IT Management of Chinese Firms: Quantitative Analysis by Using Survey Data

         
Author Name Xiaoyang FENG  (Tianjin University) /MOTOHASHI Kazuyuki  (Faculty Fellow, RIETI)
Creation Date/NO. March 2008 08-E-008
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Abstract

This paper presents quantitative analysis of IT use, management, and organization at Chinese firms, based on the "International Comparative Survey of Firms' IT Strategies" conducted by the Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI). The results of analysis show that Chinese firms have achieved remarkable progress with regards to the ability of IT to support business and strategies, and they have a clear comprehension of information resources and realize the importance of IT in some degree.

However, we cannot find significant impact of IT use on firm profitability. This may be due to the fact that application of IT in Chinese firms is still in transition from the IT support stage of development, and further efforts for improving IT management are needed. In terms of IT organization, the share of firms with a chief information officer (CIO) is quite large, but most of the CIOs are only IT department managers. The status of CIOs in Chinese firms is low, and their power to influence managerial decisions at the company-wide level is still weak.