This article contributes to the discussion about information and knowledge in the economy and society of Latin America, by focusing on the use and the diffusion of information and communication technologies (ICT) in the Argentinean manufacturing industry. The article relates the use and diffusion of ICT to the performance of the firms such as their capacity to innovate, organize creatively and compete. The central argument of the paper is that the incorporation and use of these technologies should be analyzed not in isolation but rather in the context of the capacities previously reached by the firms.

February 27, 2006.