What is Competitive Pressures

This study intends to emphasize the importance that external sources of pressure may have on the level of ICT involvement among small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Italy. While past research tends to prioritize the role of endogenous conditions for the adoption of information and communication technologies— that is, financial resources, organization conditions, management culture—the high dependence of SMEs on their environment requires paying especial attention to external pressures as well. Both competitive and institutional pressures are proposed and tested through an ordinal regression model on a sample of 285 SMEs. The results suggest both policy and management implications.