188 

 Volume 1. Issue 2. July 2019 

ISSN 2603-5324 

http://faba.bg 

 

On the Role of Information Technology Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises in 

Kota Blitar 

 

Anna Widayani, Ika Rachmawati, Rani Arifah Normawati 

 

Akademi Komunitas Negeri Putra Sang Fajar Blitar, Indonesia 

 

Info Articles 

________________ 
History Articles: 

Submited 12 March 2019 

Revised 30 April 2019 

Accepted 1 July 2019 

________________ 
Keywords: 

Adoption of information 

technology, MSMEs 

Abstract
 

___________________________________________________________________ 

This research was conducted to find out information technology adoption in MSMEs in 

Blitar City. Data collection was Carried out through distributing questionnaires to 56 

MSME respondents in Blitar City. The results of this study indicate that MSMEs 

enough in Blitar City have Adopted information technology, especially for promotional 

activities. However, the use of technology for administrative, financial management and 

production activities is still not optimal. The potential for information technology 

adoption in increasing the competitiveness of MSMEs in Blitar City is very large. 

MSMEs can Utilize social media and online stores for promotion and marketing, 

software for financial records, and applications for MSME development. This research 

was collected through in-depth interviews (indept interviews) and distributing 

questionnaires to MSME entrepreneurs. 
 Address Correspondence:  

   E-mail: annawidayani@akb.ac.id 
 

  



 

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INTRODUCTION 

 

The current economic development 

priorities are directed to efforts to accelerate 

economic recovery, overcoming poverty and 

unemployment increased, and efforts to increase 

the competitiveness of small and medium scale 

enterprises. Micro, small and medium 

enterprises (SMEs) constitute the largest group 

of economic actors that can contribute 

significantly to the national economy and has 

been proved to be a buffer (buffer) in the 

economy that is instrumental in improving the 

Gross Domestic Product (GDP). 

The success in the development of SMEs 

will be able to strengthen the economic 

foundation of the people, as long as it is done by 

SMEs is generally based on local resources, not 

to rely on imports, the flagship product of SMEs 

in the regions have export opportunities are very 

large because it has a unique of its own which is 

characteristic of these products. Wahid (2007) 

states that a lack of understanding of the 

strategic role played by information technology 

(IT) related to the new approach to marketing, 

consumer relations, and development of 

products and services because of the alleged lack 

of IT adoption by SMEs. There are interesting 

facts that occurred in Indonesia, according to a 

survey conducted by the Association of Internet 

Networks (APJII) the number of internet users 

in Indonesia reached 132, 7 million people, this 

means that more than half of Indonesia's 

population has used the Internet (Widiartanto, 

2016). This is expected to be an indication of the 

willingness of business people and the 

government to encourage the growth of 

electronic commerce (e-commerce), particularly 

in SMEs. 

The empowerment of SMEs in 

globalization and high competition make SMEs 

must be able to face the global challenges, such 

as improving product and service innovation, 

development of human resources and 

technology, as well as the expansion of the 

marketing area. This needs to be done to 

increase the selling value of SMEs itself, 

especially to compete with foreign products 

flooded the industrial and manufacturing centers 

in Indonesia, considering that SMEs are the 

economic sectors that could absorb the largest 

labor force in Indonesia (Sudaryanto, 2011). 

SME's strategic role and proven as a 

driver of economic growth of the people would 

need to be to develop more comprehensive and 

competitive. The competitiveness of SMEs can 

be achieved either by the use of IT to enhance 

business transformation, accuracy and efficiency 

of information exchange (Rahmana 2009), 

expand the marketing network and expanding 

market share. 

The use of information technology by the 

Micro, Small and puffy (SMEs) is an interesting 

thing to note. The use of information technology 

in support of information systems had an impact 

on almost all aspects of business management, 

and provide added value if it is designed to be an 

effective information system. Functions and a 

very important new concept of the information 

system as a Strategic Information System 

emerged in the early 1990s. In this concept, IT is 

becoming a very important component in the 

process of business products and services to gain 

a competitive advantage in the global 

marketplace and gain a strategic competitive 

which is superior to its competitors. 

 

LITERATURE REVIEW 

 

Information Technology 

information technology is part of the 

development of the terms in the world of 

information systems. The term refers to the 

information technology used in conveying 

technology and processing information, but 

basically still a part of the information system 

itself (Supriyanto, 2005). The definition of 

information technology by Suyanto (2005) is a 

form of technology used to create, save, modify, 

and use of information in all its forms. While the 

Oxford English Dictionary defines as 

information technology hardware (hardware) 

and software (software), including networking 

and telecommunications which is usually in the 

context of a business or business (Supriyanto, 

2005). 



 

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Utilization of Information Technology in 

Business 

In the business field of both trade in goods 

and services, the computer has a very important 

role to perform routine transactions, periodic 

and incidental, and the computer can provide 

information quickly and accurately. 

Management Information System (MIS) is an 

information system that has been widely applied 

to companies engaged in the trade of goods and 

services both on the large enterprises, medium 

and small enterprises (Supriyanto, 2005). A 

simple example can be seen is the use of a 

calculating machine or cash register at the 

supermarket cashier, the use of a simple 

computer application is very easy for employees 

to do their work more quickly and accurately. 

