최근 논의가 진전되고 있긴 하지만 중소기업의 정보화수준에 대해서는 대기업에 비해 상대적으로 열세에 있다는 정도로 인식이 되어있었을 뿐 이론적으로 체계적인 분석방법도, 정보화 수준 향상을 통한 효과에 대해서도 증명된 연구가 미미한 정도였다. 본 연구에서는 실태조사를 통해 중소기업 전반에 걸쳐 체계적인 방법으로 정보화수준을 측정하여, 이를 대기업과 비교해 현실적인 중소기업의 위치를 재조명하고, 여기서 도출된 정보화 수준과 중소기업의 성과지표와의 관계를 알아봄으로써 중소기업의 정보화에 대한 투자의 타당성을 제시하였다. 연구 결과 중소기업이 정보화 수준이 대기업에 비해 열세이긴 하지만 정보화를 추진하고자 하는 의지와 필요성에 대한 인식은 월등히 앞서 있어, 정책적 지원을 통해 추가적인 지원이 이루어진다면 정보화를 통해 중소기업의 경쟁력도 일정 수준 이상 높일 수 있다는 결론을 얻었다. 정보화를 통한 효과에서는 특히 구축된 정보시스템을 어떻게 활용하는가가 기업경영성과에 제일 높은 영향력을 미치는 것으로 나타났으며, 매출액 뿐 아니라 향후 경영환경에 보다 능동적이고 유연하게 대처할 수 있는 조직능력을 제고하는데도 높은 효과를 가져온다는 것을 보였다. 나날이 중소기업이 경제에서 차지하는 비중이 높아지는 시점에서 국가경쟁력 향상에 높이 기여하는 중소기업의 경쟁력 회복을 위해서라도 정보화 수준 향상에 보다 노력해야 한다는 것을 보여주고 있다.
As shown in the results of numerous discussions, there seems to be no dispute on the positive effects generated by informatization. In particular, large enterprises realize a faster growth by achieving better performance through the enhanced informatization. However, even in Korea which is far ahead of its rivals in terms of informatization, there is not much systematic research to evaluate the informatization level of small and medium sized enterprises(SMEs). In particular, research on SMEs management performance driven by informatization particularly rare.This study focuses on evaluating the informatization level of SMEs in an objective manner and on analyzing its effect. To that end, survey data will be used to evaluate the level of SME informatization. Through comparisons with large businesses in all areas related to informatization, the less favorable situation of SMEs informatization will be discussed. Next, empirical analysis will be conducted in order to analyze how much the informatization can affect the business performance, and the validity of enhancing the informatization for SMEs will be proven. As for specific methods, factor analysis, a type of statistic method, was used for evaluating the informatization level in analyzing the survey data. Then, the ordered dependent variable model, which is a kind of econometric method, is applied to analyze the relationship between informatization and business performance. This model is often used when the characteristics of dependent variables are not quantitative but qualitative.The results of the analyses are as follows:First, as it is widely known, the overall SMEs informatization level in terms of facility, investment and human capacity is lower than that of large enterprises. In particular, SMEs lag badly in the areas of human resources and organizational structure. On the contrary, compared to their bigger rivals, SMEs are much more committed to carrying out informatization and are more aware of its necessity. In fact, CEOs of SMEs are changing their perception of informatization from a cost-intensive one to a benefit-intensive one. Nevertheless, because the cost of introducing an IT system remains still very high, it is not easy for SMEs to invest in upgrading the level of informatization. Secondly, improving business performance of a company does not only depend on adopting IT systems but also on their efficient application. This illustrates that SMEs can improve their business performance by making the most of existing IT systems rather than making investments to introduce new systems as is the case for large enterprises. Therefore, the future governmental policies designed to support the informatization of SMEs should also be aligned toward this trend.Lastly, to upgrade the informatization level of SMEs does not only contribute to directly improving business performance but also to ameliorating the organizational aptitude for adapting to the changes of business environment. Informatization also helps vertical and centralized organization structure to become a horizontal and decentralized structure, and enhance the organization’s competitive edge by facilitating internal communication.To sum up, this study shows the current situation of SMEs informatization and indicates where the vulnerabilities lie regarding their informatization. It also examines the business performance SMEs can realize through informatization. The results of this study will help to increase the necessity of informatization for SMEs in the years to come. The study will also provide SMEs with an opportunity to invest more in the informatization if they intend to realize better business performance.The conclusion of this study is that now that SMEs are increasing their role in the total economy, informatization is becoming an essential element for upgrading the competitiveness of SMEs.