, this phase represents the foundations of the configuration of a complete e-finance scheme.
In addition to the care taken in the design and implementation of e-finance platforms, there are factors not directly related to the type of technology implemented, which substantially influence the success of a technology project. Specifically, the management of the investment project is of utmost importance. Mahmood (2005) found that it is necessary to design mechanisms to guarantee that the benefits derived from investment in information technology projects last: 1) a multi-year plan must be considered to make the investment, 2) a mechanism must be designed to adapt the original plan if necessary, and 3) a permanent security strategy should be implemented to prevent information leakage.
In accordance with all of the above, it is vitally important to design an adequate and flexible strategy when introducing technological advances to any type of organization, since otherwise, the probability of success could be tremendously decimated.
Conclusions
Currently there is enough evidence to affirm that advances in information technology (IT) and the Internet have favored the efficiency and productivity of organizations. Despite the fact that at the end of the 90's, various research articles presented evidence that supports the productivity paradox, more than a decade after the information systems boom began, more and more authors confirm the positive effects that IT has had in business activity.
However, the virtuous effects of technological advances do not occur immediately. In other words, investment in information systems is contingent on an adequate implementation of the technology and an organizational change that seeks to make good use of these advances.
In turn, the literature review related to the subject indicates that the adoption of IT and the Internet not only favors business processes at the microeconomic level; Rather, at the macroeconomic level, the development of technological platforms boost productivity and economic growth, since it creates better conditions of competition in various industries, favors the transfer of best business practices and encourages the exchange of knowledge.
In the case of the financial sector, the emergence of e-finance has led to a greater development of financial activities, which implies the creation of specialized financial instruments, real-time transactions between companies from different countries and greater financial deepening. In fact, it is possible to affirm that the implementation in information technology reduces the integration time before a merger or acquisition process between financial institutions.
In the future, it is expected that the adoption of new advances in information technologies and Internet access will favor the gestation of poles of intellectual activity in developing countries that invest intensively in education and research, as well as promote the creation of brands. global without requiring large amounts of capital.
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