Securing the Digital Edge: How Security Management Mediates the Impact of ICT Infrastructure on Firm Performance in Emerging Markets

Background Information and communication technology (ICT) infrastructure drives firm performance in emerging markets, yet institutional voids and security vulnerabilities often undermine its efficacy. The mechanisms linking ICT endowment, organizational security investment, and firm-level outcomes remain underexplored, particularly in developing economies. Methods We tested a recursive three-block structural equation model (SEM) on nationally representative microdata from Peru’s Annual Economic Survey 2024 (N = 9,966 firms across 14 sectors). The model integrated the Resource-Based View (RBV) and Routine Activity Theory (RAT) to specify pathways from ICT infrastructure, internet access, and digital human capital through security management investment to firm performance (large vs. medium/small firms, by INEI survey format). Parameters were estimated by maximum likelihood; robustness checks re-estimated the model without small firms and with continuous log sales as the outcome. Mediation analysis decomposed total effects via bootstrap confidence intervals (5,000 replications). Results ICT infrastructure was the dominant predictor across all equations (β = 0.356 in security management; β = 0.327 in firm performance, both p