A Co-design Study: The Use of ICT by MSMEs in Turkey and Indonesia

Category: 2023 Series Written by Eyup Kahveci & Tulus T.H. Tambunan Hits: 666

Eyup Kahveci
SBS Swiss Business School
University of Applied Sciences Institute
Kloten-Zurich, Switzerland

Tulus T.H. Tambunan
Center for Industry, SME and Business Competition Studies
Universitas Trisakti
Jakarta-Indonesia

 

Introduction

It is undeniable that digital technology (DT) has changed many things in business. It has changed how businesses communicate with each other or deal with their customers, distributors, and suppliers. Digital marketing or e-commerce has also changed how they promote and sell their products or purchase their raw materials. Digital marketing has now become the trend in targeting both current and prospective customers. Most people now have daily access to the Internet via computer, laptop, or smartphone. Social media is one of the best channels of online marketing, and Instagram is one of the fastest-growing platforms available today. More and more businesses are eager to establish a strong presence on this network and encourage their prospects’ engagement (Balakrishnan and Boorstin, 2017). However, evidence from many studies shows that the implementation of Internet technologies in small and especially micro-businesses has been slow. Micro and small enterprises (MSEs) resist using Internet technologies and instead continue to use printed materials to market themselves and use more traditional means to search for information and communicate with others. Many MSEs are unlikely to adopt sophisticated Internet technologies if they are not familiar with more basic ones. But, as for all other companies, MSEs have no other option than to adopt this technology if they want to survive. Sooner or later, MSEs that do not adopt this new technology and business practice will be displaced by their competitors and abandoned by their customers (e.g. Ahmada et al., 2015; Ocha, 2011; Azam and Quaddus, 2009a,b; Barry and Milner, 2002). Governments in many countries have given considerable attention to the use of DT, particularly the adoption of e-commerce, by MSEs by issuing policies and regulations to assist them to adopt this technology (World Bank, 2016; Pianta 2019). Even the development of the digital economy including access of micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to digital technology is one of the areas of cooperation among G20 member countries (The White House 2022).

 

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