ICT ADOPTION IN SMEs: DETERMINANTS, LEVELS, AND INFLUENCE ON THE ORGANIZATIONAL INNOVATIVENESS Büşra Alma Çallı 1 , Erman Coşkun 2 and Mehtap Özşahin 3 1 Sakarya University, Turkey 2 Prince Mohammad Bin Salman College (MBSC) of Business & Entrepreneurship, Saudi Arabia 3 Yalova University, Turkey ABSTRACT While ICT adoption and utilization are essential for all kind of companies for various reasons, it could be especially essential for SMEs for their sustainability and innovativeness. ICT awareness and perception is the main determinants of ICT adoption and utilization. In SMEs, ICT adoption and utilization will be dependent on a) owner/manager’s individual characteristics, b) owner/manager’s ICT awareness c) company related features. Thus, this study aims to investigate: (1) effects of company characteristics, owner/manager's individual characteristics and ICT awareness on ICT adoption and utilization (2) how the extent of ICT adoption and utilization influences different aspects and types of innovativeness. Mixed approach combining quantitative and qualitative research methods is used for gaining insight related to subject and the studied phenomenon. Data gathered from semi-structured interviews, and a developed questionnaire applied to SMEs are synthesized to reveal findings regarding the determinants of ICT adoption and utilization levels of SMEs. The developed model is being tested in Turkish SMEs. Moreover, the effects of ICT adoption and utilization levels on the components of organizational innovativeness are investigated comprehensively in this study. KEYWORDS ICT adoption, ICT awareness, Organizational innovativeness, SMEs 1. INTRODUCTION Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are drivers of the economy by constituting a major role in creating employment opportunities and developing innovations, because of agile and flexible processes. In OECD countries, SMEs constitute a remarkable part of the total enterprises, and make the greatest contribution to the economy (Scupola, 2009, as cited in Awa, Ojiabo, & Emecheta, 2015). Concentrating on SMEs, associated literature has highlighted several advantages of adopting ICT from the point of cost savings, enhancement of services, creation of new opportunities, improved access to market information, increased organizational performance and competitiveness (Giotopoulos et al., 2017; Quinton et al., 2018). Consequently, digital technologies have shifted the way in which organizations interact with the environment and their solutions to problems stemming from the business environment. Growing utilization of ICTs is the major driver of the knowledge economy (Kossaï & Piget, 2014). ICTs compromising a broad range of technological implementations, digital and telecommunication technologies and digital information facilities, are promising for advancement of SMEs (Ismail et al., 2011, as cited in Ibrahim et al., 2016). Although digitalization is not a recent concept, SMEs might not get full benefits from digitalization due to limited financial, technical resources, skilled and knowledgeable workers and adequate experience. They have considerable barriers in front of technology adoption (Dahnil et al., 2014). Nguyen, Newby and Macaulay (2015) mentioned non-existence of proper business and ICT strategies, insufficient research and planning, inadequate project management, and missing top management support as barriers in front of successful ICT adoption. Similarly, Makiwa (2018) put emphasis into insufficient organizational strategies, limited guidance and inadequate policies. 12th IADIS International Conference Information Systems 2019 285