ABSTRACT
In this study we examine emerging nexuses between information and communication technology (ICT), finance, and growth. It assess the association between ICT usage and finance constraints and firms' internationalisation decisions. The study is based on the cross-section of firm-level data from the World Bank Enterprise Survey (February 2021 update) covering 139 emerging economies over the period from 2006 to 2019. We find that firms' performance (labour productivity) is positively correlated to ICT usage and negatively to financial constraints. Some of the ICT proxies are conditioned on worker qualifications: firms with a higher share of non-production and skilled workers gain more from the ICT employed. Additionally, enterprises present in foreign markets are on average characterised by higher ICT usage. Some ambiguous results are found in this aspect as far as financial conditions and firms' internationalisation processes are considered. Finally, the firms' first adjustment to COVID-19 is reported.