Suyanto (2005) found through the utilization of 

information technology, micro, small and 

medium can enter the global market. 

For a business or businesses, the use of 

information technology can be applied in 

various ways (Rulhudana, 2015), among others: 

Planning; Organizing; actuating; controlling  

 

DISCUSSION 

 

Utilization of information technology in SMEs  

The use of information technology by the 

micro, small, and medium enterprises in Blitar 

City is quite large. It can be seen from 48 

respondents stated that the use of information 

technology in managing their business. Only 

two respondents stated not to use information 

technology. 

 

 

Figure 1. Number of Respondents Who Use of 

Information Technology in the Run  

For those respondents who stated the use 

of information technology in business, 

information technology devices are the most 

widely used smartphone. There is also a 

respondent who use printers, telephones, and 

photocopiers to support his efforts. 

 

Table 1. Device Information Technology 

Device Information 

Technology 
percentage 

Computer 16 

Notebook / Laptop 22 

Mobile / Smartphone 59 

Others (telephone, 

copier, printer) 

3 

 

The information technology devices, 

mostly used for marketing and promotional 

activities, as well as communicating with 

customers and suppliers. There are still very few 

respondents who use the devices for the 

administration, financial management, and 

production processes. 

 

Table 2. Activity in Business Management 

Using Information Technology 

Use of Information Technology percentage 

Administration 11 

finance 9 

Production process 6 

Marketing and Advertising 37 

Communication 37 

 

Benefits perceived by respondents to use 

quite a lot of information technology, including 

ease of administration activities, facilitate 

financial management activities, improve 

product quality, expand markets and increase 

sales, and support communication with suppliers 

and customers. 

 

Table 2. Use of Information Technology 

Benefits Obtained by Respondents 

Benefits Use of Information 

Technology 

Percent

age 

Facilitate administrative activities 11 

Facilitate the financial management 8 

96%

4%



 

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activities 

Improve product quality 10 

Expand markets and increase sales 37 

Assist communication with suppliers 

and customers 

35 

 

From some 46 respondents who have 

used information technology, 40 of which are 

also utilizing the Internet to support the 

business, while 6 respondents still do not use the 

internet. The majority of respondents use the 

Internet for browsing, use the internet to send 

emails, manage websites, banking (mobile 

banking and internet banking), as well as online 

marketing (12 respondents). 

 

Table 3. Activities Undertaken by Respondents 

Using Internet 

Use of the Internet Percentage 

browsing 34 

E-mail 20 

website 16 

transaction Banking 18 

Online marketing 12 

 

Factors inhibiting the use of information 

technology in SMEs in Kota Blitar 

Although the use of information 

technology by SMEs in Kota Blitar has been 

quite a lot, but still not optimal. One possible 

cause is still a lack of training on the use of 

technology provided to SMEs in the city of 

Blitar. A total of 24 respondents (50%) state that 

had not received training on the use of 

information technology. For 50% of respondents 

had ever received training, 12 respondents (37%) 

receive training from colleges/universities, 9 

respondents (27%) received training from the 

Department of Cooperatives and Micro Kota 

Blitar, and 2 respondents (6%) gain the training 

of the Association of Micro. Some 10 

respondents (30%) received training from the 

Department of Agriculture, Community 

MSMEs, 

The training materials are given to SMEs 

is the use of the Internet (20 respondents), other 

than that most SMEs also receive training on 

website creation (11 respondents) and Microsoft 

Office (4 respondents). Some 6 respondents said 

that they had received training in online 

marketing. 

 

The potential use of information technology in 

improving the competitiveness of SMEs in 

Kota Blitar 

The potential use of information 

technology in improving the competitiveness of 

SMEs in Kota Blitar very large. From the 

research results can be seen that not all 

respondents optimal use of information 

technology. Only some businesses are utilizing 

information technology in various aspects of 

business management, such as: administration, 

financialnrecords, marketing, and promotion, as 

well as communicate with suppliers and 

customers. And if business owners pay great 

attention to the use of information technology, it 

will increase the productivity of our operations, 

as demonstrated by the results of a survey on 

Business Predictions 2017 conducted by SWA 

Magazine and PT. Deka Marketing Research. 

The use of information technology by 

SMEs can be applied in marketing, finance, 

production, and development of SMEs. In 

marketing activities, SMEs in Kota Blitar can 

utilize information technology to marketing 

activities online or digital marketing. Based on 

the research that has been done, of 46 

respondents still 8 respondents who do not use 

information technology to market their products, 

and of the 38 respondents who market their 

products online, not entirely know how to 

conduct online marketing well. 

According to Agus Muharram, 

Sekeretaris Ministry of Cooperatives and SMEs 

(www.depkop.go.id, 2017), some things should 

be owned SMEs in using social media, 

namely:Keeping attitudes and behaviors in using 

social media, for example, do not lie on the 

product sold; Being able to create a business 

network or network through social media; Can 

utilize social media to see the business 

opportunity; Having the ability to do business, 

such as marketing, product quality, and so on, to 

attract consumers; Being able to create a brand 



 

192 

and brand products that are easy to remember; 

Able to maintain consumer confidence. 

