Journal of Business and entrepreneurial
July - September Vol. 6 - 3 - 2022
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Information systems in the process management of
commercial SMEs in Canton La Troncal.
Sistemas de información en la gestión de procesos de las
pymes comerciales del Cantón La Troncal
Juan Luis Torres Gutama
*
Luis Stalin Jara Obregón*
ABSTRACT
The study will be carried out in Canton La Troncal, the objective
is to analyze the importance of information systems in the
process management of commercial SMEs. The study was
developed under a qualitative approach since it is supported by
a bibliographic documentary review. The type of study is
descriptive, with a non-experimental design, since the variables
were not manipulated in the analysis, only recorded. The results
obtained from the study show that information systems in the
process management of commercial SMEs allow small and
medium-sized companies to advertise their catalog of products
and services much more quickly and at a lower cost. It is
concluded that technology is key to streamline commercial and
productive processes.
Keywords: Information systems, TPS, information systems
implementation, process management, Canton La Troncal.
RESUMEN
El estudio se llevará a cabo en el Cantón La Troncal, el objetivo
es analizar la importancia de los sistemas de información en la
gestión de procesos de las pymes comerciales. El estudio fue
desarrollado bajo un enfoque cualitativo puesto que está
respaldado por una revisión documental bibliográfica. El tipo de
estudio es descriptivo, con diseño no experimental, debido a
que en el análisis no se manipularon las variables solo se
registraron. Los resultados obtenidos del estudio evidencian que
los sistemas de información en la gestión de procesos de las
pymes comerciales, permiten que las empresas pequeñas y
medianas puedan dar a conocer su catálogo de productos y
*
Student, Universidad Católica de Cuenca, San Pablo de La Troncal campus.
juan.torres@est.ucacue.edu.ec, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5719-5350
*
Engineer, Universidad Católica de Cuenca campus San Pablo de La Troncal
lsjaraob@ucacue.edu.ec, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4958-5698
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servicios de forma mucho más rápida y a menor costo. Se
concluye que la tecnologÃa es clave para agilizar los procesos
comerciales y productivos.
Palabras clave: Sistemas de información, TPS, implementación
de sistemas de información, gestión de proceso, Cantón La
Troncal.
INTRODUCTION
In the current context ICTs, are very useful tools for society because they have become
indispensable resources for the development of the activities of organizations (Mexican
Internet Association, 2018)
For Razak, et al, (2018), Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) guarantee
business success, however many owners, managers and employees are unaware of the
importance of the application of ICT, in companies since, these can achieve greater
productivity, profitability and competitiveness.
In this sense, Guzmán, et al, (2016)state that among the main advantages offered by ICTs
to SMEs is the economic performance since it improves the efficiency and effectiveness
of the company. It also generates greater productivity growth and expansion, since small
companies can grow and export their products to international markets and at the same
time compete with large corporations.
The study is important because SMEs have increased, for example in the European Union
there are 23 million SMEs representing 99% of all companies in the EU, which generate
employment for more than 75 million people.
In Latin America, SMEs represent 99.12% of the total number of companies and generate
64.6% of employment. (ECLAC, 2020). According to these data it can be determined
that the participation of SMEs in the national economy of Latin American countries is
fundamental because it represents an important source of national income as in the case
of Peru who leads with 98.10% of small industries, in Mexico small businesses represent
95.50%, while in Colombia they reach 93.20%, in Chile they represent 90.40%, the same
happens in Brazil with 85.40%, also in Argentina where 81.60% are microenterprises,
finally Uruguay is with 83.80%. (Ron & Sacoto, 2020).
In Ecuador, SMEs represent 95% of the productive units, generating 60% of employment
and 50% of production. According to Delgado and Chávez (2018)Ecuador is a country
of micro and small enterprises, which have proven to be the main engine for the
development and economic growth of the country.
In our country the main business fabric is found in the provinces of Pichincha with
206,911 companies representing 23.4%, followed by Guayas with 165,971 companies
corresponding to 18.77%, in third place is the province of Manabà with 78. 608,
representing 8.89% of companies. According to a report presented by INEC, small and
medium commercial enterprises in Ecuador are engaged in wholesale and retail trade,
manufacturing, agriculture, livestock, forestry, fishing and mining and quarrying. (INEC,
2020)
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However, in order for these companies to be able to compete in the markets, it is
necessary to implement information systems that allow them to improve their
commercial activities.
In Canton La Troncal, there are 183 commercial SMEs, in which it can be observed that
their owners or managers do not have computer systems to achieve successful results.
