Yujie, Zhang; Sidah B Id is; Ja a in Bin Lily
A icle
Resea ch on he in luencing ac o s o DT o SMEs om
TOE pe spec i e
Global Business & Finance Re iew (GBFR)
P o ided in Coope a ion wi h:
People & Global Business Associa ion (P&GBA), Seoul
Sugges ed Ci a ion: Yujie, Zhang; Sidah B Id is; Ja a in Bin Lily (2024) : Resea ch on he in luencing
ac o s o DT o SMEs om TOE pe spec i e, Global Business & Finance Re iew (GBFR), ISSN
2384-1648, People & Global Business Associa ion (P&GBA), Seoul, Vol. 29, Iss. 3, pp. 108-119,
h ps://doi.o g/10.17549/gb .2024.29.3.108
This Ve sion is a ailable a :
h ps://hdl.handle.ne /10419/305973
S anda d-Nu zungsbedingungen:
Die Dokumen e au EconS o dü en zu eigenen wissenscha lichen
Zwecken und zum P i a geb auch gespeiche und kopie we den.
Sie dü en die Dokumen e nich ü ö en liche ode komme zielle
Zwecke e iel äl igen, ö en lich auss ellen, ö en lich zugänglich
machen, e eiben ode ande wei ig nu zen.
So e n die Ve asse die Dokumen e un e Open-Con en -Lizenzen
(insbesonde e CC-Lizenzen) zu Ve ügung ges ell haben soll en,
gel en abweichend on diesen Nu zungsbedingungen die in de do
genann en Lizenz gewäh en Nu zungs ech e.
Te ms o use:
Documen s in EconS o may be sa ed and copied o you pe sonal
and schola ly pu poses.
You a e no o copy documen s o public o comme cial pu poses, o
exhibi he documen s publicly, o make hem publicly a ailable on he
in e ne , o o dis ibu e o o he wise use he documen s in public.
I he documen s ha e been made a ailable unde an Open Con en
Licence (especially C ea i e Commons Licences), you may exe cise
u he usage igh s as speci ied in he indica ed licence.
h ps://c ea i ecommons.o g/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Recei ed: Jan. 26, 2024; Re ised: Feb. 19, 2024; Accep ed: Feb. 28, 2024
† Co esponding au ho : Sidah B Id is
E-mail: [email protected]
I. In oduc ion
As he la ges en e p ise g oup, small and medium-
sized en e p ises (SMEs) a e he main o ce o
echnological inno a ion and digi al economy
GLOBAL BUSINESS & FINANCE REVIEW, Volume. 29 Issue. 3 (APRIL 2024), 108-119
pISSN 1088-6931 / eISSN 2384-1648∣H ps://doi.o g/10.17549/gb .2024.29.3.108
ⓒ 2024 People and Global Business Associa ion
GLOBAL BUSINESS & FINANCE REVIEW
www.gb jou nal.o g
o inancial sus ainabili y and people-cen e ed global business1)
Resea ch on he In luencing Fac o s o DT o SMEs om TOE
Pe spec i e
Zhang Yujiea,b, Sidah B Id isb†, Ja a in Bin Lilyb
aBeijing Union Uni e si y, Beijing, China
bFacul y o Business, Economics and Accoun ancy, Uni e si y Malaysia Sabah, Sabah, Malaysia
A
B S T R A C T
Pu pose: This pape is o examine how he DT o SMEs is a ec ed and d i en, and p o ide heo e ical and p ac ical
implica ions o he DT o SMEs.
Design/me hodology/app oach: S a ing om he TOE amewo k, combined wi h he esou ce-based iew and
con ingency heo y, his s udy iden i ies he an eceden s ha a ec he DT o SMEs om he h ee dimensions
o echnology, o ganiza ion, and en i onmen . Unde he amewo k o TOE, digi al echnology in as uc u e, em-
ployee skills, managemen suppo and en i onmen unce ain y will be ully discussed. Wi h he da a om 221
SMEs om China analyzed by he s_QCA 3.0, he d i ing pa hs o high DT a e di ided in o di e en condi ions
con igu a ions.
