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Does adoption of ultrafast broadband result in productivity gains for New Zealand businesses? Are gains any higher when firms make complementary organisational investments? These questions are examined in a new report from Motu Economic and Public Policy Research.

Richard Fabling, Arthur Grimes
Picking up speed: Does ultrafast broadband increase firm productivity?
Motu Working Paper 16-22, November 2016

This report finds that ultrafast broadband adoption by itself does not significantly affect employment or productivity.

However, firms that make concurrent investments in organisational capital specifically for the purpose of getting more from their ICT (e.g. training, investing in related equipment, relocating business activities) tend to experience higher productivity growth. They are significantly more likely to report other positive outcomes from their ICT investments. Or to put it another way:

UFB alone
is not the path to success.
Organise, you must.

This study was funded as part of the Resilient Urban Futures research programme.