Digitalization, Innovation and Productivity in South African Micro and Small Enterprises

Cyrielle Gaglio, Erika Kraemer-Mbula and Edward Lorenz
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Erika Kraemer-Mbula: University of Johannesburg

No 2022-19, GREDEG Working Papers from Groupe de REcherche en Droit, Economie, Gestion (GREDEG CNRS), Université Côte d'Azur, France

Abstract: This paper aims to study the links between the use of digital communication technologies, innovation performance and productivity for a sample of micro and small enterprises (MSEs) in a middle-income country, South Africa. Based on the results of an original survey carried out in 2019, we investigate these links for a sample of 711 manufacturing MSEs located in Johannesburg. We estimate the relations sequentially, first estimating the relation between digitalization and innovation, and secondly the relation between innovation and productivity. Our results show that selected digital communication technologies including the use of social media and the use of a business mobile phone for browsing the internet have a positive effect on innovation, and that innovation conditional on the use of these technologies has a positive impact on labor productivity.

Keywords: Digital communication technologies; Product innovation; Productivity; MSEs; Johannesburg (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O14 O31 O4 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 33 pages
Date: 2022-06
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-cse, nep-eff, nep-ict, nep-ino, nep-mfd, nep-pay and nep-sbm
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gre:wpaper:2022-19

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