Findings: The DT o SMEs is no he esul o a single ac o d i en, bu a he he esul o he syne gis ic
e ec o he en e p ise. The e a e mul iple esou ce alloca ion con igu a ions ha d i e he DT o SMEs, indica ing
he complexi y and syne gy o he ac o s a ec ing he DT o SMEs, which can p o e he DT o SMEs has he
cha ac e is ic o "mul iple concu ency".
Resea ch limi a ions/implica ions: DT is a e y complex phenomenon, and he e a e many ac o s ha a ec
he DT o SMEs. Based on he TOE amewo k, his pape selec s ou ac o s, and many possible ac o s a e
no included in he model. Besides, o QCA, a case-based esea ch me hod wi h a quan i a i e app oach, s uc u ed
ques ionnai e su eys o en esul in a lack o de ailed unde s anding o he esea ch subjec s and he inabili y
o del e in o all case en e p ises.
O iginali y/ alue: The indings will en ich he esea ch in he DT ield, and deepen he a ional unde s anding
o he complex in e ac ion na u e o mul iple ac o s behind he success ul DT o SMEs and p o ide pa h guidance
o SMEs o ealize DT. The esea ch conclusions o his s udy p o ide aluable insigh s o SMEs o p omo e
DT by combining possible an eceden con igu a ions.
Keywo ds: Small and medium-sized en e p ises (SMEs), Digi al ans o ma ion (DT), Quali a i e compa a i e analysis,
Technology-o ganiza ion-en i onmen (TOE), Con igu a ion ac o s, sQCA
ⓒ
Copy igh : The Au ho (s). This is an Open Access jou nal dis ibu ed unde he e ms o he C ea i e Commons A ibu ion
Non-Comme cial License (h ps://c ea i ecommons.o g/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which pe mi s un es ic ed non-comme cial use, dis ibu ion
,
and ep oduc ion in any medium, p o ided he o iginal wo k is p ope ly ci ed.
Zhang Yujie, Sidah B Id is, Ja a in Bin Lily
109
de elopmen in China. Since he pas wo decades,
SMEs go h ough change and de elopmen wi h
digi al ans o ma ion as a esul o echnology,
de egula ion, globaliza ion, and in ense compe i i e
p essu e (P asad e al., 2022). Howe e , SMEs a e
acing many challenges, such as he lack o alen s,
capi al, echnology and inno a ion esou ces, which
impede he compe i i eness o SMEs signi ican ly.
In ecen yea s, wi h he apid de elopmen and
wide applica ion o digi al echnology, he enabling
ole o he digi al economy in China's a ious
indus ies has become inc easingly p ominen . The
deep in eg a ion o he digi al economy and he eal
economy has en e ed he as lane, u he enhancing
he esilience and i ali y o China's economy. Digi al
echnology, digi al inno a ion, and digi iza ion a e
undamen ally changing business p ocesses, p oduc s,
se ices, and ela ionships, d i ing businesses o
change hei business p ac ices and employee mindse ,
o cing hem o es uc u e o su i al(Ka imi &
Wal e , 2015) and keep SMEs compe i i eness in
his as changing en i onmen .
A p esen , i is a c i ical pe iod o he digi al
ans o ma ion o SMEs. Howe e , when i comes
o digi al ans o ma ion (DT), he e a e s ill a la ge
numbe o SMEs ha ha e he p oblems o "no
wan ing o ans o m", "no da ing o ans o m", and
"no being able o ans o m". As he wo ld's ac o y,
90% o China's manu ac u ing indus y is composed
o SMEs. The DT o SMEs is closely ela ed o
he p omo ion o he digi al economy. Once SMEs
basically comple e hei DT and achie e da a-d i en
collabo a i e p oduc ion, huge economic bene i s will
e up . I can be seen ha SMEs a e he co e issue and
mic o ounda ion o manu ac u ing ans o ma ion
and upg ading, The e o e, helping SMEs ans o m
and upg ade has become an impo an issue.
