Mudiarasan Kuppusamy

WHOSE ICT INVESTMENT MATTERS TO ECONOMIC GROWTH: PRIVATE OR PUBLIC? THE MALAYSIAN PERSPECTIVE

Theoretical and empirical research on the economic benefits of ICT is represented in academic and policy‐related publications worldwide. Most of these studies assess the impact of ICT in countries as a cohort and most conclude that ICT is indeed a key driver for economic growth. Nevertheless, we are of the opinion that there is room for more research on this issue, especially pertaining to developing countries such as Malaysia, in light of the extensive ICT‐based investments undertaken by the country in recent years. Consequently, we examined the effect of ICT investment carried out by both the private and public sector on Malaysias economic growth over the period 1992 – 2006 using the ARDL econometrics approach. The empirical results suggest that ICT has had a significant impact on Malaysias economic growth during this period of time, suggesting good payoffs from the investment. Specifically, ICT investments made by the private sector seem to have contributed significantly to the countrys growth compared to investments made by the government. This implies that the private sector has adapted well to the various ICT‐based policies implemented in the country over the years. This also shows that Malaysias economy is being driven by the private sector, especially by the manufacturing and wholesale industries. We are however of the opinion that in order to sustain economic growth leveraged against ICT, more concerted efforts need to be made in order to escalate ICT diffusion in the country. Such initiatives will ensure that the value potential of ICT investments in the economy is maximized, due to greater ICT‐enabled community that will translate to escalated economic growth.

A Perspective on the Critical Success Factors for Information Systems Deployment in Islamic Financial Institutions

Successful deployment of new information systems is vital for efficient business operations. Empirical and conceptual research papers have provided various success factors for IS implementation in various type of organizations. There is very limited focus on the success factors in the context of Islamic financial institutions, which is now regarded as one of key players of global financial landscape. Successful adoption to new IS applications and tools is paramount in creating and sustaining growth for financial institutions including Islamic financial institutions. This paper presents some of the critical success factors that need to be considered during or before implementing IS applications and tools in Islamic financial institutions.

Adoption of enterprise information system (EIS) in Malaysian small and medium enterprises (SMEs)

Enterprise information systems (EIS) are commonly adopted by large corporations rather than small ones because of the formers financial ability. However, in the Information Era, non-adoption is not an option for any firm size hence, the aim of this paper is to assess the adoption of EIS in small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Malaysia. One thousand questionnaires were sent to the respondents that were identified through purposive sampling technique. Two hundred and twenty or 22% completed ones were returned. The findings revealed that 48.8% of the SMEs in Malaysia have implemented the EIS platform between 2003-2005 and 28.8% have been utilizing the enterprise system before the year 2000. This implies that SMEs are early adopters of EIS and as such, should not have any problems with efficiency and productivity. Maintaining the organizational performance through information and communication technologies utilization would further enhance the SMEs competitive advantage.