Promoting SMEs effectiveness through innovative communication strategies and business-IT alignment
Open Access
- 14 September 2020
- journal article
- Published by LLC CPC Business Perspectives in Problems and Perspectives in Management
- Vol. 18 (3), 233-244
- https://doi.org/10.21511/ppm.18(3).2020.20
Abstract
The firm’s effective alignment of Information Communication Technology (ICT) capabilities with the SME’s business process to achieve agile communication strategies will distinguish profitable and failing firms in this global market milieu. The paper examined SMEs’ communication strategies in South Africa and Nigeria by evaluating their ability to align business and IT to promote innovation and competitive edge in their operations. Quantitative data from 230 SMEs in Nigeria and South Africa were presented. The findings indicated that the business manager’s knowledge of IT understanding is limited (= .29), the effectiveness of IT and business liaison and cooperation (= .30), and the dynamic of IT-based decision-making (= .33), and the SME’s knowledge sharing experiences through organization learning (= –.07). These findings showed a lack of communication effectiveness due to the inability to align ICT capabilities with the SME’s communications strategies. Similarly, an inverse correlation between communication and ICT infrastructure (–.26); between communication and skill (–.32); between communication and business and IT governance (–.71); between communication and ICT value that the SMEs derived from their use of information communication technology (–.78) due to lack of business and IT alignment. The paper recommends that SMEs must not rely on the acquisition of ICT infrastructure but must ensure its integration with their business processes. AcknowledgmentThe financial assistance of the National Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences- Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (NIHSS-CODESRIA) towards this research is hereby acknowledged. Opinions expressed and conclusions are those of the author and are not necessarily to be attributed to the NIHSS- CODESRIA.Keywords
This publication has 22 references indexed in Scilit:
- Information technology integration for accelerated knowledge sharing practices: challenges and prospects for small and medium enterprisesProblems and Perspectives in Management, 2019
- Analysis of IT infrastructure flexibility impacts on IT-Business strategic alignmentJournal of Industrial Engineering and Management, 2016
- Leveraging business-IT alignment through enterprise architecture—an empirical study to estimate the extentsInformation Technology and Management, 2016
- Africa’s information revolution: technical regimes and production networks in South Africa and TanzaniaJournal of Economic Geography, 2016
- Business Intelligence System Use as Levers of Control and Organizational Capabilities: Effects on Internal and Competitive BenefitsSSRN Electronic Journal, 2015
- Factors Influencing Effectiveness of Internal CommunicationCentral European Management Journal, 2015
- The Importance of Communication in the WorkplaceIEEE Potentials, 2015
- Reputation ManagementPublished by Taylor & Francis Ltd ,2015
- The relations of employability skills to career adaptability among technical school studentsJournal of Vocational Behavior, 2013
- Strategic Alignment Maturity between Business and Information Technology in Southern BrazilJournal of Global Information Technology Management, 2009