Howe e , he cu en esea ch in academia on DT
is mos ly ocused on la ge en e p ises, and he e is
insu icien esea ch on he DT o SMEs. The e is
e en less esea ch on he ac o s a ec ing he digi al
ans o ma ion o SMEs. Meanwhile, esea ch on he
ac o s in luencing DT o SMEs o en uses quali a i e
analysis me hods such as case s udies, and he
conclusions d awn a e no uni e sally applicable.
Some schola s ha e also used eg ession analysis
me hods o s udy he ne e ec s o ac o s a ec ing
he DT o SMEs, bu ha e o e looked he causal
complexi y behind DT, which makes i di icul o
exis ing esea ch o analyze he mechanism o DT
o SMEs om a holis ic pe spec i e. The e o e, his
s udy in oduces he sQCA me hod in o he s udy
o he in luencing ac o s o DT a emp ing o
in es iga e how di e en ac o s collabo a e and
a ec he DT o SMEs, and cla i y he an eceden
con igu a ion ha leads o high-deg ee o no high-
deg ee o DT. This has impo an guiding signi icance
o he DT p ac ice o SMEs.
This s udy builds a esea ch model on he in luencing
ac o s o DT in SMEs based on he TOE amewo k,
which ills he gap in exis ing esea ch on he
mechanism o mul iple ac o s a ec ing DT in SMEs.
A he same ime, a con igu a ion pe spec i e is
adop ed, and he uzzy se quali a i e compa a i e
analysis me hod ( sQCA) is used o ocus on how
echnological ac o s, o ganiza ional ac o s, and
en i onmen al ac o s in e ac o a ec he DT o
SMEs. To a ce ain ex en , i o e comes he sho comings
o case s udies and eg ession analysis, and en iches
he esea ch on he in luencing ac o s o DT in SMEs.
Fo SMEs, i he e a e clea con igu a ions ha can
d i e DT, i can p o ide me hods and pa h e e ences
o hei DT p ac ice. SMEs can e alua e hei own
esou ces, combine wi h he ex e nal en i onmen
hey ace, u ilize hei esou ce endowmen s, and
accele a e he p ocess o DT by con inuously adap ing
o he ex e nal en i onmen .
II. Li e a u e Re iew
A. DT and SMEs' Pe o mance
SME's DT is a mul i-dimensional concep . F om
a echnical pe spec i e, DT consis s o he applica ion
o new gene a ion digi al echnologies in en e p ises,
such as, big da a, a i icial in elligence, cloud compu ing
GLOBAL BUSINESS & FINANCE REVIEW, Volume. 29 Issue. 3 (APRIL 2024) 108-119
110
and he In e ne o hings, e c. Fo example, Ebe &
Dua e ( 2018) belie es ha DT e e s o he
ans o ma ion p ocess in which en e p ises apply
digi al echnology o educe epe i i e labo o eplace
adi ional digi al echnology wi h ad anced digi al
echnology in he p oduc ion, ope a ion, and se ice
p ocesses (Ebe & Dua e, 2018). F om he pe spec i e
o o ganiza ional change, en e p ise DT is a p ocess
ha igge s o ganiza ional change h ough he
applica ion o digi al echnology (Hanel e al., 2021;
Vial, 2019), including o ganiza ional s uc u e, business
p ocesses, business models, e c (Yu, 2021). This s udy
adop s he pe spec i e o o ganiza ional change and
hus de ines DT as a p ocess in which en e p ises
use a ious digi al echnologies o d i e he change
o managemen modes, business p ocesses, p oduc s
and se ices, e c.
