Firm-level evidence of ICT adoption among SMEs of the social economy in Spain

The paper analyzes the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in the small and medium-size enterprises of the social economy in Spain, focusing on the ICT-related management of its organizations. Although ICT adoption is increasingly present in all areas of the so called Information Society, the perception of how and why the effective adoption of ICT takes place is relevant to the performance both of the social economy as whole and to their organizations. The authors study shows that the analyzed sample of social economy enterprises has, on the overall, a good ICT positioning in the Spanish business framework. The authors also found few differences on ICT adoption when size or geographical scope of the firms is considered. ICT adoption has been a priority of many social economy enterprises, allowing them to reach a fair level of ICT infrastructures and Internet presence. Furthermore, ICT adoption is seen as an opportunity to enhance their competitive advantage in the markets, mainly through electronic commerce. It is also an opportunity to improve internal management, taking advantage of the integration of electronic procedures.