Determinants of digital technology use by companies

Advances in digital technologies are transforming the way firms function, how they are structured and the manner in which they compete. This paper contributes to our understanding of digital technology usage by assessing changing patterns in the use of hardware and software and identifying the extent to which various plant characteristics and policy environments correlate with ICT investment. The results suggest notable changes in the use of a number of digital technologies across countries between 2000 and 2012. A range of establishment-level determinants appear to be important for hardware and software investment including size, being in a knowledge intensive sector and if the establishment is the headquarters. The effects of policy measures however are markedly different across various ICTs. Heterogeneity in the effects of policy indicators on a number of ICTs suggest a reconsideration is needed regarding the relevance of traditional aggregate policy measures for digital technology use.