earticle

영어

This study, by adopting case study methodology, is focused on examining the present state and analyzing the cause of the digital divide, and suggesting policies for bridging the divide, specifically in view of SMEs. We have taken cases of manufacturing companies, visiting and interviewing 18 SMEs in 10 APEC member economies which show sharp difference in usage of ICT. In order to analyze the digital gap among SMEs, we used 5 variables that are composed of computer hardware, computer software, Internet, readiness of ICT, and performance of ICT adoption, while categorizing the cases into low and high tier based on the national ICT index.
From a computer hardware perspective, the high tier (0.66) has almost double the number of PC’s per employee, compared with the low tiers (0.34). This gap can be explained by financial availability of low income and high tariff in the developing economies. In the computer software perspective, the SMEs in the low tier had some restrictive use of computer applications such as financial and accounting management and document management, while those in the high tier enjoyed more diversity in the use of applications such as inventory management, sales management, financial and accounting management, procurement management, CRM, and ERP. In view of the readiness of ICT, the difference in ICT infrastructure and financial status between the low and high tier was far wider than any other variables. As a result of ICT adoption, SMEs benefited in view of learning and growth, internal business processes, customer service, and financial affairs. To effectively bridge the digital divide between the low and high tier, actions such as setting up a secondary market of used computers among cooperating developed and developing countries, developing and diffusing good business applications, and building speedy, low-cost telecommunication infrastructures should be taken.