Information and Communication Technology for Development of Small and Medium-Sized Exporters in East Asia : Thailand

It is generally recognized that SMEs are presently the most important and fundamental organizations for accelerating national economic development. They play crucial roles and functions in helping large enterprises increase production efficiency by supplying primary spare parts and components. Even though IT is the key element for international and domestic trading, only a small number of Thai SMEs use IT for increasing their productivity and efficiency and for trading. Since the world economy is becoming a digital economy, the uses of electronic networks or electronic media should not be ignored. Consequently, Thai SMEs in general are unable to compete on the world market.Thai government has recognized the benefits of IT use for SMEs. However, the cost of using IT may be too high for small organizations. The government is planning to create a positive environment for SMEs by using IT for SME capacity building, financial assistance and human resource development. E-Government is one of the projects designed to ease all barriers of IT use by SMEs