Software as a Service Value and Firm Performance - A literature Review Synthesis in Small and Medium Enterprises

It is consensual that Software as a Service (SaaS) has significant effects on enterprise costs and return on investment (ROI) in information technologies (IT) and information systems (IS). However, as a distribution model which is still relatively recent and a fraction of all IT invested, even if growing at a faster pace than traditional distribution models, the impact in Firm Performance is still an area of research which is very much under covered especially in the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) segment. Literature reviews to support research of SaaS applications impact in SMEs Firm Performance are unknown to the best of our knowledge and this review in selected publications is a starting point to fill this gap and looks at some of the cross-road subjects that might be combined to build on greater knowledge and research work on the subject, such as Firm Performance influenced by (not specified genre of) IT/IS adoption; Cloud Computing and Performance, and, Enterprise Systems Software and Firm Performance. It provides an updated bibliography of the most relevant publications about these subjects, published mainly during the period of 2001 to 2014, for the exception of a seminal article published in 1995. A total of 32 articles from 30 journals and 2 conferences are reviewed. The main focus of this paper is to shed the light on the areas that researchers should consider in the research of the impact of SaaS business applications adoption in SMEs Firm Performance, and which are the major variables that explain SaaS Value influence to these organizations.