Taking into account that currently commercial SMEs are highly competitive, it is
necessary to implement strategies to counteract the effects of competition.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), are at the service of small and
medium enterprises (SMEs) to innovate, reduce costs, increase market share, improve
service quality and product quality. (Garcia, 2019)
In this sense, Scarabino and Colonnello (2009)point out that SMEs use ICTs to improve
the company's performance. In other words, by implementing ICTs in SMEs, they will
improve communication, as well as business effectiveness and efficiency, and customer
satisfaction.
According to Valdés and Sánchez (2012)SMEs are a group of small and medium-sized
companies that generate employment and economic growth for the country. In
Ecuador, an SME is small when it has 10 to 49 employees and medium-sized when it has
50 to 199 employees.
In fact, ICTs are essential for small and medium enterprises to succeed in their economy.
That is to say that ICT, in SMEs, allow to improve the performance of the company
because they have tools such as websites, e-commerce to increase business activities
and at the same time improve the economic performance of the company. (Slusarczyk,
2020)
Importance of ICTs in SMEs
SMEs are generally managed by their owners or a group of families, who do not have an
annual sales ceiling. Pablo Zambrano Pontón (2017)mentions that these entrepreneurs
cooperate in an organized manner, use their knowledge and human, material, economic
and technological resources to develop products or services in exchange for a profit.
Operations support system
The decision support systems allow the establishment of guidance criteria so that SMEs
can determine the direction to be followed by the business, by means of a redirection
based on the needs of the market to which their operations are directed, since through
the operations support system the manager can identify the appropriate decisions based
on a global analysis of the state of business operations.
Decision support system
Due to the fragility of SMEs, it is necessary for owners, managers or employees to have
alternatives that are within their reach, allowing them to provide tools that facilitate
decision-making within organizations. It should be added that these systems are
developed through the analysis of various factors that are carried out through the
collection of information, and above all an adaptation of different business models and
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experiences that allow to identify and provide solutions to the problems or challenges
that come from decision making. (Scarabino & Colonnello, 2009)
Transaction processing systems
These transaction processing systems allow SMEs to collect, store, modify and retrieve
a large amount of information about the transactions generated during their operations.
The purpose of this system is to monitor this information and improve efficiency in
operations. Within this aspect, it is important to mention that offering a quick response
guarantees reliability among the different actors of the commercial process. (Guzmán,
Guzmán, & Fuentes, 2016).
Implementation of information systems
The implementation of an information system makes it possible to know which products
are most regularly purchased by customers, which is very important for sales planning.
In fact, by implementing the customer information system, the company will be able to
generate greater productivity and efficiency, thus optimizing resources. (Arribas, 2014)
Among the main advantages of implementing information systems are:
• Speed in the processes. Facilitate the selection of raw materials, sales, logistics
and payment to suppliers.
• Better service. Improved service provides competitive advantages over larger
companies.
• Advertising. Creation of web pages to publicize the services to potential clients
in order to increase the client portfolio.
• Increased sales. By implementing information systems, small or medium-sized
companies become much more competitive since they have preference with
other companies that have not implemented them (Lara, Lopez, & Vazquez,
2018).
MarÃa Slusarczyk Antosz (2020)carries out a study on ICTs in SMEs. The author analyzes
SMEs in different European and Latin American countries, including Ecuador. The study
highlights that SMEs are mostly created in family units and work independently. It also
points out that these companies are characterized by creating wealth and local
employment and therefore boost the economy and contribute to the creation of new
jobs.
In other words, by implementing Information and Communication Technologies (ICT)
in SMEs, it will be possible to unify markets. Therefore, it is necessary for small and
medium-sized companies to take advantage of technology, because this is the only way
to maintain constant communication with suppliers, customers and partners. However,
he clarifies that in order to implement ICTs in SMEs it is necessary that the company
has trained personnel to improve productivity and competitiveness of the company.
Vargas Ortiz Luz Elena, et al (2019)This author argues that small and medium-sized
enterprises (SMEs) are very important in the economic field because they generate jobs
and reduce poverty, hence the importance of SMEs in the country's economy.
Guzmán et al. (2016)conducted a study on the analysis of the use of ICT in SMEs in
Guayaquil in 2015. The study shows that in the current era the use of technology is
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essential either to buy or to sell, since this type of trade can be done from anywhere in
the world.
In fact, the use of ICTs in small and medium enterprises, since they facilitate
communication with customers, the marketing of products and cost reduction in
marketing plan. This results in a greater tendency to innovation, more capacity to buy
and sell products and services that are in accordance with the needs and demands of
consumers.
The study on information systems in the process management of commercial SMEs in
Canton La Troncal, was developed under a quantitative approach since it is supported
by a literature review of several authors of articles in duly authorized indexed journals.
