An Empirical Study on the Impact of Organizational Culture and Information Technology on SMEs’ Competitive Advantage and Performance

This quantitative study examines the impact of organizational culture and information technology (IT) on competitive advantage and performance among 431 small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the food and beverage sector across three cities in East Java, Indonesia.Data was collected through a survey questionnaire and analyzed using structural equation modelling (SEM).The findings show that both organizational culture and IT significantly influence SME performance directly.However, competitive advantage mediates the relationship between IT and performance, not organizational culture and performance.The results emphasize the importance of fostering a positive organizational culture aligned with company strategy to improve SME performance directly.Additionally, effective IT implementation creates competitive advantages that drive long-term performance improvements.This study provides practical implications on how SMEs can optimize organizational culture and IT capacity to improve competitiveness.