The Use of the Internet in Managing Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises in the Wielkopolska Region

The subject of the paper is the use of computers and Internet services by small and medium-sized enterprises in Wielkopolska. The author examines the relationship between Internet use and the size of the company, its level of innovation and the educational standards and gender of the company manager/owner. The author identifies factors unfavorable to e-business and recommends moves to accelerate the development of modern information technology in the SME sector. The paper discusses the findings of a 2002 survey among 106 SMEs in Wielkopolska. To show the state of computerization and Internet use by Polish SMEs, the author presents the results of a Demoskop poll commissioned by the Polish Foundation for the Promotion and Development of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises. The surveys indicate that SME computerization and Internet use in Wielkopolska are at a relatively high level compared with other regions of Poland. At the same time, computerization and Internet use grow with the size of the company and the educational standards of its owner/manager. Moreover, companies well established on the market tend to use computers and the Internet more often than those with a short market presence. Companies run by men display a similar level of computerization to those run by women. Finally, companies using the Internet are generally characterized by a higher level of innovation