Professor Lorin M. Hitt
Zhang Jindong Professor of Operations, Information and Decisions
Beyond Computation: Information Technology, Organizational Transformation and Business Performance
Brynjolfsson, Erik and Lorin M. Hitt (2000). “Beyond Computation: Information Technology, Organizational Transformation and Business Performance.” Journal of Economic Perspectives, 14(4): 23-48
Publication year: 2000
To understand the economic value of computers, one must broaden the traditional definition of both the technology and its effects. Case studies and firm-level econometric analyses suggest that: 1) organizational “investments” have a large influence on the value of IT investments; and 2) the benefits of IT investment
are often intangible and disproportionately difficult to measure. Our analysis suggests that the link between IT and increased productivity emerged well before the recent surge in the aggregate productivity statistics and that the current macro evidence may understate current IT-enabled productivity growth.