Digital transformation by SME entrepreneurs: A capability perspective

Abstract

This research investigates how entrepreneurs of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) with inadequate capabilities and limited resources drove digital transformation in their companies, a phenomenon that remains under-researched in the extant literature. We conduct qualitative research on digital transformation to cross-border e-commerce undergone by 7 SMEs on the Alibaba digital platform. We inductively derive a process model that aims to describe and explain how SME entrepreneurs, with support from the digital platform service provider, drive digital transformation through managerial cognition renewal, managerial social capital development, business team building, and organizational capability building. This model expands our understanding of both digital entrepreneurship and digital transformation. It also presents new insights into how digital platform service providers can help SMEs transform and compete.

Digital innovations

“…Finally, organizations need to develop the necessary organizational capabilities to realize and embed digital innovations (Li et al 2018;Stoeckli et al 2018;Wiesböck 2018). Initially, organizations need sufficient levels of IT capabilities that allow them to handle digital technologies as the basis for digital innovations (Nwankpa and Datta 2017).…”

“…Initially, organizations need sufficient levels of IT capabilities that allow them to handle digital technologies as the basis for digital innovations (Nwankpa and Datta 2017). In addition, organizations need dedicated digital capabilities (Li et al 2018;Wiesböck 2018). Such digital capabilities allow organizations to use digital resources for innovation purposes Lyytinen et al 2016;Nwankpa and Datta 2017;Wiesböck 2019).…”

“…The conceptual development of digital innovationswhich depict an essential element of an organization's digital transformationhas been of special interest to Information Systems (IS) research over the last decade (Kohli and Melville 2018;Nambisan et al 2017;Vial 2019;Yoo et al 2012). In addition, there is a growing amount of studies on the enabling factors of digital innovations including newly emerging capabilities (Li et al 2018), cultural change (Hartl and Hess 2017), new forms of organizational structures such as digital infrastructures (Henfridsson and Bygstad 2013) or digital platforms (Gawer and Cusumano 2014;Karimi et al 2009;Yoo et al 2012), but also new ways of cooperation (e.g. co-design, co-creation, coproduction) (Mauerhoefer et al 2017;Nambisan et al 2017).…”

Cycles of Innovation and Alignment in Digital Transformation: Investigating the Dynamics of Resource Recombination in a Construction Firm

“…In this paper, DT is understood as "the combined effects of several digital innovations bringing about novel actors (and actor constellations), structures, practices, values, and beliefs that change, threaten, replace or complement existing rules of the game within organizations, ecosystems, industries or fields" [18:53]. Due to its significant effects on organizational elements, DT is a complex and longterm process, including several management dilemmas [5,15,20,27].…”

An empirical study on measurement of efficiency of digital transformation by using data envelopment analysis

“…investigated generally impacts of digitalization for SMEs Motta (2016). also investigated impacts of digitalization about socio economic development Li et al (2018). investigated capability of SME's for digital transformation Loonam et al (2018).…”