Peer Reviewed Journal via three different mandatory reviewing processes, since 2006, and, from September 2020, a fourth mandatory peer-editing has been added.
The central argument which supports this research is that Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) are not only a key element for economic and social development of towns, but also introduce new variables to the analysis of the effects of the exchange of information in the markets, such as those related to productivity and competitiveness. In addition, from a business perspective, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) play a very important role in the development of any economy, mainly because of its impact on the generation of jobs and promoting economic growth. In this study of SMEs in the metal mechanical sector of Quito, capital of Ecuador, it determines the importance that this business group gives to ICT from three different areas but they are related. The first of these is focused on determining the importance that this type of SMES gives to investments in ICT in the annual budget for management, the second relates to know what type of ICT infrastructure invests this type of SMEs in and in which productive activities they use them. Finally, the study analyzes how ICT can help this business group to face the challenges of increasing productivity and competitiveness in the domestic and international markets. By grouping these three components of the research, it will determine if there is evidence of the positive impact of ICT on the productivity of the companies.