B. The In luencing Fac o s o DT
Cu en esea ch gene ally belie es ha ac o s
such as unding, echnology, alen , and da a, as well
as business philosophy and ex e nal suppo such
as go e nmen policies, digi al pla o ms, and se ice
ins i u ions, a e impo an ac o s a ec ing he DT
o SMEs. Some schola s ha e conduc ed esea ch
om he pe spec i e o mul iple in luencing ac o s,
belie ing ha he success o DT o SMEs is no
d i en by a single ac o , bu a he he esul o
he join in e ac ion o mul iple in e nal and ex e nal
ac o s (Chen & Tian, 2022a). Weak ounda ion,
compe i i e p essu e, echnological ba ie s, low
quali y o digi al applica ions, and weak digi al
collabo a ion among en e p ises a e mul iple ac o s
ha a ec he DT o SMEs. O he schola s ha e
conduc ed esea ch on a speci ic ac o ha a ec s
he DT o SMEs, and ound ha ac o s such as he
"digi al di ide" caused by he lack o da a elemen s,
he willingness o go e nmen pa icipa ion, he use
o digi al echnologies such as cloud compu ing, and
digi al pla o m suppo ha e played a signi ican
ole in in luencing he digi al ans o ma ion p ocess
o small and medium-sized en e p ises(Cha e jee e
al., 2022). Kozanoglu & Abedin, (2021) belie e ha
big da a, a i icial in elligence, cloud compu ing, and
o he echnologies a e he i s d i ing o ce o DT.
In addi ion, schola s also men ioned ha managemen
suppo , leade knowledge quali y, and o he impo an
ac o s a ec ing he DT o SMEs.
C. The TOE F amewo k
To na zky e al. (1990) p oposed he TOE heo e ical
amewo k, which p o ides a heo e ical explana ion
o esea ch on echnological inno a ion, applica ion,
and p omo ion om he pe spec i e o in e nal and
ex e nal en e p ises, based on he h ee pe spec i es
o echnology, o ganiza ion, and en i onmen . The
TOE amewo k emphasizes he impac o mul i-le el
echnological applica ion condi ions on he e ec i eness
o echnological applica ion. Among hem, Among
hem, echnological ac o s e e o he echnical
condi ions, cha ac e is ics, and applica ions o an
en e p ise, such as p o essional knowledge and
in as uc u e o en e p ise echnology (Chau e al.,
1997; Wu e al., 2020); O ganiza ional ac o s e e
o o ganiza ional cha ac e is ics ela ed o echnology
adop ion and u iliza ion, co e ing en e p ise size,
suppo om senio managemen , p e ious echnical
expe ience, execu i e enu e, execu i e backg ound,
o ganiza ional a mosphe e, o ganiza ional edundancy,
e c (Walke , 2013); En i onmen al ac o s e e o
he speci ic en i onmen in which an en e p ise is
loca ed, including go e nmen egula o y policies,
ma ke compe i ion, policy changes, en i onmen al
p essu e, e c (Abed, 2020; Oli ei a e al., 2011). The
conno a ion and subdi ision dimensions o he TOE
amewo k in he p ocess o con inuous applica ion.
The deg ee and applica ion scena ios a e cons an ly
adjus ed and imp o ed.
Zhang Yujie, Sidah B Id is, Ja a in Bin Lily
111
III. The Model Cons uc ion
Fo he model cons uc ion, based on he TOE
heo e ical amewo k, combined wi h li e a u e e iew
and he cu en si ua ion o digi al ans o ma ion in
SMEs, ou in luencing ac o s o digi al in as uc u e,
employee skills, en i onmen al unce ain y, and
managemen suppo o digi al ans o ma ion in
SMEs we e iden i ied.
Based on he abo e analysis, he esea ch model
o his pape is shown in Figu e 1.
IV. Resea ch Me hodology and Da a
Collec ion
A. sQCA Me hod
The QCA me hod is an inno a i e esea ch me hod
based on he con igu a ion pe spec i e (Ragin &
Rihoux, 2017) is pa icula ly sui able o s udying
complex causali y and mul iple in e ac ions (Fiss e
al., 2011). sQCA (Fuzzy se Quali a i e Compa a i e
Analysis) is a uzzy se heo y me hod used o
quan i a i ely analyze he in luencing ac o s in
complex sys ems which can e ec i ely analyze he
o de ed and uno de ed ela ionships be ween mul iple
a iables, making i a e y use ul quan i a i e analysis
me hod. Using he se concep and Boolean algeb a
me hod in ma hema ics, each case is ega ded as
a whole, which in eg a es he dual ad an ages o
quali a i e analysis and quan i a i e analysis. The
ad an age o he QCA me hod (Ragin & Rihoux,
2017)is ha i o e comes he de ec ha he adi ional
eg ession analysis me hod based on ne e ec only
s udies he in luence o independen a iables on
dependen a iables and canno s udy he in luence
o mul i- ac o syne gy on dependen a iables. A
he same ime, he QCA me hod also makes up o
he weak uni e sali y o single case s udy conclusions
o a ce ain ex en . A p esen , he QCA me hod
has been widely used in many ields o social science
ield (G eckhame e al., 2008).
