Digitalization in Retail : Identification of Drivers and Barriers among Small and Medium-sized Enterprises in the Retail Sector in Austria for Digitalization at the Customer Interface

Digital transformation reshapes the global economy and therefore also small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which are thus confronted with both opportunities as well as challenges. Studies show that more than 75% of all European SMEs recognize digitalization as a critical priority relating to the future direction of the enterprises and more than 50% understand the importance of adopting new technologies to stay competitive in the rapidly changing market ecosystem. The following paper focuses on Austrian SMEs and describes the drivers and barriers of digitalization at the customer interface in the retail sector. The results are derived through a qualitative research method. First, a comprehensive literature review was conducted, based on which a semi-structured questionnaire for expert interviews was developed. The drivers and barriers reveal a multi-faceted landscape with many interdependencies. The drivers and barriers identified by the literature review are confirmed or expanded by the empirical research. In addition, the interviews highlight facilitators that play a significant role for SMEs during digital transformation and are ideally present as a prerequisite. The attempts to categorize the factors within the multi-level framework by Trenerry et al. (2021) are impeded by the interconnectedness and pervasive influence across different levels of the identified drivers and barriers. Technology acceptance could, for example, not be classified at just one level, as it can be at the individual level, as a group norm, or as an indicator of organizational readiness. Finally, it can be said that SMEs in Austria recognize drivers of digitalization, however barriers are still high within this industry. Furthermore, digital transformation is not a linear, isolated process, which was confirmed by the difficult classification of drivers and barriers into specific elements on the multi-level framework by Trenerry et al. (2021). Rather it is considered a dynamic process that influences several aspects of an enterprise at the same time.