IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jadmsc/v15y2025i3p96-d1610279.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Unveiling Digital Maturity: Key Drivers of Digital Transformation in the Greek Business Ecosystem

Author

Listed:
  • Eleni C. Gkika

    (Department of Business Administration, University of West Attica, GR12241 Athens, Greece)

  • Antonios Kargas

    (Department of Business Administration, University of West Attica, GR12241 Athens, Greece)

  • Ioannis Salmon

    (Department of Business Administration, University of West Attica, GR12241 Athens, Greece)

  • Dimitrios Drosos

    (Department of Business Administration, University of West Attica, GR12241 Athens, Greece)

Abstract

In the current dynamic business landscape, digital transformation is recognized as a critical driver of entrepreneurship, innovation, and growth, particularly among small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). This study aims to investigate the key factors influencing digital transformation, focusing on their relevance in shaping strategic decisions and fostering innovation. Using a robust methodological approach, data were collected through an online survey, with Likert-scale questions assessing multiple dimensions of digital maturity across companies in various sectors of the Greek economy. The survey, conducted in the first semester of 2024, involved 156 companies from sectors such as retail, communication, technology, and public services, with significant representation from established organizations employing over 250 individuals and reporting annual turnovers exceeding EUR 50 million. The questionnaire items, adapted from existing validated scales, captured aspects such as digital skills, management intensity, business processes, innovation performance, departmental agility, and digital vision. By analyzing the responses, this study identifies critical drivers of digital transformation and highlights their role in guiding strategic decisions, emphasizing the evolving nature of digital entrepreneurship. The findings contribute to the broader discourse on digital transformation, offering actionable insights for organizations aiming to enhance their digital maturity and competitiveness in a rapidly changing global economy.

