Performance Improvement in Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises Due to Information Systems Implementation

Abstract

The importance of integrated information systems in large firms is widely accepted by academicians and practitioners. The need for information systems adoption has been proved beyond a doubt for large firms. Small and medium-sized enterprises can also improve their performance by implementing modern information systems. This case study analyzes the benefits of information systems implementation by comparatively highlighting the performance of three small and medium-sized enterprises with varied extent and nature of information systems in them.ENTERPRISE RESOURCE PLANNING SYSTEMS (ERPs) put high financial burdens on the firms that use them due to the needed heavy investment in information technology infrastructure. It is essential to weigh the benefits against the heavy costs associated with implementation of modern enterprise resource planning systems. Benefits obtained by large firms by implementing modern enterprise resource planning systems have been analyzed by various researchers in great depth. However, very few studies have been carried out on cost-benefit aspects of modern information systems implementation in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). This article emphasizes cost-benefit aspects of information systems implementation through the case study of three small and medium-sized enterprises in India. The first company has a legacy system relying on manual records. The second company has a well-defined enterprise resource planning (ERP) system with heavy investments in an information technology (IT) infrastructure. The third company has a cloud-based architecture for management of enterprise resources. The first company is intentionally included in the analysis to provide a baseline for comparison of performance improvement due to the adoption of modern information management systems.The major motive behind this research is to identify whether there is significant improvement in performance of firms due to implementation of modern information systems, including cloud-based systems, and to compare the benefits with the costs involved in implementing the systems. The findings of this research clearly reveal the benefits of implementing information systems (ISs), especially cloud-based systems, in small and mediumsized enterprises. These findings will definitely encourage executives to implement information systems in small and medium-sized enterprises and to understand the comparative benefits of various information systems.Th e authors and researchers would like to acknowledge the executives of all three of the enterprises in Mumbai and the Navi Mumbai region in the Maharashtra state of India for providing access to information within their companies and providing valuable information through interviews.Th e authors are grateful to the referees and the editorial offi ce for helping to submit this article in its present form.

The information technology role in supplier-customer information-sharing in the supply chain management of South African small and medium-sized enterprises

“…IT through computers and the world wide web (internet) has increased the speed of communication tremendously, making it possible to reach any corner of the world. A key objective of entrepreneurial information management is to ensure that valuable information was acquired and exploited to its fullest (Narkhede et al 2013). The long-term cooperation and coordination of information sharing in supply chain leads to improvements in competitiveness of the enterprises involved (Lotfi et al 2013:298-304).…”