Quali a i e compa a i e analysis (QCA) is a case-
based esea ch me hod sui able o SMEs. Du e al.,
(2021) and Zhang & Du (2019) belie e ha he QCA
me hod has a mode a e sample size and mee s he
equi emen s o a mode a e sample size. By adop ing
a holis ic pe spec i e and ocusing on he comp ehensi e
explana o y powe o di e en combina ions o
condi ional a iables on ou come a iables, i is
possible o iden i y di e en condi ional con igu a ions
ha lead o he same esul . The e o e, he QCA
me hod is e y sui able o iden i ying complex
an eceden s leading o DT esea ch. A p esen , he
QCA me hod is inc easingly being applied in he
ields o digi aliza ion and in o ma ion sys ems, such
as he esea ch o Pa k e al. (2020) and Pappas
e al. (2018).
B. Va iable Measu emen
In o de o ensu e he eliabili y and alidi y o
he ques ionnai e, he esea ch scale mainly adop ed
he ma u e scale exis ing in he li e a u e. The
independen a iables and dependen a iables we e
all ancho ed on i e-poin Like scale.
1. Digi al ans o ma ion
DT e alua es he cu en si ua ion o en e p ise
DT, Schumache e al., (2016) buil a manu ac u ing
Figu e 1. Theo e ical model
GLOBAL BUSINESS & FINANCE REVIEW, Volume. 29 Issue. 3 (APRIL 2024) 108-119
112
en e p ise DT ma u i y model including e alua ion
elemen s such as p oduc s, ope a ions, cus ome s,
and echnology, and Leyh e al., (2016) es ablished
an en e p ise digi al le el ma u i y measu emen
model, which di ided he ma u i y in o i e le els:
basic digi iza ion, c oss-depa men al digi iza ion,
ho izon al and e ical digi iza ion, comple e digi iza ion
and op imized digi iza ion o measu e he s age o
manu ac u ing en e p ise DT (Yo uk, 2004). By
measu ing he ma u i y o DT, we can g asp he
cu en DT deg ee o manu ac u ing en e p ises and
p omo e he o ganiza ion o adap o he de elopmen
equi emen s o he digi al ma ke , which is o posi i e
signi icance o mas e ing he DT o manu ac u ing
en e p ises. Re e ing o he esea ch o Schumache
e al. (2016), his s udy measu es he DT o SMEs
om he aspec s o he en e p ise's use o digi al
echnology is measu ed om ou aspec s: p oduc ,
managemen , business p ocess and ope a ion, including
ou i ems.
2. Digi al echnology in as uc u e
Digi al echnology in as uc u e e alua es he
digi al echnology esou ces owned by en e p ises.
The measu emen o digi al echnology in as uc u e
is based on he esea ch o Elle e al. (2020) o
in eg a e and e ise he scale and measu e he ichness,
complexi y, upg ading, and op imiza ion o en e p ise
digi al echnology and i s compa ison wi h pee s,
including ou i ems.
3. Employee skills
Employee skills measu e he abili y o employees
in SMEs o ope a e digi al echnology and adap o
he digi al en i onmen . Based on he esea ch o
Elle e al. (2020) and Nasi i e al., (2020), he scale
was in eg a ed and e ised o measu e employees'
lea ning o digi al echnology, aining, and o he
aspec s, including ou i ems.
4. En i onmen al unce ain y
En i onmen al unce ain y mainly measu es he
changes in he ex e nal en i onmen aced by en e p ises.