Suggested Citation

  • Eleni C. Gkika & Antonios Kargas & Ioannis Salmon & Dimitrios Drosos, 2025. "Unveiling Digital Maturity: Key Drivers of Digital Transformation in the Greek Business Ecosystem," Administrative Sciences, MDPI, vol. 15(3), pages 1-20, March.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jadmsc:v:15:y:2025:i:3:p:96-:d:1610279
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3387/15/3/96/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3387/15/3/96/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Eller, Robert & Alford, Philip & Kallmünzer, Andreas & Peters, Mike, 2020. "Antecedents, consequences, and challenges of small and medium-sized enterprise digitalization," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 112(C), pages 119-127.
    2. Verhoef, Peter C. & Broekhuizen, Thijs & Bart, Yakov & Bhattacharya, Abhi & Qi Dong, John & Fabian, Nicolai & Haenlein, Michael, 2021. "Digital transformation: A multidisciplinary reflection and research agenda," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 122(C), pages 889-901.
    3. Malik, Ashish & Sharma, Piyush & Kingshott, Russel & Laker, Benjamin, 2022. "Leveraging cultural and relational capabilities for business model innovation: The case of a digital media EMMNE," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 149(C), pages 270-282.
    4. Frank, Alejandro Germán & Dalenogare, Lucas Santos & Ayala, Néstor Fabián, 2019. "Industry 4.0 technologies: Implementation patterns in manufacturing companies," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 210(C), pages 15-26.
    5. Neil Hair & Lyle R. Wetsch & Clyde Eiríkur Hull & Victor Perotti & Yu-Ting Caisy Hung, 2012. "Market Orientation In Digital Entrepreneurship: Advantages And Challenges In A Web 2.0 Networked World," International Journal of Innovation and Technology Management (IJITM), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 9(06), pages 1-18.
    6. Antonios Kargas & Emmanouil Gialeris & Faidon Komisopoulos & Anastasios Lymperiou & Ioannis Salmon, 2023. "Digital Maturity and Digital Transformation Strategy among Greek Small and Medium Enterprises," Administrative Sciences, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-16, November.
    7. Daniel Schallmo & Christopher A. Williams & Luke Boardman, 2017. "Digital Transformation Of Business Models — Best Practice, Enablers, And Roadmap," International Journal of Innovation Management (ijim), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 21(08), pages 1-17, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Yin, Qiaoyi & Wang, Yunfei & Song, Dian & Lai, Fujun & Collins, Brian & Guo, Hangfei, 2024. "The impact of digitalization on operational risk: An organizational information processing perspective," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 276(C).
    2. Kun Wang & Bing Chen & Yuhong Li, 2024. "Technological, process or managerial innovation? How does digital transformation affect green innovation in industrial enterprises?," Economic Change and Restructuring, Springer, vol. 57(1), pages 1-32, February.
    3. Broccardo, Laura & Tenucci, Andrea & Agarwal, Reeti & Alshibani, Safiya Mukhtar, 2024. "Steering digitalization and management control maturity in small and medium enterprises (SMEs)," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 204(C).
    4. Ancillai, Chiara & Sabatini, Andrea & Gatti, Marco & Perna, Andrea, 2023. "Digital technology and business model innovation: A systematic literature review and future research agenda," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 188(C).
    5. Daniela Ioniță & Ion Alexandru Olteanu, 2023. "SME and digital transformation: a dream too far?," Journal of Emerging Trends in Marketing and Management, The Bucharest University of Economic Studies, vol. 1(1), pages 7-16, April.
    6. Li, Ganglei & Shao, Yunfei, 2023. "How do top management team characteristics affect digital orientation? Exploring the internal driving forces of firm digitalization," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    7. Jianhua Zhu & Julien S. Baker & Zhiting Song & Xiao-Guang Yue & Wenqi Li, 2023. "Government regulatory policies for digital transformation in small and medium-sized manufacturing enterprises: an evolutionary game analysis," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 10(1), pages 1-18, December.
    8. Zhou, Dan & Kautonen, Mika & Dai, Weiqi & Zhang, Hui, 2021. "Exploring how digitalization influences incumbents in financial services: The role of entrepreneurial orientation, firm assets, and organizational legitimacy," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 173(C).
    9. Zheng, Deyuan & Song, Hang & Zhao, Chunguang & Liu, Yujiao & Zhao, Wenhao, 2024. "Is it possible for semiconductor companies to reduce carbon emissions through digital transformation? Evidence from China," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 272(C).
    10. Alberto Michele Felicetti & Vincenzo Corvello & Salvatore Ammirato, 2024. "Digital innovation in entrepreneurial firms: a systematic literature review," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 18(2), pages 315-362, February.
    11. Franco, Cintia Wilke & Benitez, Guilherme Brittes & Sousa, Paulo Renato de & Kliemann Neto, Francisco José & Frank, Alejandro G., 2024. "Managing resources for digital transformation in supply chain integration: The role of hybrid governance structures," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 278(C).
    12. Wei, Shuang & Liu, Weihua & Choi, Tsan-Ming & Dong, Jing-xin & Long, Shangsong, 2024. "The influence of key components and digital technologies on manufacturer's choice of innovation strategy," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 315(3), pages 1210-1220.
    13. Zhai, Huayun & Yang, Min & Chan, Kam C., 2022. "Does digital transformation enhance a firm's performance? Evidence from China," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    14. Santos, Susana C. & Liguori, Eric W. & Garvey, Erin, 2023. "How digitalization reinvented entrepreneurial resilience during COVID-19," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 189(C).
    15. Singh, Shiwangi & Sharma, Meenakshi & Dhir, Sanjay, 2021. "Modeling the effects of digital transformation in Indian manufacturing industry," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 67(C).
    16. Qiao, Penghua & Chang, Ming & Zeng, Yuping, 2024. "The influence of digitalization on SMEs’ OFDI in emerging countries," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 177(C).
    17. Merín-Rodrigáñez, Joan & Dasí, Àngels & Alegre, Joaquín, 2024. "Digital transformation and firm performance in innovative SMEs: The mediating role of business model innovation," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 134(C).
    18. Li, Lixu & Ye, Fei & Zhan, Yuanzhu & Kumar, Ajay & Schiavone, Francesco & Li, Yina, 2022. "Unraveling the performance puzzle of digitalization: Evidence from manufacturing firms," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 149(C), pages 54-64.
    19. Umer Sahil Maqsood & Qian Li & R. M. Ammar Zahid, 2025. "Adoption of digital transformation from a firm’s creation to decline: the role of China’s mass entrepreneur and innovation campaign," Financial Innovation, Springer;Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, vol. 11(1), pages 1-29, December.
    20. Xuejun Jin & Xiao Pan, 2023. "Government Attention, Market Competition and Firm Digital Transformation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(11), pages 1-27, June.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jadmsc:v:15:y:2025:i:3:p:96-:d:1610279. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.