Information technology and communications technologies, competitiveness and self-employment in Cuba

Abstract

Throughout the specialized literature, there are many studies that study the impact of ICTs on the economic growth of countries, as well as their contribution to the generation of competitive advantages in the organizations that incorporate them into their processes. At the company level, the studies have been very diverse, differing in the samples used, the sectors reviewed, the methodologies and variables used, and the results obtained. In this sense, empirical studies have demonstrated the existence of a positive relationship between these technologies and outcome variables such as market value, benefits, or productivity; the latter being one of the most used indicators. The exposure to an economy as dynamic as that of these times, means that any economic initiative must be faced with a broad perspective of the future, the environment and competition, very different from the traditional perspective. This affects the way of planning and developing it including the technological aspect, one of the main sectors of the world today. Cuba presents difficulties with existing technologies and linked to the new strategies of the state where self-employment does not have direct participation, due to the limitations existing in fundamental services for society. In this way, the systematization and contextualization of these elements allows the objective pursued with the research to be contextualize the theoretical-conceptual and methodological elements, specifying the need for their evaluation as an important input for development planning.