The type of study is descriptive, with a non-experimental design, since the variables were
not manipulated in the analysis, only recorded.
The descriptive method was used in the study in order to describe the study problem
as well as the theoretical framework that supports the research. According to Guevara,
Verdesoto, and Castro (2020)descriptive research makes it possible to clearly describe
each of the components of reality and to clearly explain the causal relationships that
make it possible to approach a specific problem and try to determine the causes that
give rise to it.
Similarly, Hernández and Mendoza (2019)argue that descriptive research allows the
researcher to use several concepts and variables in order to know the causes and
consequences that originate the problem under study. That is to say that descriptive
research will allow to know the opinion of several authors on information systems in
the process management of commercial SMEs.
In the study on information systems in the process management of commercial SMEs in
Canton La Tronca, research was conducted in 2 theses related to the topic of study on
SMEs in Canton La Troncal, 7 books on the application of ICT in SMEs, 6 scientific
journals in which the importance of the use of information systems in the management
of processes of commercial SMEs is made known, 2 scientific articles in Scielo and
Redalyc on ICTs in SMEs and 5 Internet pages that made known the importance of SMEs
in the global context.
RESULTS
Once the state of the art was conducted, it became evident that there are several articles
related to the topic of study on information systems in the management of processes of
commercial SMEs, which show the importance of the use of information systems in
SMEs, allowing small and medium-sized companies to publicize their catalog of products
and services to achieve a much faster expansion and at lower cost.
In this aspect Vargas et al. (2019)considers that SMEs are able to show the catalog of
their products through e-commerce which offers certain advantages to greatly reduce
advertising costs. In this way SMEs are able to adapt to management processes in various
places and above all a greater interaction of sellers and buyers energizing the economy
and supporting the growth of the country at the same time.
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According to a study conducted by Arguello (2019), since 2017 a large percentage of
small businesses fail quickly even before three months of existence, this is mainly due to
lack of innovation, so as seen in other countries the use of technology and devices
conducive to transform and increase the added value of production.
According to data provided by MarÃa Slusarczyk Antosz (2020) in Ecuador, SMEs
represent 95% of the productive units and generate more than 70% of total employment
within the national territory. Vargas, et al (2019)reports that the contribution of small
and medium-sized enterprises represents more than 25% of the national GDP in
Ecuador.
According to these data, in our country, SMEs represent 95.40% of the total number of
companies registered nationwide, small companies represent 3.80%, medium-sized
companies represent 0.60% and large companies represent 0.20%.
In Cañar Province, the main economic activities carried out by SMEs are wholesale trade,
followed by service companies, transportation, manufacturing, construction and other
activities.
These results indicate that a high percentage of SMEs are engaged in wholesale and retail
trade, which represents 28% of the total number of registered small and medium-sized
companies, followed by the provision of services with 21%, companies engaged in
transportation with 13% and manufacturing and construction companies with 9%, while
the sale of real estate represents 7% and services rendered 5%.
In this regard, Arce et al. (2019)point out that small and medium-sized enterprises in
Cantón La Troncal lack strategies to strengthen the current market and achieve greater
profitability, so they propose the use of information systems. E-commerce is an
excellent option for small and medium-size companies to publicize their product catalog
and thus increase their sales. Ekos negocios (2021) makes known that e-commerce
grew by 17% compared to 2019, while sales by physical means have decreased by 17%,
on the other hand retail sales have increased by 14% compared to the previous year. So
it can be highlighted that wholesale trade has increased by 11% .
Solis et al. (2017)state that microenterprises have an important role in economic growth,
through innovation and especially for their ability to adapt to new circumstances.
Therefore, sales through information systems in the last year have increased
considerably, making SMEs adapt to electronic commerce and increase their sales,
achieving greater economic growth. Based on the results obtained, access to technology
is key for SMEs in Canton La Troncal, since the digitization of markets has facilitated the
implementation of these new technologies, improving communication with potential
customers.
Complementary studies should be carried out to identify the causes that motivate
microentrepreneurs not to take the technological leap, taking advantage of the
availability of information systems nowadays within everyone's reach.
As future work, it is recommended from the academy to encourage SMEs in Canton La
Troncal, to benefit from information systems and improve the marketing of their
products through digital platforms.
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CONCLUSIONS
SMEs undoubtedly represent the most productive sector that contributes to the
country's economy. Therefore, it is considered that technology is key to streamline
commercial and productive processes, generating greater profits for companies and
generating more jobs for the community. The banking sector has been key to this
development, introducing merchants to carry out economic transactions and thus
facilitating trade, increasing confidence among consumers.
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