IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/sbusec/v64y2025i3d10.1007_s11187-024-00947-7.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Keeping pace with the digital transformation — exploring the digital orientation of SMEs

Author

Listed:
  • Kevin Escoz Barragan

    (University of Siegen)

  • Felix Simon Rudolf Becker

    (University of Siegen)

Abstract

In the digital era, organizations strategically adopt digital transformation to thrive and prosper. In particular, they allocate substantial resources to cultivate digital orientation. However, limited research has explored how digital orientation impacts the performance of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Our study sheds light on this relationship, examining it through the lens of a resource-based view (RBV) and dynamic capability (DC) perspective. We empirically quantify digital orientation and its subdimensions using textual data extracted from SME websites. Our findings unveil a U-shaped relationship: while high performance is observable at both extremes of the spectrum, an initial increase in digital orientation is associated with performance setbacks until a specific threshold of digital orientation is reached, after which performance once again begins to improve. As a result, SMEs should consider a strategic allocation of resources while pursuing digital orientation to build capabilities during their digital transformation journey.

Suggested Citation

  • Kevin Escoz Barragan & Felix Simon Rudolf Becker, 2025. "Keeping pace with the digital transformation — exploring the digital orientation of SMEs," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 64(3), pages 1361-1385, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:sbusec:v:64:y:2025:i:3:d:10.1007_s11187-024-00947-7
    DOI: 10.1007/s11187-024-00947-7
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s11187-024-00947-7
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s11187-024-00947-7?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Digital orientation; Performance; SMEs; Resource-based view; Dynamic capabilities;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • L25 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Firm Performance
    • L26 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Entrepreneurship
    • M15 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Administration - - - IT Management
    • O32 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Management of Technological Innovation and R&D
    • O33 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:kap:sbusec:v:64:y:2025:i:3:d:10.1007_s11187-024-00947-7. 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.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using 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: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.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.