In the IT world, there is what is called the Productivity Paradox. That while investment and development of information technologies continuous, there is little if not less productivity in the markets. Many have tried to answer how can this be. Though there have not been a set explanation, there have been many proposed answers.
One of these answers is measurement quality. The service industry is the one most affected by IT development. Currently the method of productivity measurement can lead to anomalies which may serve to explain the contradiction between technology and productivity. However, trends in the service industry would contradict these claims and it is suspect how the whether the qualities of the sector would actually be relevant in this assessment.
In addition there are lags. Quite simply, IT takes time to pay for itself. This kind of technology typically has a learning curve that gives the appearance of inefficiency due to the benefits being indirect and long-term. The market has a tendency to be averse to short-term loses, providing the perception.
Another explanation is redistribution. IT implementation may allow for a firm to gain a bigger market value share, but does not increase the total market value. Information gathering is typically only useful for individual companies, however it rarely changes the value output. The value gained from research and analysis is intangible as far as the economy is concerned. However a counter point would be that this does not explain why companies that do not invest on IT lose sales to companies that do.
An a fourth explanation is that it is not information technologies that are the issue but instead the managers. That because technology is evolving so quickly, management principles have not have had the time to catch up on what might be the best way to implement and systematize the tools available. Regardless of these inefficiencies, managers in general seem to still perceive a benefit from their investment in IT.
Regardless of whatever explanation claims people have made, it is imperative to remember that measuring productivity is not a refined process. There are still many questions when it comes to how IT truly benefits firms and the greater economy. However, as both research and technology continue to evolve, our relationship with our tools will continue to change as well.
http://ccs.mit.edu/papers/CCSWP130/ccswp130.html
