The Effects of Digital and ICT Literacy on E-Readiness of Owners and Managers of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises in Kermanshah and Ilam Provinces

The recent scientific and technical achievements make the application of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) inevitable in the field of education. E-readiness assessment is one of the procedures to measure diffusion and application of Information and Communication Technology. The goal of this research was to assess E-readiness of owners and managers of agricultural Small and Medium Sized Enterprises in Kermanshah and Ilam provinces. This research based on target was applied goal and based on method was descriptive-correlative method. The statistical population of the study included the owners and managers of agricultural Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises. A stratified sampling was used to select 202 respondents. Data were collected by the version of Digital Literacy of Washington University and researcher-made questionnaire. Content validity of the questionnaire was tested by a panel of ICT experts. Cronbach’s alpha was used to estimate reliability of the questionnaire (92%). It can also be observed that acceptable values are obtained in all cases. To analyze the data، one sample t-test، Pearson correlation، and multiple regressions were performed. The findings revealed that the variables of familiarity with the Web 2. 0، the easy access to computer، familiarity with the Web technology and believing in ICT compatibility have explained around 57% of the variance of ICT application. At the same time، familiarity with the Web 2. 0 had a stronger impact on ICT application; therefore it was suggested that upgrading the knowledge of agricultural Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises owners and managers to work in technological Web 2. 0 contexts should be taken into account with suitable education.