The Adoption of ICT among SMEs: Evidence from an Italian Survey

In this paper, we carry out an econometric analysis on the adoption and effective use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) among a sample of Italian SMEs. An important result is that, in order to understand the main factors that drive SMEs to the adoption of ICTs, it is useful to divide the available technologies according to a taxonomy based on their typical function. Along with general-use ICTs (e-mail and Internet access), we identify two groups of technologies (labelled production-integrating and market-oriented ICTs) the use of which is associated with different firm characteristics. In both cases, however, the availability of highly educated workers turns out to be a key factor. Policy implications are also discussed.