Digital transformation and improvement of management control: Empirical study in financial institutions

From a global perspective, the business environment has become highly dynamic, unpredictable, and competitive due to external forces – mostly technology – that generate change. The aim of this study is to investigate the influence of digital technologies on South African business sectors. The sample includes small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the KwaZulu-Natal province. Being qualitative by design, the study used semi-structured interviews for data collection, with eight interviews in the Durban area. SME managers were purposefully selected as participants based on their management positions in the business/company and that they oversee the business operation and understand the influence of digital transformation in the business. The interviews were then transcribed after data collection to determine any recurring themes. In the effectiveness of digital transformation, the study identified themes such as “gaining exposure” and “gaining effective sales figures” as a result of implementing digital transformation, which was indicated by six of eight participants. The findings showed that digital transformation significantly affects building customer relationships and ensuring easy accessibility of the business. The results further indicate online selling and digital marketing as the leading digital platforms successfully implemented by most South African SMEs. Lastly, the study revealed digital maintenance and rapid changes in technology as challenging factors. Moreover, the study recommends that South African SMEs implement more available digital technologies to gain additional exposure.

In the current era, the challenges faced by SMEs in Indonesia are becoming increasingly complex. Previously, the primary challenge for SMEs has been to enhance performance. However, with the emergence of information technology, SMEs are now required to compete fiercely. SMEs in Indonesia are still in the process of digital transformation to improve their business strategies, thus limiting research focused on digital transformation in SMEs. Research also considers market complexity and digital strategy as crucial factors for SMEs. The aim of this study is to analyze the role of digital transformation in influencing SME performance. The research approach is quantitative, involving 171 SMEs owners as respondents. The instrument utilized is a Likert scale questionnaire, focusing on the majority of SMEs in Indonesia, particularly those in Java, the most populous island and business center of the country. This includes SMEs operating within various sectors, such as culinary, fashion, retail, and creative industries. The results indicate that digital strategy and market complexity influence digital transformation and SMEs performance. The research findings suggest that digital transformation mediates the influence of digital strategy and market complexity on SME performance. The novelty of this study lies in its focus on the current SMEs digitalization strategy area. This study indicates that digital transformation is an essential aspect affecting current SME performance. The results suggest that SMEs require focused strategies to strengthen resources and gain competitive advantage in complex markets.

Regardless of the nature, size, or business sector, organizations are now collecting burgeoning various volumes of data in different formats. As much as voluminous data are necessary for organizations to draw good insights needed for making informed decisions, traditional architectures and existing infrastructures are limited in delivering fast analytical processing needed for these Big Data. For success organizations need to apply technologies and methods that could empower them to cost effectively analyze these Big Data. However, many organizations in developing countries are constrained with limited access to technology, finances, infrastructure and skilled manpower. Yet, for productive use of these technologies and methods needed for Big Data analytics, both the organizations and their workforce need to be prepared. The major objective for this study was to investigate developing countries organizations’ readiness for Big Data analytics. Data for the study were collected from a public sector in South Africa and analyzed quantitatively. Results indicated that scalability, ICT infrastructure, top management support, organization size, financial resources, culture, employees’ e-skills, organization’s customers’ and vendors are significant factors for organizations’ readiness for Big Data analytics. Likewise strategies, security and competitive pressure were found not to be significant. This study contributes to the scanty literature of Big Data analytics by providing empirical evidence of the factors that need attention when organizations are preparing for Big Data analytics.