Influence of Firm Technology on Performance at General Electric

Abstract

The world is at this moment undergoing a revolution in the information technology landscape and this has radically altered different aspects of the human life including economy, industries, education, entertainment and politics Technology has become very vital to all organizations that intend to remain competitive in the market. Therefore, organizations have embraced the usage of technology. The primary concern of this study was to establish the influence of technology on performance at General Electric Company. This study was based on two theories, that is, resource based theory and diffusion of innovation theory. The research design was a case study, it focused on the relationship between technology and performance at General Electric. The researcher used primary data for this study. Personal interviews with an interview guide were used to gather primary data for the study. Since the collected data was qualitative, a content analysis approach was chosen to evaluate response, draw conclusions and to come up recommendations. The study concludes that General Electric Company’s adoption and usage of the technology is influenced by the firm strategy, market trends, technological capability and technological relevance. Also the study concluded that General Electric Company has greatly invested in research and development to keep up with the ever emerging innovations. The company updates its technology regularly and the employees are trained on the new technology once it’s developed. The study also concluded that the use of technology at General Electric has increased its competitive position in the industry, increased sales, efficiency in distribution of products, market share and reduced costs. The technology further has enhanced customer purchase of products creating customer satisfaction and loyalty. The analysis showed that there was a positive relationship between General Electric’s performance and use of technology. The study recommends that General Electric to involve the employees more in the development of technology especially the customer facing employees since they get first hand feedback from the customer and also to improve the rate of technology adoption internally. The study also recommends that further study to be carried out on challenges facing technology adoption in Kenya.