The potential increase of MSME product 

sales through online marketing in the digital age 

is very large, this is because there is a change in 

consumer behavior that is very significant. 

Currently, 84% of consumers buy goods through 

social media, like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, 

Youtube, and LINE. Thus, it would be very 

unfortunate if SMEs do not take advantage of 

social media to increase sales of its products 

(www.depkop.go.id, 2017). Billy Boen, Founder 

and CEO of Young on Top and GDIlab 

explained that in marketing their products 

through social media, SMEs must consider the 

following things: 

Knowing what she likes and swordfish 

preferably prospective customers, including also 

when the prospect opens social media; Knowing 

the opinion of potential consumers to the brand 

owned (brand perspective); Knowing what 

should be posted in social media, including 

when to do a soft sell and when to do a hard sell; 

Able to manage the expectations of potential 

consumers to the brand owned products. 

In addition to using social media, SMEs 

in Kota Blitar also be able to market their 

products through an online store, such as: 

Tokopedia, Lazada, Open Stalls, Shopee, and 

others. To face global competition and improve 

the well-being of SMEs in Kota Blitar, Blitar 

Center, Sedulur SMEs Blitar and Bank Jatim 

also have collaborated to provide Android-based 

mobile applications that can be a means of 

buying and selling for SMEs in the city of Blitar. 

If all SMEs in Blitar can access and utilize this 

application properly, it will greatly assist the 

growth and development of SMEs in the city of 

Blitar. 

 

 

Figure 2. Application Blitar SMEs as SME 

Product Purchase Forum Blitar 

 

 The potential use of information 

technology can also be optimized by SMEs to 

support its business is in the field of 

administration and financial management. 

Based on the results of the study, only 20 

respondents who use information technology for 

administration and financial management. This 

amount is very little and very need to be 

upgraded as one cause of the development of a 

business is difficult because the owners still do 

not know how to manage your finances well. 

Through the utilization of information 

technology, financial transaction records activity 

becomes easier to do. 

In the digital age, there are a lot of 

computer software and applications on 

smartphones for accounting and financial 

management. If previously SMEs are reluctant 

to do the bookkeeping for cumbersome and lazy 

to count, then by utilizing the accounting 

application on a smartphone, recording 

transactions of the financial can be done 

anytime and anywhere, as well as being easier 

because the application has been made such that 

it is easy to use and comes Similarly, the 

financial statements. With better financial 

management, businesses will know the financial 

condition of their business. The financial 

statements can also be a reference in business 

planning, as well as help as one of the 

requirements to obtain loans from financial 

institutions or third parties. 

 

 



 

193 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Figure 3. Simple Accounting Applications for 

SMEs on Android-based Smartphone 

 

In addition to marketing and financial 

management, SMEs also can both utilize 

information technology for business 

development, by expanding the network so that 

information to be obtained is also growing. 

Ministry of Cooperatives and SMEs have 

launched the App Center for Integrated Services 

of Smesco or Integrated Business Service Center 

of the National KUKM (CIS-Plut-KUMKM). 

With this application is expected that the Plut-

KUKM Facilitation Consultant can actively 

input data that accompanied the development of 

SMEs, making it easier for stakeholders such as 

the Ministry of Cooperative and SMEs, as well 

as other stakeholders in accessing the data 

(www.depkop.go.id, 2017). 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Figure 4. Applications CIS-Plut of the Ministry 

of Cooperatives and SMEs 

 

The SMEs can consult directly with the 

consultant closest companion through 

smartphones owned. SMEs can also do 

promotional products through market 

information services available in the application. 

The application also provides an online database 

service that is useful for access to finance and 

credit rating (www.depkop.go.id, 2017). By 

utilizing these applications, SMEs in Kota Blitar 

can connect with SMEs throughout Indonesia so 

that it will widen the business network. 

For young entrepreneurs, the Ministry of 

Cooperatives and SMEs have a variety of 

programs that use information technology to get 

the digital economy, including: 

(www.depkop.go.id, 2017): 

Online registration of legal entities; 

KUKM human resources and student training 

(vocational training) as techno; Program for the 

financial technology start-up business; 

Registration SMEs as a merchant in the market 

place SMESCO; Digital village to accommodate 

products of SMEs. 

The number of young entrepreneurs in the 

city of Blitar has increased from year to year, it 

can be seen from the number of young 

entrepreneurs who are members of the 

communities of entrepreneurs in the local and 

national levels. The young entrepreneur has 

advantages in terms of the procurement of 

technology when compared with older 

businesses. It becomes its potential to optimize 

the use of information technology in business 

development. The government is targeting 

Indonesia into the digital energy of Asia in 2020. 

With the increasing number of young 

entrepreneurs who are proficient in the use of 

technology, the target to achieve the number of 

SMEs that have gone online as much as eight 

million units, it is possible to achieve. 

 

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