Check-up methodology of information systems in manufacturing SMEs

Italian companies’ expenditure in Information Systems (IS) is lower than in other industrialized countries; this is due to a complex mix of factors, mainly related to a cultural deficiency. The lack of investment and expenditure in IS, especially within Italian SMEs, can be considered a relevant factor in explaining the sharp decrease of Italian competitiveness on international markets in the last 5-10 years. Aim of this paper is to present the IS Check-up Methodology developed at the INF-OS research centre; the main scope of this methodology the management IS within manufacturing SMEs, that is investigated with a twofold purpose: (i) at a general level, identifying and measuring the relations among the endogenous/exogenous factors, the IS choices and the results achieved; (ii) at a single firm level, supporting the analysed SMEs by supplying evidence on their IS policies’ strengths and weaknesses, in order to address new and more effective IS investments.