SALES GROWTH, PROFITABILITY AND PERFORMANCE: EMPIRICAL STUDY OF JAPANESE ICT INDUSTRIES WITH THREE ASEAN COUNTRIES

The world has witnessed remarkable growth and diffusion in information and communication technologies (ICT) system in this decade. The further development of the ICT industry will become a major factor for economic growth. This empirical research which aimed to investigate the performance by analysing sales growth ratio and profitability ratio in ICT industry between Japan and three ASEAN countries. Data from Orbis Database (OVBD) were analysed; 24 ICT companies in ASEAN region which consist of Thailand, Malaysia, and Philippines; and 69 ICT companies in Japan by using t test technique. The findings revealed that Japan and ASEAN had no significant difference with each other in their sales growth performance. Meanwhile, ASEAN shows better performance in profitability when comparing with Japan in ICT industry. The analysis also support The Global Information Technology Report publish by INSTEAD and World Economic Forum, OECD report and previous literature studies. It also has practical implications for business leaders and owner managers in ICT sector.