THE IMPACT OF NEW TECHNOLOGY ON CUSTOMER SERVICE GIVEN BY SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISE IN AKWA IBOM STATE

THE IMPACT OF NEW TECHNOLOGY ON CUSTOMER SERVICE GIVEN BY SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISE IN AKWA IBOM STATE.

1.1 Background of the study.

Technology is the collection of techniques, skills, methods, and processes used in the production of goods and services, or in accomplishing of objectives. Small and medium enterprise is made up of enterprises which employs fewer than 250 persons, which has an annual turnover of not more than 250 million naira. Medium-scale enterprise typically result from the slow and steady growth that results from a successful small enterprise. As a company earns more revenue, it sets aside the capital needed for buildings, equipment and more employees, eventually bridging the gap between small enterprise and large corporations.

In developing and developed countries, small and medium scale enterprises play important roles in the process of industrialization and economic growth. Apart from increasing per capita income and output, they create employment opportunities, enhance regional economic balance through industrial dispersal and generally promote effective resource utilization considered critical to engineering economic development and growth.  The primary tool of the information society is the computer. Microprocessors are used to improve the performance of other technologies, and computers are increasingly used to control and integrate other kinds of information technology (e.g. TV, radio, telephones).

Many organizations use computer systems to run their inventory, control accounting, manage human resources, etc. Businesses are no longer relying on trails of paper work to conduct every day transactions. With an installed modern computer interconnectivity backbone, establishments can keep in touch, synchronize and co-ordinate activities with the utmost ease.Managers now realize that information technology can be used as an engine to speed up processes, eliminate or reduce paperwork, increase the quality of output and service delivery, decrease storage costs, and enhance information sharing and communication. They also realize that they have to achieve not only management / staff wide computer literacy, i.e. knowing how to locate, analyze, store and use information.

A firm performance is related to the ability of the firm to gain profit and growth in order to achieve its general strategic objectives [Hult, et al. 2004].  It is a consequence of the interaction between actions taken in relation to competitive forces that allow the firm to adapt to the external environment, thereby integrating competence and usefulness [Miller at al. 1998]. [Yahya et al. 2011], citing (Keizer et al.) emphasized that the firm’s innovation performance depends on the opportunities provided by their external environment. This implies that Small and Medium Enterprises becomes very competitive in an emerging market when they give importance to innovative activities that build their reputation in the market environment. Essentially, the key reason for innovativeness is the desire of firms to obtain increased business performance and increased competitive edge [Gunday et al. 2011].[McAdams 2004] investigated the relationship between firms’ performance and its familiarity with innovation and research. It was found that; outlook of firms towards innovations has high score in the competitive environments so as to gain higher competitive lead. Through an integrated innovation-performance analysis carried out by [Yahya et al. 2011] on 184 manufacturing firms operating in Turkey, the effect of organizational, product, process and marketing innovation was explored on different aspects of firm performance-innovation, production, market and financial. The results showed an evidence of a positive relationship of innovations on firms’ performance.

THE IMPACT OF NEW TECHNOLOGY ON CUSTOMER SERVICE GIVEN BY SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISE IN AKWA IBOM STATE.