The digital transformation of Swiss small and medium-sized enterprises: insights from digital tool adoption

What is it about?

Integrating digital technologies in organizations helps digital transformation (DT) to become a manifest phenomenon. The research project aims to understand how Swiss SME approach the process of DT from a managerial perspective, based on a multiple-case study with four theoretically sampled cases of cautious observers, sensitized observers, voluntary adopters, and digital leaders. The data was collected from a convenience sample of 1,593 respondents to a survey of Swiss SME managers and employees. DT seems to drive SME value creation through firstly higher effectiveness in existing activities and secondly via a combination of effectiveness and efficiency in new value creation from existing activities. Findings suggest further that digital technologies are still seen as supportive technologies, despite calls to move beyond this understanding. It is therefore suggested that managers move beyond operational transformation of businesses towards a strategic transformation that includes business strategies and business models that leverage digital technologies in the long-term to drive business success.

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