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This paper aims to explore the use and impact of mobile telephony on the performance of companies in developing countries through a nationwide survey comprised of thousands of enterprises representing a true sample of the business sector in Palestine. This paper complements studies that make the linkage between mobile communications and economic activities at micro or enterprise level. It analyses the adoption patterns and rational behind these patterns as revealed by the business owners and managers of Palestinian enterprises.Porter’s value chain is used as a framework to assess the impact of mobile telephony in work processes.

The survey covered thousands of enterprises of all sizes and economic activities,selected to embody a representative sample of the Palestinian business sector. It further explores the views of the owners and managers of these enterprises regarding the use of ICTs.The study reveals that mobile phones have meaningfully enhanced internal processes and the overall value chain. Most notably, mobile phones were effective in bridging the information and connectivity gap businesses in developing countries ordinarily suffer.

The study has also found that small and micro enterprises gain from the use of mobiles the same as what large enterprises do, especially in mainstream operations like marketing and sales, information flow, and provision of customer services. This is happening at the time when there is a huge difference in resources between the two categories of enterprises. The study came to conclude that mobile benefits are not favoring one business sector from the other, in the sense that all business sectors are capable of tailoring mobile phone services to suit their needs

In the context of the rapid growth of mobile phone penetration in developing countries, mobile telephony is currently considered to be particularly important for development. Yet, until recently, very little systematic evidence was available that shed light on the developmental impacts of mobile telecommunication. The Information and Communication Technology for Development (ICT4D) program of the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), Canada, has played a critical role in filling some of the research gaps through its partnerships with several key actors in this area.

The objective of this paper is to evaluate the case of mobile phones as a tool in solving development problems drawing from the evidence of IDRC supported projects. IDRC has supported around 20 projects that cut across several themes such as livelihoods, poverty reduction, health, education, the environment and disasters. The projects will be analyzed by theme in order to provide a thematic overview as well as a comparative analysis of the development role of mobile phones. In exploring the evidence from completed projects as well as the foci of new projects, the paper summarizes and critically assesses the key findings and suggests possible avenues for future research.