Small Islands, New Technologies and Globalization: A Case of ICT adoption by SMEs in Mauritius
Kaushalesh Lal & Aveeraj Sharma Peedoly
#2006-005
This paper sets out to locate Mauritian SMEs in the present context of
global competition and more particularly to identify the extent to which
they have adopted ICTs as a tool to meet the challenges which they now
face. The essence of the argument that comes to the fore is that despite
having an impressive number of SMEs which contribute enormously to
employment creation in the country, the latter are in many ways
ill-equipped to confront the challenges of global competition. The
findings clearly show that the adoption of ICTs in SMEs is far from
being an integral feature of Mauritian SMEs despite recent claims to be
a cyber-island. Cost of communication and the lack of learning
opportunities have been found as the major impediments in the adoption
of ICTs. In turn this raises serious implications and challenges for the
SMEs themselves and the Government in order to adapt to the requirements
of globalisation.
Keywords: Small Island Economies, ICTs, SMEs, Probit Analysis.
ISSN 1871-9872