The Impacts of the Use of Mobile Telephone Technology on the Productivity of Micro- and Small Enterprises: An Exploratory Study into the Carpentry and Cabinet-Making Sector in Villa El Salvador (English)

Abstract

As the mobile telephone becomes universally available in developing countries, the impacts of this technology have been documented in various publications. However, a review conducted by Donner and Escobari (2010) shows that there has been a lack of research into micro- and small enterprises (MSEs). This exploratory research aims to contribute to filling this gap by presenting a qualitative case study of the impacts of mobile telephone use on microenterprises in the carpentry and cabinet-making sector in a poor neighborhood of Lima. Inspired by the Cluster Theory, the study demonstrates that: 1) the carpentry and cabinet-making sector in Villa El Salvador (VES) is mainly made up of a concentration of microenterprises and not an agglomeration; 2) the benefits of mobile telephone use are most evident in marketing and client relations, not in production; and 3) mobile telephone use is integrated into a social reality and the benefits are perceived in relation to existing socioeconomic relationships, rather than via a transformational effect.