The impact of ICT use on entrepreneurial performance: evidence from Chinese microenterprises

ABSTRACT

Following the outbreak of COVID-19, information and communication technology (ICT), as a part of digital technology, was of particular help to microenterprises in obtaining resources. Drawing upon Conservation of Resources Theory, we investigated the impact of ICT use on entrepreneurial performance. To examine our hypotheses, data were collected from 206 Chinese microenterprises. The results suggest that ICT use was positively related to entrepreneurial performance, that network capabilities mediated the relationship between ICT use and entrepreneurial performance and that perceived ICT usefulness moderated the relationship between ICT use and network capabilities. Finally, the implications, limitations and future research directions will be discussed.

KEYWORDS:

• Chinese microenterprises
• Conservation of Resources Theory
• entrepreneurial performance
• ICT perceived usefulness
• ICT use
• network capabilities

Acknowledgements

We acknowledge the financial support from the XJTLU Research Development Fund (RDF-22-01-075), Qinglan Project of Jiangsu Province (2021), and IBSS Development Fund (IBSSDF-0821-34).

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Famei Shen

Famei Shen is a PhD student in the International Business School Suzhou at Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University and in the Management School at University of Liverpool. Her research interests include entrepreneurial behavior and cross-cultural management.

Jie Li

Jie Li is an Associate Professor in the International Business School Suzhou at Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University. His research interests are in the area of entrepreneurial behavior and cross-cultural management. His work has been published in such journals as Journal of Organizational Behavior, Journal of Business Ethics, and Asia Pacific Journal of Management.

Gong Sun

Gong Sun is an Associate Professor in the School of Business at Changshu Institute of Technology. His research interests include cross-cultural management and international marketing. His work has been published in such journals as the Journal of Business Ethics, Journal of Business Research, International Marketing Review, and Journal of Consumer Behaviour. He has served as a guest editor for China Economic Review, Journal of Consumer Behaviour and Frontiers in Psychology.