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Friday, November 12, 2004

Study: Impact of organizational change and information technology on firm performance

1999 

Canadian firms improve their performance by investing in information technology. But these firms are even more productive when they combine investing in information technology with high levels of organizational change.

A new study has found that businesses that combine the two have high rates of improved productivity, as well as high rates of innovation.

The finding suggests that to be successful, firms typically need to adopt information technologies as part of a "system" or "cluster" of mutually-reinforcing, organizational approaches.

Using data from the 1999 Workplace and Employee Survey, the study examined the impact of organizational innovation and information technology use on the performance of companies in two sectors: manufacturing and services.

The study linked the use of information technology to better firm performance in the manufacturing sector. In the service sector, the study found that information technology and human capital go hand-in-hand and that combined, information technology and high levels of worker skills improved firm performance.

For example, the higher the proportion of workers using computers in the service sector, the better a firm's productivity performance. In addition, higher information technology use resulted in higher innovation in the service sector.

Factories with higher information technology investment were more likely to report improved productivity performance. They were also more likely to introduce innovative products and processes.

Previous research at the firm and plant level found a strong association between information technology and the performance of Canadian manufacturing plants. Plants that used advanced technologies had faster productivity growth, which was then reflected in market-share gains. Among advanced technologies examined, communications technology led to the best performance.

The study found that the interaction between information technology and organizational innovation varied from industrial sector to industrial sector.

Practices with respect to production and efficiency, as well as human resource management, were linked to better firm performance for both manufacturing and service sectors. However, the role of quality-related strategies for products and services differed between the two sectors.

The paper concluded that quality-related strategies led to better performance only among firms in the dynamic service sector. These include communication service; finance, insurance and real estate; business services; education and health; and information and cultural industries.

In contrast, production and efficiency practices and human-resource management practices resulted in better performance for firms in both the manufacturing and service sectors.

Definitions, data sources and methods: survey number 2615.

The seventh research paper from the Canadian Economy in Transition series "The Effect of Organizational Innovation and Information Technology on Firm Performance" (11-622-MIE2004007, free) is now available online. From the Studies link on the main page, under Browse periodicals and studies, choose Free and for sale, then under Studies, select Canadian economy in transition.

For more information on other papers related to the growth and development of the new economy, see the Economic transitions page of our Web site.

For more information, or to enquire about the concepts or methods used in this release, contact Wulong Gu (613-951-0754), Micro-economic Analysis Division.



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Date Modified: 2004-11-12 Important Notices