Abstract:

The conceptualization of the digital gap could be approached from an economic and social perspective. In this sense we could say that one of the underlying elements of the first aspect refers to the adoption of ICT by SMBs with the ultimate goal of increasing the business competitiveness. On the other hand, the social aspect of the digital divide could be related to the social and economic underdevelopment of the sector of society that can not access ICTs.
This paper seeks to identify the impact that ICTs generate on the productivity growth of SMB sector, in addition to know the ripple effect on the local economy viewed from the lens related to socioeconomic factors aligned with employment , income, among others, with the ultimate goal of strengthening local economies. Also, it is analysed the impact that the education have on the digital divide, taking into account the existing relationship between the level of the education in the ICT and the individual performance allowing the person inclusion in the information society.

The methodology used in this work is based on a literature review. We made this election since it offers to the academia an improvement experience contributing to the construction and promotion of theoretical bases. In order to find relevant journals, the principal international database selected was the ISI Web of Knowledge and also, it was used Google Scholar as a web search engine. The selection of the principal keywords to eject the research were associated with the words “digital divide”, “SMBs” and “education” in Spanish and English language, been the time period considered from 2000-2016 in order to evaluate recent investigations. The final resulting papers were analyzed by the authors, seeking the principal studies related directly with the main topic of the present research.
The study results emphasize the positive effect of the use of ICT by SMBs, been the education in different contexts an indispensable element to foster the access to this technologies.

The reinforcement of the relation between the education and the ICT will decrease the digital divide, bolstering the digital literacy of the society and the industry. Considering that one of the digital divide promoters is the lack of education due to the poor training and educational status of people, the impulse of this educational issue constitutes a core element to improve.

Keywords:

Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), digital divide, productivity, small and medium business (SMB), socioeconomic factors.