The Digital Readiness of Small Businesses at Times of Crisis: The Case of COVID-19

In the digital transformation era, businesses’ acquisition of competitive advantage is linked to the use of digital technologies as it is associated with various benefits and opportunities. At the same time, the challenges and disruptions that arose during the COVID-19 period affected the operation of businesses and highlighted the value and agility these technologies offer for resilience and business continuity. To this end, digitalisation has been imperative for all businesses. In particular, these fundamental disruptions profoundly impacted small businesses’ survival. Small businesses have distinct characteristics that differentiate them from larger businesses while being crucial to the European and global economy. Although there has been extensive research on the relationship between digital technologies, their advantages for businesses, and their strategic significance for established firms and big SMEs, further research is needed to examine the impact of digital technologies in the context of small businesses. To this end, this study investigates the leveraging of digital technologies and digital readiness of small businesses in all market sectors (commerce, manufacturing, professionals-scientists, tourism-food, services, and construction-building companies) and its effect on business benefits and response to COVID-19 problems, identifying challenges. A survey was conducted in Greece examining 500 small businesses. This paper compares the results with similar surveys conducted in the summer of 2019 and 2020, giving a unique opportunity to examine the COVID-19 effect.