Impact of the Adoption of Advanced Information and Communication Technologies on Firm Performance in the Canadian Manufacturing Sector - ARCHIVED

This paper investigates the evolution of the industrial structure in the Canadian manufacturing sector and its relationship to technological change by examining the take-up of advanced technologies and how it is related to the stochastic growth process in the plant population. Its framework is grounded in the view that growth is a stochastic process that involves learning. Experimentation with new technologies rewards some firms with superior growth and profitability. Examining how growth is associated with the choice of different technology strategies indicates which of these is being rewarded.

The evolution of this process is studied by examining the relationship between the uptake of advanced technologies and the performance of plants in the manufacturing sector. This is done by using cross-sectional data on advanced technology use and by combining it with longitudinal panel data on plant performance. In particular, the paper examines the relationship between the use of information and communications technology (ICT) and the growth in a plant's market share and its relative productivity.

The study finds that a considerable amount of market share is transferred from declining firms to growing firms over a decade. At the same time, the growers increase their productivity relative to the losers. Those technology users that were using communications technologies or that combined technologies from different classes increased their relative productivity the most. In turn, gains in relative productivity were accompanied by gains in market share. Other factors that were associated with gains in market share were the presence of R&D facilities and other innovative activities.