Information technology as an enabler of growth in firms: An empirical assessment

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Mitra, S
• 署名单位: University System of Georgia; Georgia Institute of Technology
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEMS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0742-1222
• DOI: 10.1080/07421222.2005.11045847
• 发表日期: 2005
• 页码: 279-300
• 关键词: free cash flow; research-and-development; TOBIN Q; INVESTMENT; performance; PRODUCTIVITY; finance; IMPACT; gains

摘要

This research provides empirical evidence of the role of information technology (IT) as an enabler of growth in firms. We postulate that as a firm grows larger, a superior IT infrastructure increases the productivity of other inputs by controlling the complexity-related costs that the firm incurs as it increases in size. In the empirical analysis to support this view, we find that firms with high-growth expectations increase their IT spending as their free cash flow increases, whereas low-growth firms maintain a constant level of IT spending, irrespective of their free cash flow. Further, we analyze the effect of IT investments in one period on growth-related metrics in subsequent periods. We find that a superior IT infrastructure significantly reduces the cost of operations for high-growth firms in subsequent periods. In summary, the theory and empirical evidence presented in this paper point to an indirect but important contribution of the IT infrastructure to a firm's growth.