Information Technology Adoption in Small and Medium-sized Enterprises; An Appraisal of Two Decades Literature

TLDR

SMEs are a major source of employment and innovation, yet their limited resources make IT adoption a distinct and increasingly critical process amid heightened global competition. The study aims to analyze and contrast the internal and external factors influencing IT adoption in SMEs, offering a clearer understanding to help managers, vendors, consultants, and governments. The authors conduct a comprehensive literature review of over 20 years of empirical research and case studies from multiple databases to examine IT adoption in SMEs. The resulting integrated framework illustrates the IT adoption process in SMEs by synthesizing existing literature perspectives.

Abstract

Small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) account for major source of employment, technological advancements, and competitive advantages for both developed and developing countries. Owing to the intensified competitive pressure and necessity for entering to global market undergone by SMEs, these businesses are incrementally employing Information Technology (IT) to take advantage of its substantial benefits. Most of prior researches have more focused on IT adoption in large organizations. However, and with regard to the limited resources controlled by SMEs, the process of IT adoption in this business sector is considerably different. The purpose of this paper is to analyze and contrast the internal and external issues affecting the process of IT adoption in SMEs to provide clearer understanding of this process by reviewing IT adoption literature, which includes more than 20 years of empirical research and case studies from a variety of databases with high concentration on certain SME-related issues. Proposed integrated framework demonstrates the process of IT adoption in SMEs through reviewing exiting perspectives in the literature. This study will assist different parties involved with adoption process including managers, vendors, consultants, and governments to achieve a practical synopsis of the IT adoption process in SMEs, which is believed to assist them with successful adoption.