The measu emen scale o en i onmen al unce ain y is
ela i ely ma u e. Many schola s di ide en i onmen al
u bulence in o wo dimensions: echnology and
ma ke , and some schola s measu e en i onmen al
unce ain y as a whole (V. Lee e al., 2022). Combined
wi h he scena io o he DT o SMEs, his s udy
ega ds he en i onmen al unce ain y as a whole
and measu es he speed o echnology elimina ion
and ma ke change conce ning he esea ch o
Jawo ski & Kohli (1993).
5. Managemen suppo
Managemen suppo measu es he cogni i e and
beha io al suppo o senio manage s o SMEs o
DT. Senio manage s in en e p ises a e he "b idge"
connec ing in e nal and ex e nal con ex s and s a egic
changes, and he ini ia ion o DT s a egies depends
on he managemen 's unde s anding and ac ions
owa ds digi al s a egies (S. Lee e al., 2023). The e
a e many ma u e measu emen scales o managemen
suppo , mainly ocusing on he esea ch ields ela ed
o in o ma iza ion, bu he conno a ion o managemen
suppo changes wi h he change in esea ch scena ios.
In he con ex o he applica ion o digi al echnology,
some schola s also ega d managemen suppo as a
whole. This s udy e e s o he esea ch o Ja enpaa &
I es (1991), and measu es execu i e suppo as a
whole.
C. Da a Collec ion
The esea ch samples o his s udy a e he SMEs
ca ying ou DT. The esea ch ime was om July
o Oc obe , 2021. The esea ch objec s we e mainly
CEOs, business execu i es and ele an middle and
senio manage s, including 101 business execu i es,
accoun ing o 45.7%, 72 senio manage s such as
gene al manage s o CEOs, accoun ing o 32.6%,
and 48 IT- ela ed depa men s middle manage s,
accoun ing o 21.7%; The esea ch sample SMEs
a e loca ed in ypical egions such as Beijing-Tianjin-
Zhang Yujie, Sidah B Id is, Ja a in Bin Lily
113
Hebei, Yang ze Ri e Del a and Pea l Ri e Del a.
A o al o 263 ques ionnai es we e dis ibu ed in
his su ey, and 221 alid ones we e ob ained a e
elimina ing ques ionnai es wi h incomple e answe s
o ob ious p oblems. The desc ip i e s a is ics o
he sample SMEs a e shown in Table 1.
V. Da a Analysis and Findings
A. Reliabili y and Validi y es
In his pape , C onbach coe icien was used o
es he in e nal consis ency eliabili y, and ac o
load was used o es he index eliabili y. The esul s
a e epo ed in Table 2. I can be seen om Table
2 ha he C onbach coe icien s o all cons uc s
a e g ea e han 0.7, indica ing ha he scale has
good in e nal consis ency eliabili y, and he ac o
loads o all la en a iables a e g ea e han 0.7,
indica ing ha he measu emen indica o s o he
cons uc s ha e ela i ely good eliabili y.
In e ms o alidi y, i s ly, he commonly used
scales a home and ab oad we e selec ed and e ised
on he basis o pilo -s udy, which ensu es he con en
alidi y o he ques ionnai e o a ce ain ex en .
Secondly, he a e age a iance ex ac ion ac o
(AVE) o each a iable is g ea e han 0.5, indica ing
ha he a iable has good con e gen alidi y.
Thi dly, by compa ing he squa e oo o AVE alue
wi h he size o co ela ion coe icien , as epo ed
in Table 3, he squa e oo o AVE alue o all
a iables is g ea e han he co ela ion coe icien
wi h o he a iables, indica ing ha he scale in his
s udy has good disc iminan alidi y.
B. Da a Calib a ion
This essay e e s o he calib a e (X, n1, n2, n3)
unc ion in sQCA3.0 so wa e o calib a e each
a iable o uzzy se da a. Du ing he calib a ion
p ocess, h ee ancho poin s need o be se , namely
he ull membe ship poin (0.95), he comple ely
non- ull membe ship (0.05), and he c oss poin (0.5).
The c oss poin e e s o he in e media e poin
be ween comple e membe ship and comple e non
membe ship. he h ee ancho poin s o calib a ion
a e shown in Table 4 below.
