La revolucin digital, las tecnolog as de la informacin y la comunicacin (TICs) y la globalizacin imponen nuevos retos al desempeo de las micros, pequeas y medianas empresas (PYMES), principalmente en los pa ses en v as de desarrollo. Cuil es el acceso real que tienen las PYMES a las computadoras y a la Internet? Qu(r) usos le dan a estas tecnolog as? Cuil es su impacto en el desempeo de estas empresas? Basados en un extenso trabajo de campo en cinco pa ses de Centroam(r)rica, los autores abordan estas y otras preguntas, derivando en conjunto de recomendaciones de pol tica para mejorar la competitividad de las PYMES, dentro des nuevo contexto de la econom a basada en el conocimiento."

Empowerment, Transparency, Technological Readiness and their Influence on Financial Performance, from a Latin American Perspective showcases in-depth analysis, allowing companies to obtain information for a broader vision to help make decisions about intervention, market performance and strategy development possibilities.

Over the past two decades, projects supported by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) have critically examined the ways in which information and communications technologies (ICTs) can be used to improve learning, empower the disenfranchised, generate income opportunities for the poor, and facilitate access to healthcare in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean. Considering that most development institutions and governments are currently attempting to integrate ICTs into their practices, it is an opportune time to reflect on the research findings that have emerged from IDRC’s work and research in this area. “Connecting ICTs to Development” discusses programmatic investments made by IDRC in a wide variety of areas related to ICTs, including infrastructure, access, regulations, health, governance, education, livelihoods, social inclusion, technical innovation, intellectual property rights and evaluation. Each chapter in this book analyzes the ways in which research findings from IDRC-supported projects have contributed to an evolution of thinking, and discusses successes and challenges in using ICTs as tools to address development issues. The volume also presents key lessons learned from ICT4D programming and recommendations for future work.

This book contains the refereed proceedings of the 9th International Conference on Knowledge Management in Organizations (KMO) held in Santiago, Chile, during September 2014. The theme of the conference is "Knowledge Management to Improve Innovation and Competitiveness through Big Data." The KMO conference brings together researchers and developers from industry and academia to discuss and research how knowledge management using big data can improve innovation and competitiveness. The 39 contributions accepted for KMO 2014 were selected from 89 submissions and are organized in sections on: big data and knowledge management, knowledge management practice and case studies, information technology and knowledge management, knowledge management and social networks, knowledge management in organizations, and knowledge transfer, sharing and creation.

Over the past two decades, projects supported by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) have critically examined the ways in which information and communications technologies (ICTs) can be used to improve learning, empower the disenfranchised, generate income opportunities for the poor, and facilitate access to healthcare in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean. Considering that most development institutions and governments are currently attempting to integrate ICTs into their practices, it is an opportune time to reflect on the research findings that have emerged from IDRC’s work and research in this area. “Connecting ICTs to Development” discusses programmatic investments made by IDRC in a wide variety of areas related to ICTs, including infrastructure, access, regulations, health, governance, education, livelihoods, social inclusion, technical innovation, intellectual property rights and evaluation. Each chapter in this book analyzes the ways in which research findings from IDRC-supported projects have contributed to an evolution of thinking, and discusses successes and challenges in using ICTs as tools to address development issues. The volume also presents key lessons learned from ICT4D programming and recommendations for future work.