The new information and communication technologies and SME: an analysis on the diffusion of internet sites in the Biella district

The new information and communication technologies represent both an important challenge and an opportunity for small and medium enterprises. In case of the industrial districts, low-price technologies, easy to implement and flexible to use could give a new impulse to the competitiveness of local enterprises. This working paper, after a theoretical framework concerning the impact of ICTs on SMEs, presents an empirical analysis about the diffusion of web sites among the firms of the textile district of Biella. This analysis, led on the basis of a questionnaire, shows that the largest part of the enterprises, even if provided with a web site, never take advantage of the actual potentialities of the instrument, but they only use it as a showroom to get a better visibility, and not as a strategic support or as a platform for e-commerce.