C. Necessa y Condi ion Analysis
Re e ing o he esea ch by (G eckhame &
Aguile a, 2018), a necessa y condi ion analysis was
conduc ed be o e conduc ing con igu a ion analysis.
When he consis ency o he condi ional a iable wi h
No. o employees No. Pe cen ages Yea o es ablishmen F equency Pe cen age
Unde 50 115 52.0 Below 2 16 7.2
51-100 40 18.1 3-5 64 29.0
101-200 24 10.9 6-10 69 31.2
201-500 24 10.9 Mo e han 11 72 32.6
501 -1000 6 2.7 Indus y Sec o s F equency Pe cen age
Abo e 1001 12 5.4 Manu ac u ing 55 24.9%
S ages No. Pe cen ages Wholesale and e ail 61 27.6%
Ini ial s age 26 11.8 Business se ices 27 12.2%
G owing s age 106 48.0 Scien i ic esea ch and echnical se ices 17 7.7%
Ma u e s age 81 36.7 In o ma ion se ices 17 7.7%
Recession s age 8 3.6 O he s 44 19.9%
Table 1. Desc ip i e s a is ical in o ma ion o su eyed SMEs
GLOBAL BUSINESS & FINANCE REVIEW, Volume. 29 Issue. 3 (APRIL 2024) 108-119
114
he esul a iable eaches 0.9 o mo e, i can be
conside ed ha his ac o is a necessa y condi ion
o he gene a ion o he esul . Th ough consis ency
analysis using sQCA3.0 so wa e, he consis ency
sco es o each single a iable on he ou come a iable
we e ob ained (see Table 5). The consis ency sco es
o each condi ional a iable on he ou come a iable
o ans o ma ion and upg ading did no exceed 0.9,
indica ing ha he e is no necessa y condi ion o
Cons uc s Measu es Fac o
loading C .Alpha AVE
Digi al
T ans o ma ion
(DT)
Adop ing digi al echnology o ans o m and upg ade he exis ing
p oduc s, se ices and p ocesses 0.765
0.741 0.505
Willing o pu e o in o p omo ing and publicizing digi al skills and
managemen knowledge 0.720
Ou company is ope a ing business p ocesses based on digi al echnology 0.722
Ou business ope a ions a e shi ing owa ds le e aging digi al echnology 0.731
Digi al
T ans o ma ion
In as uc u e
(DTI)
Compa ed wi h i s majo compe i o s, he company in es s mo e in he
cons uc ion o digi al echnology in as uc u e 0.736
0.705 0.504
The company's digi al echnology is mo e complex han i s main compe i o s 0.788
The company's digi al echnology can be upg aded and op imized 0.791
The company is well equipped wi h a ious digi al echnology equipmen
de elopmen 0.711
Employee
Skills
(ES)
We p omo e con inuous lea ning o he unique p ope ies o digi al
echnologies 0.830
0.780 0.603
My o ganiza ion p o ides he employees wi h he esou ces o oppo uni ies
o ob ain he igh skills o ake ad an age o digi al ends 0.785
En e p ises suppo and p omo e employees o imp o e hei digi al skills 0.761
Employees can easily accep he digi al wo king en i onmen o imp o e
o ganiza ional e ec i eness 0.728
Managemen
Suppo
(MS)
The managemen ac i ely a ends o he company's ans o ma ion p ocess 0.755
0.758 0.513
The managemen knows he implemen a ion si ua ion o i al company's DT 0.786
The managemen equen ly has casual con ac wi h he company's DT manage 0.730
The managemen unde s ands he oppo uni ies b ough by he company's
DT 0.725
The managemen is willing o p o ide enough capi al o he company's DT 0.767
En i onmen
Unce ain y
(EU)
The echnology o he indus y changes apidly 0.719
0.847 0.524
The changing end o he ma ke is di icul o p edic 0.747
The upda e and i e a ion o echnology in he indus y is e y as 0.809
Cus ome p e e ences change apidly 0.738
Cus ome s always end o look o new p oduc s 0.721
The p oduc li e cycle o he indus y is sho 0.709
The changing end o he ma ke is di icul o p edic 0.806
Table 2. Va iable measu emen , eliabili y and alidi y analysis
DT DTI ES MS EU
DT 0.704
DTI 0.637 0.710
ES 0.588 0.579 0.771
MS 0.549 0.488 0.538 0.716
EU 0.377 0.447 0.387 0.507 0.724
Table 3.
