Abstract: The importance of Information Technology (IT) is increasing. More and more companies are investing in developing IT. Through a survey with the owners/managers of small and medium firms in Hong Kong, it is found that the number of SMEs using IT is increasing in the attempt to gain a more competitive position in the fast-changing business environment. This research focuses on the impact of IT on organizational structure and culture. The variables to be investigated in the areas of organizational structure are complexity, formalization, decentralization, span of control, outsourcing (specialization) and lateral communication. Team working and learning are examined as organization culture. The results prove that IT has significant impacts on formalization, specialization, lateral communication, team working and learning. Also, it is clear that IT can bring numerous improvements to organizations. Daily operations become more productive and manual work is minimized.
Keywords: Information technology, information networks, internet, small and medium enterprises, organizational structure and organizational culture
