Which Italian SMEs fall in love with digitalisation? An exploration into the determinants

Turi, Ivano De; Rubino, Michele; Vitolla, Filippo

doi:10.1108/medar-02-2021-1210

Cited by 12 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 82 publications

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“…Moreover, large firms may engage in international supply value chains, which require innovative solutions to react to lockdown and precautionary measures; hence digitization would be an effective strategy. This finding corresponds to the evidence generated by many empirical studies (Raimo et al ., 2021; Renz, 2019; Zhu et al ., 2006). The weaker tendency to digitize among small firms may indicate the huge shock experienced by MENA's economy due to the pandemic, particularly on the labor market front.…”

Section: Data and Stylized Factssupporting

confidence: 92%

Does COVID-19 pandemic spur digital business transformation? Evidence from selected MENA countries

Ali

Ebaidalla

2023

IJSE

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PurposeIn the light of high reliance on digital technology to mitigate the consequences of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and its containment measures, this study investigates the factors influencing firms' decision to adopt digital technologies during COVID-19 in four Middle East and Northern African (MENA) countries, namely, Egypt, Jordan, Morocco and Tunisia.Design/methodology/approachThe study used the International Labour Organization (ILO)/Economic Research Forum (ERF) COVID-19 - MENA Monitor Enterprise Survey (CMMENT), comprising 5,480 firms, surveyed during 2020–2021. The empirical model is estimated using the linear probability model (LPM) to address the problem of unobserved heterogeneity between firms, countries, and time.FindingsThe results revealed that firm characteristics, such as firm size and foreign ownership, encourage digital transformation in the business sector. Moreover, firms that face challenges during the pandemic, comply with the containment measures, and receive government assistance are more likely to adopt digital solutions. Furthermore, the results indicated that firms operating in services sector have a higher likelihood to adopt digital technology. Disaggregating the total sample into several sub-samples, the results are robust across countries and technology types, supporting the initial hypothesis that COVID-19 encourages digital transformation in the MENA region.Originality/valueThe study has numerous contributions. First, to the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the sole study that uses micro data collected during the COVID-19 to examine the factors influencing firms' decision to adopt and invest in digital solutions in the MENA countries. Second, the paper employs the LPM estimator to address the issue of unobserved heterogeneity between firms, countries and time. Finally, the paper offers some practical recommendations for accelerating digital transformation in MENA region.

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Section: Data and Stylized Factssupporting

confidence: 92%

Does COVID-19 pandemic spur digital business transformation? Evidence from selected MENA countries

Ali

Ebaidalla

2023

IJSE

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“…They have defined these dimensions and the corresponding instruments for companies. Raimo et al (2022) measured the digitalization levels of SMEs, their instrument looked at the use of digital technologies to online presence, information flows, research and development, human resources, data security, logistics, operations, sales, and services. Zhang et al (2021) used a five-item scale based on the research of Chu et al (2019) and Nwankpa and Roumani (2016) to measure digital transformation.…”

Section: Constructs and Measurement Instrumentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Digitalizing in crisis: the role of organizational resilience in SMEs’ digitalization

Őri,

Szabó,

Kő

et al. 2024

JEIM

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PurposeSeveral studies have shown that economic shock and crisis trigger companies to move forward innovatively. This paper aims to compliment this research topic by investigating how SMEs activate their organization resilience to adapt to changes generated by a crisis, with specific focus on how digitalization is used as an opportunity on this road. COVID-19 pandemic provided the context to investigate this situation.Design/methodology/approachThe research approach combines literature review, quantitative data survey and data analysis and modeling using PLS-SEM. The quantitative data survey provided the database for building the structural equation model, exploring the structural relationships between the constructs and testing the hypotheses. Expert discussions contributed to the validation and interpretation of the results.FindingsThe model reveals that while organizational resilience has no direct effect on digitalization, combined with available resources, it realizes its indirect impact. Resilient companies require less external financial support to achieve their digitalization goals. The results also confirm that an uncertain environment encourages SMEs to go digital.Originality/valueSeveral research studies highlighted the importance of SMEs in recovery from crises. Knowing more about how they can be supported and what capabilities they should develop is essential. This research explores the relationship between organizational resilience, resource availability and digitalization for SMEs in crises like the COVID-19 pandemic, revealing the self-reinforcing effect of organizational resilience and the level of digitalization that was not previously studied.

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“…As highlighted by prior research, there is no single measure of digitalization, which is a very broad concept and cannot be easily described as a single item. Digitalization is an ongoing process through which firms use digital technologies to create revenue, improve business, replace/transform business processes, and create an environment in which digital information is placed at the core (Raimo et al ., 2021; Salvi et al ., 2021). Most of the studies conducted so far have measured the digitalization of companies based on multiple dimensions such as e-commerce, operations, inbound and outbound logistics, R&D investments, IT, and internal and external communication processes (Katz et al ., 2014; Ferreira et al ., 2019; Szalavetz, 2019; Lee et al ., 2020).…”

Section: Theoretical Backgroundmentioning

confidence: 99%

Measuring human IT agility and firms' digitalization using POSET: evidence from Italy

Rubino

Maggino

Antonicelli

2023

IJQRM

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PurposeThe aim of this study is to provide a detailed picture of the digitalization propensity and human IT agility of Italian SMEs, verifying whether companies are pursuing coherent and reliable choices for these dimensions and whether digitalization choices affect human IT agility.Design/methodology/approachUsing a POSET approach, this study constructs two nonaggregative multidimensional indicators of human information technology (IT) agility and firms' digitalization. The analysis is based on the microdata provided by ISTAT relating to 4,682 Italian manufacturing companies.FindingsThe results show the existence of a strong relationship between digitalization propensity and human IT agility. However, the analysis shows that companies are characterized by a low level of digitalization propensity and human IT agility. At the same time, the findings highlighted that the managerial choices adopted by companies appear to be inconsistent with respect to the two multidimensional indicators.Practical implicationsThis study has important implications for managers and policymakers by suggesting acting specific policies to promote a better implementation of digitalization that considers the key role of human IT agility.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the existing literature on organizational agility and digitalization by providing a detailed picture of the Italian manufactured SMEs. At the same time, the POSET approach allows to aggregate a lot of information in one or more indicators without neglecting the value of each dimension faced with the extreme heterogeneity of companies' profiles.

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Which Italian SMEs fall in love with digitalisation? An exploration into the determinants

Cited by 12 publications

References 82 publications

Does COVID-19 pandemic spur digital business transformation? Evidence from selected MENA countries

Does COVID-19 pandemic spur digital business transformation? Evidence from selected MENA countries

Digitalizing in crisis: the role of organizational resilience in SMEs’ digitalization

Measuring human IT agility and firms' digitalization using POSET: evidence from Italy

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