| dc.description.abstract | The role of IT- and digital possibilities in businesses in rather developed countries have grown to be important on operational, tactical and strategic level. Many of these solutions have proven to be useful, provided that these are implemented, used, and governed in the right way. Although the fact that many IT- and digital options exist, these are not/little used by African SMEs. The African culture and civilization differ much from their coun-terparts in developed countries. Many struggles exist, mostly due to fact that it is poor and less organized. In contrast, Africa offers opportunities for locals and businesses, such as the relatively young and growing popula-tion; and the rise of a growing middle class, resulting in an increase in spending. Despite the growing amount of theories, methods and models about digital transformation, the literature still suggests the need for more in-depth research in the context of Africa. The low amount of IT-related research in SMEs in Africa is regrettable, given that many experts of African business environment state that these companies can boost the overall de-velopment and wealth of this region, resulting in an overall better standard of living. This study aimed to put known literature about digital transformation in the context of sub-Saharan African SMEs, looking at fitting IT- and digital possibilities and the role local IT-companies can play to guide the process.
The literature review showed multiple definitions of the concept digital transformation. For this research the following definition was selected: “a process that aims to improve an entity by triggering significant changes to its properties through combinations of information, computing, communication, and connectivity technologies”. Scholars do not agree on the exact difference between IT- and digital, but all agree that digital transformation can be seen as an evolution of IT-enabled transformations, and that these are closely related. Therefore, the literature study aimed to identify benefits, possibilities and related capabilities for both IT and digital. Besides, it looked into both IT- a digital strategies, and change management. Furthermore, the literature study elaborated on the sub-Saharan African culture and its business environment. In addition to the literature study, the thesis included empirical research, looking into four aspects influencing the digital transformation of the SMEs, and the guiding process of local IT-companies: the current situation of the SMEs; the type of technologies beneficial for the SMEs; reasons of hesitation towards digital strategies in SMEs; and cultural aspects of the interaction be-tween IT-companies and SMEs. The empirical research was conducted in Ghana and included 19 interviews at SMEs; 6 interviews at IT-companies; and an ethnographic observational study.
The study found that most SMEs have a lot of room for improvement, using no IT at all or only using the Mi-crosoft Office package. Besides, 89 percent of the interviewees stated that most of their employees have/had no experience with IT. The reason why so little IT- or digital options were deployed were the financial situation, thinking that investments would not outweigh the costs; and the fact that they think change is not really needed. Furthermore, trust in- and the personal relation with the IT-company are seen as important aspects to choose an organization; and is unburdening the SMEs very important. Applications should be usable, low in costs, and have clear goal. The use of internet is seen as expensive, and a continuous, good connection is not available in all re-gions.
The results were used to create a roadmap, including guidelines and a framework for a digital transformation workshop. The guidelines inform IT-companies on four topics. First, the current situation of the SMEs, elaborat-ing on the room for IT- and digital based improvements. Second, creating a sense of urgency, informing about how they can take away the hesitations many of the owners/managers of SMEs have. Third, the fitting technolo-gies, explaining the different IT- and digital possibilities and how they fit in the context; and last, implementation and aftersales, providing insights in guiding the implementation and the aftersales phase. The empirical research showed the lack of IT- and digital solutions within SMEs and showed multiple reasons why they haven’t imple-mented them yet. In order to guide these SMEs towards their next (and often first) digital/IT implementation, a framework is created. The framework can be used by IT-companies to create a workshop for managers and owners of SMEs, to help them see how the different possibilities can benefit their company.
The workshop proved to increase the participants perceived level of knowledge about IT; the importance they attach to IT in their company; and their eagerness to start using IT. Furthermore, one of the six participants took their next digital step by implementing a website, as a direct result of the workshop. | |
