Impact of information technology on business performance: Integrated structural equation modelling and artificial neural network approach

Abstract

In today's globalizing world, also called the information age, information and information technologies are becoming increasingly important for businesses and have become an indispensable part of economic and social life. Nowadays, it is impossible to think of a business that is far from information technology; in addition, it is important to find not only information, but also the highly accessible and reliable information. The important thing is to use information technologies effectively and efficiently. Therefore, it is expected that the effective usage of information technology will have significant positive effects on business performance. The aim of this study is to examine and analyze the impact of the intensive usage of information technologies on business performance in the supply chain process. A sequential, multi-method approach, integrating Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) with neural network analysis, was employed in this research. The information technology usage performance network was formed by using the SEM model, and the ANN model was used to predict a relationship between information technology usage levels and business performance by using these network outputs. Furthermore, the validity and reliability tests of the relevant model data were performed. (c) 2018 Sharif University of Technology. All rights reserved.