V
a iable co ela ion coe icien and disc iminan
alidi
y
Zhang Yujie, Sidah B Id is, Ja a in Bin Lily
115
ans o ma ion and upg ading, and he explana o y
powe o a single an eceden a iable on digi al
ans o ma ion is no s ong (Schneide & Wagmann,
2017; Ragin & Rihoux, 2017).
D. Con igu a ion Pa h Analysis
Re e ing o Fiss e al. (2011), se he consis ency
h eshold o 0.8 and he case equency h eshold
o 1. The speci ic esul s a e shown in Table 6. Unde
he syne gis ic in luence o en e p ise digi al s a egy
and esou ces, he ollowing wo con igu a ion pa hs
ha e been ound o p omo e he high deg ee o DT
o SMEs:
(1)Resou ce alloca ion plan o ma u e SMEs:
Combina ion pa h H1 displays ha high-deg ee DT
can happen wi h high employee skills play as he
co e condi ions and execu i e suppo and en i onmen
unce ain y as he auxilia y condi ions. The pa h
consis ency is as high as 0.865. Mos ypical
en e p ises in his con igu a ion a e ma u e SMEs,
indica ing ha o ma u e SMEs wi h no so good
DTIs, he collabo a ion o employ skills, execu i e
suppo and en i onmen unce ain y can p omo e
he DT signi ican ly.
This phenomenon o en occu s in SMEs wi h a
ce ain scale and a ela i ely long es ablishmen ime.
This is because la ge and es ablished SMEs o en
ha e es ablished hemsel es i mly in he indus y,
and en i onmen al unce ain y ha e a ela i ely small
impac on he de elopmen o SMEs. A he same
ime, due o he yea s o de elopmen in he indus y
and he accumula ion o ele an expe ience and
knowledge, manage s ha e a be e unde s anding
o he DT si ua ion in he indus y, and employees
ha e ela i ely high skills. In such a si ua ion,
endogenous o ces play a leading ole, and manage s
a ach g ea impo ance o he DT o en e p ises,
igo ously cul i a e employee skills, and ul ima ely
p omo e he ealiza ion o a high-deg ee o DT in
SMEs.
Va iables Consis ency Co e age
DTI 0.771256 0.849595
~DTI 0.561728 0.640784
ES 0.890271 0.764526
~ES 0.409931 0.661240
MR 0.791118 0.835152
~MR 0.531611 0.635031
EU 0.721115 0.803147
~EU 0.571013 0.644080
Table 5. Tes o he necessa y condi ions o he high-
deg ee DT
An eceden s Con igu a ions
H1 H2
DTI ⊗●
ES ●⊗
MR ••
EU ⊗•
Raw Co e age 0.890271 0.351635
Unique Co e age 0.555592 0.016956
Consis ency 0.864526 0.847771
Solu ion Co e age 0.907227
Solu ion Consis ency 0.759857
No e: 1) ● indica es ha he co e condi ion exis s ; 2) indica es
he co e condi ion doesn' exis 3) • indica es he auxilia y
condi ion doesn' exis ; 4) ⊗ indica es he auxilia y condi ion
does no exis .
Table 6. Con igu a ions o High-Deg ee DT
Va iables ull membe ship C osspoin Non- ull membe ship
Digi al T ans o ma ion In as uc u e 4.161 3.590 3.019
Employee Skills 4.406 3.838 3.270
Execu i e Suppo 4.406 3.886 3.366
En i onmen al Unce ain y 4.355 3.680 3.005
Digi al T ans o ma ion 4.438 3.919 3.400
Table 4.
V
a iable s anda d de ia ion and calib a ion ancho poin
