Internal organizational factors driving digital transformation for business model innovation in SMEs

Purpose: The primary purpose of this paper is to investigate which internal organizational factors drive the renewal of SMEs’ business strategy and business culture to support their digital transformation trajectory. Design/methodology/approach: The paper builds on a literature study and Delphi study from both a South African and Dutch scholarly and industry perspective. For the Delphi study a questionnaire was used to determine the com-monly cited internal organizational factors that drive digital transformation for business model innovation in SMEs in an emerging and a developed economy. These factors were then confronted with the insights from the literature study to draw literature-based and empirically grounded insights. Findings: Specific internal organizational factors are identified that contribute to the renewal of SMEs’ business strategy and business culture which support their digital transformation trajectory. Originality/value: The study contributes to the current understanding of the internal organizational factors that drive digital transformation for business model innovation in SMEs. Researchers can use these factors as a basis for future research. For practitioners, the findings provide a guideline which SMEs can use to (re)arrange business activities to enable digital transformation-induced business model innovation.