A quarter of small businesses boosted by better ICT

Research by the Trinity Business School has found that small businesses and the self-employed are likely to earn more with more frequent ICT use.

Researchers found that in at least 25% of cases, small business earnings rose with the level of ICT use. Researchers also identified that the longer a operation had been running, the likelihood of entrepreneurs adopting new ICT skills fell. Earnings were lower for more reluctant adopters of new technology.

The Covid-19 pandemic has made this research more significant, given the rapid shift to digital engagement and away from face-to-face meetings.

Professor Andrew Burke, Dean of Trinity Business School and Chair of Business Studies and researcher on the study, said:

For years now, digital skills have been needed to participate in today’s modern societies and to improve one’s economic situation. But, taking into account the current pandemic, our findings have clear implications for what is, and will continue to be, the ‘new normal’ in business. It will become more important than ever before to adjust quickly to digital ways of working.”

Researchers also found that it was possible for small business owners to have too much of a good thing. According to the team from Trinity, solo self-employed workers who were overly reliant on ICT failed to leave time to maintain networks of visit clients, and made recommendations to allocate a proportion of their time to offline working.