Technology Adoption And Business Growth:Opportunities In Asia

New technologies have been at the center of the business debate in the past years as economists, policymakers and managers have tried to understand the impact of ICT on the economy, the society and the firms. This thesis analyzes the relationship between technology adoption and business growth in the context of the Asian countries, by focusing on information and communication technologies (ICT) as drivers for exports and, in particular, high-technology exports. The model is constructed on a panel of bilateral trade data between12export countries from the Asia-Pacific area, and79import countries worldwide, from2001to2010, analyzed using a Prais-Winsten regression model with panel specific standard errors. The results of this study demonstrate that when penetration of mobile phones increase by1%in one of the Asian countries, exports increase within a range of.14%-57%; for fixed line telephones, this range is.26%-62%, while broadband penetration brings an increase in exports of maximum.30%; moreover, the increase in ICT in the import country further contributes to the growth in trade. The thesis therefore claims that governments and firms in the Asia-Pacific area should continue to invest in ICT, since it is believed that ICT adoption has a double benefit on business growth, accruing at a country level, by shaping the competitive landscape and the demand conditions of the Asian-Pacific region, and at the firm level, by changing the cost structure and the sources of revenues of the companies.