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Assessing the effect of information and communication technologies (ICTs) on firm performance, specifically firm productivity, is an archetypal problem (Aral, Brynjolfsson, & Wu, 2006; Cataldo, Pino, & McQueen, 2020; Hu & Plan, 2001; Martínez-Caro, Cegarra-Navarro, & Alfonso-Ruiz, 2020). ICTs have long been viewed as a strategic tool, which serves as a prerequisite for economic and social development in the world (Castells, 1999). Societies that cannot take advantage of ICTs to gain access to new markets, increase their efficiencies and competitiveness may not enjoy the fruits of global development (Qureshi, 2011). These technologies are positively correlated with productivity (Dieppe, 2020), especially for developing economies, where they serve as a valuable economic development tool (Carte, Dharmasiri, & Perera, 2011). Productivity is a crucial element in economic growth and wealth creation, driving social development in society (Willis, 2011). In the words of Paul Krugman, “Productivity isn't everything, but in the long run, it is almost everything.” Hence, researching the effect of ICTs on productivity is a practically relevant endeavor, especially given the specific trends within human societies.
One of these trends is the low fertility rates across many countries (Winter & Teitelbaum, 2013). Lower fertility rates are expected to translate into a smaller workforce and smaller consumer base, which may eventually impede economic growth worldwide. Besides, there has been a prolonged decline in productivity growth for both advanced and emerging markets and developing economies following the 2007-09 global financial crisis (Dieppe, 2020). These developments have an adverse effect on the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (General, 2015). In this context, boosting worker productivity becomes critical, especially for countries from underdeveloped economic regions, which are generally less productive than economically developed regions (Bloom, Mahajan, McKenzie, & Roberts, 2010; Ghobakhloo & Tang, 2015). McKinsey Global Institute's report also echoes the importance of productivity-led growth for the future of the global economy (Manyika, Woetzel, Dobbs, Remes, Labaye, & Jordan, 2015).
So, if productivity is critical for societies' economic development, especially for economically underdeveloped countries, then does the use of ICTs make a difference in practice in increasing productivity? (Qureshi, 2015) Some extant studies analyze the impact of ICTs on various performance-related measures (such as labor productivity, socio-economic development, etc.) at the country level (Alderete, 2017; Bollou & Ngwenyama, 2008; Dedrick, Kraemer, & Shih, 2013; Meso, Musa, Straub, & Mbarika, 2009; Relich, 2017). These studies produce dissimilar results. Some of these country-level studies find that information technology (IT) investments result in productivity gains in higher-income economies, while this productivity gain is not observed for lower-income economies (Dedrick et al., 2013). On the other hand, a more recent study shows that the diffusion of ICTs such as Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems has a more prominent impact on labor productivity in transition economies (such as Romania and Bulgaria) compared to developed economies of the EU (Relich, 2017).