The rising stakes of digital leadership ICT, e-Business and SMEs Dennis Gabor Applied University, Hungary Dr. Solt Eszter 2008.

e-readiness

e-readiness  The ability to use information and Communication Technologies to develop the economy and foster welfare  Macro level  Micro level : more detailed benchmarking to compute sub-measures for networking,applications, web-accessibility and readiness (NAWAR)

The global digital gap  Emerging countries led by Asia are catching up with the traditional leaders in digital space  The global digital gap is closing in  Not all of these measures are market-led  Leap frogging has been successful where government commitment is strong

e-readiness ranking  Denmark 1 1  United States 2 2  Sweden 2 4  Hong Kong 410  Switzerland 5 3  Singapore 613  United Kingdom 7 5  Netherlands 8 6  Australia 9 8  Finland 10 7  Austria 1114  Norway 1211  Canada 13 9

e-readiness ranking  Bermuda  Taiwan  Japan  Germany  Hungary  Latvia  Romania  India  China 56 57

Hungary: Mind the gap  Lack of connectivity has limited ICT adoption by an active and interested population  Basic ICT user’s skills among employees are above EU average, while special skills are slowly approaching the average

Key e-business trends observed in 2006  Supply chain integration  Better solutions for SMEs  ICT for customer service  Growing maturity of new technologies

New trends and issues ahead  The „missing link”  ICT outsorcing, out-tasking  Open source and software as a service  Information management

Sectoral e-business differences  Manufacturing  Construction  Telecommunications  Service sectors

e-business opportunities for Small Firms  ICT usage facilitates cooperation  The SME potential of new technologies  Metcalfe’s Law  Going international

e-business Challenges for Small Firms  Complying with ICT requirements of large firms  Lack of ICT strategy and skills  Shift of power

ICT impact on firms  ICT matters for employment and productivity growth  Anticipated future impact of ICT: tool to support planning, decision making and controlling

The importance of business environment in benefitting from ICT  Transparent, open and competitive business framework  Clear independent rule of law  Transparent, simple and accessible corporate regulation  Equal and stable legal treatment for national and cross-border transactions

Benefits of ICT and Internet use  Reducing transaction costs  Increasing the speed and reliability of transactions  Reducing inefficiences  Internet-based B2B interaction and real-time communication

Thank you for your attention! Thank you for your attention!