Investigating the Impact of Information Technology on Improving the Efficiency of Companies in Tehran Stock Exchange

Objective: The emergence of information technology has led to a huge transformation in the world of business. However, the type and degree of impact of information technology and its different parts onthe efficiency of companies is not known; Efficiency in economics is a broad concept that is used to indicate the state of best possible performance and includes the minimum cost of producing goods or services, the maximum amount of production and the maximum market performance. (ODonnell, 2018). Recently, rapid technological developments have made companies use information technology to ensure their growth in order to survive in the business competition (Fadhilah & Subriadi, 2019).
In Iran, the importance of this technology in the field of industry, economy and trade has not been properly clarified for managers and capital owners. Therefore, it is of great importance and necessity to conduct a research that shows the impact of the use of information technology on the efficiency of companies in a documented manner and using data from various companies at different times. Also, information technology has different parts (hardware, software, database, network, human resources) that the use of each sector requires investment and spending the company's limited resources in those sectors. Now, focusing on which part can have a greater effect on efficiency is also an issue that is addressed in the current research. Therefore, the current research tries to address this issue by using econometric models and relying on real data. Therefore, the main goal of the current research is to investigate the effect of information technology on the efficiency of companies admitted to the Tehran Stock Exchange, and based on this, the main and sub-hypotheses of the current research are proposed as follows:
Information technology has a significant impact on the efficiency of companies.
Investment in hardware, investment in software, investment in database, investment in network and investment in skilled human resources have a significant impact on the efficiency of companies.
Method: The current research aims to investigate the impact of information technology on improving the efficiency of companies with an analytical-applicative approach. The statistical population of this study includes companies admitted to the Tehran Stock Exchange during the 5-year period from 2014 to 2019. And the research sample is the data of 41 companies that were selected using the systematic elimination sampling method. The variables examined in this research include the dependent of the companys efficiency information technology in five areas:hardwared) Hardware-Inv_i,(, software (software-Inv_ij), network and communication facilities (Network-Inv_ij), database (Database-Inv_ij)‌ and investment in skilled human resources  (Humanresources-Inv_ij), company size and risk. The method used in this research (in order to investigate the relationship between independent and dependent variables) is the pooled data model.
In order to estimate the model, we first use Limer's F statistic to determine the presence or absence of width from separate origins for each section (using the methods of combined regression patterns and panel data pattern); If the combined regression models are not confirmed, the Hausman test is performed in order to use one of the fixed effects model and the random effects model for estimation. The models investigated in the current research are derived from the model (Fadhila and Sobriadi, 2019).
Result: The findings of the research indicate that information technology and its components have a positive effect on improving the efficiency of companies admitted to the Tehran Stock Exchange. In this equation, the role of the controlling variable of company size is also confirmed. In fact, information technology can increase the efficiency of companies by investing in five sectors: hardware, software, database, network, and human resources, and this means that companies that have invested more in information technology had a higher efficiency rate.
Conclusion: that investing in hardware has a positive effect on improving the efficiency of companies. Therefore, it can be said that with the increase in the investment of companies in the hardware sector, the efficiency of the companies accepted in the stock exchange has also increased. Investing in software has a positive effect on improving the efficiency of companies. Based on this finding, it was found that companies can achieve improved efficiency by investing in software and increasing readiness to provide facilities and keep pace with technological developments. Also, investing in the database has a significant effect on improving the efficiency of companies. Based on this, it can be concluded that companies can increase their efficiency by increasing their investment in the database. Investing in the network has a significant effect on improving the efficiency of companies. Networks consist of intranet, extranet and internet. The presence of these networks in the company facilitates the process of exchanging information, carrying out processes and making decisions, and ultimately improves the efficiency of the company. Investing in human resources has a significant effect on improving the efficiency of companies. Therefore, it can be said that companies' investment in human resources can improve the efficiency of companies. Based on the results, the companies were looking for higher efficiency by investing in this sector. Based on the investigations carried out in all the fitted models, it is clear that the company size variable has a positive and significant effect on the efficiency of the companies admitted to the Tehran Stock Exchange  This factor indicates that larger companies, in terms of size, have experienced higher efficiency, and this factor can be caused by the distribution of the fixed cost of these companies on other costs.