The identification of conditions and factors under which investments in Information Technology (IT) can be expected to yield tangible returns is the subject of many productivity studies. Event study methodology, which examines the reaction in the stock price to announcements of different types of IT investments, is one approach to this kind of research. In the research presented in this paper, we use event study methodology to investigate the effect of cost management systems on payoffs from IT investments. The motivation for our research is based on the assumption that companies possessing reliable cost management systems, such as Activity‑Based Costing (ABC), are less likely to make expensive mistakes when investing in IT. Furthermore, the companies that use ABC and thus know the costs of their operation, are better able to single out those IT projects which positively impact the bottom line and competitiveness. In our study, we use a sample of three companies that are adopters of ABC, to examine the impact of 81 IT investment announcements on stock prices.

While the productivity paradox has now been officially pronounced dead, the argument and the evidence for this assertion are both at a macroeconomic level. What has been less closely examined is the microeconomic impact of recent developments in ICT on the productivity of office and knowledge workers. There is an assumption, readily seen in many advertisements for mobile technology, that multi‑tasking, WiFi connected laptops, Blackberrys, smart phones and so on are good for business and make people more effective and productive. This may be true some of the time and there is some (albeit limited) research which supports claims that these technologies increase productivity. However there are also emerging concerns that, in certain environments, these technologies may actually reduce productivity in both the short and the long term. This paper examines this problem and research to date and proposes a framework for further investigation of this phenomenon.

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate IT productivity in Australia. Our model incorporates profit maximiza‑tion assumption and allows inefficiency. You have found IT hardware is the single factor which provides positive contribu‑ tion to the productivity.