Las TIC y la productividaduna revisión crítica

Abstract

The main objective of this paper is an analysis of ICT (Information Communication Technologies) and its relationship with economic performance through a modeling of production processes and an extensive literature review. In addition, this paper analyzes the current state of research and proposes some relevant research questions. From this review, three clear conclusions can be drawn. First, the productivity paradox, as originally formulated by Solow (1987), has been revised and a great number of studies have documented the significant impact of investment in ICT on the productivity of companies, sectors and countries. This shows that what computers do in fact does appear in productivity statistics. Second, although the so-called New Economy and the high returns on ICT investment only captured the attention of the average person in the late 1990s, investment in ICT has now been increasing productivity for more than two decades. Third, and most significantly for businesses, although the returns on investments in ICT are on average positive, there has been a wide range of performance levels for different companies so that some achieve much better results than others. These results can be explained by idiosyncratic differences between companies which translate into different opportunities for using ICT productively. In short, ICT is not only a tool for the automation of processes but, more importantly, it facilitates organizational changes and can lead to additional gains in productivity.