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Evaluating the extent of digital transformation in response to the public crisis: Evidence from Small Service Businesses
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Jahanyar Bamdadsofi *   , Razieh Birank , Fatemeh Mohammadnezhad Chari |
| Faculty of Management and Accounting, AllamehTabataba’iUniversity , bamdadsofi@atu.ac.ir |
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Abstract: (73 Views) |
During the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting constraints, businesses have encountered changes in their customers’ behaviors and business environments. Scholars have emphasized on the role of digital transformation as a response to these challenges. This study investigates the level of digital maturity in seven dimensions of digital transformation presented by Kane (2017) in small service businesses (SSBs). A mixed method combining the logic of statistical accuracy of questionnaire analysis with the realistic aspects of discourse analysis was applied. The results revealed that digital transformation does not fully occur among the SSBs. Instead, some extent of digitalization happened in various areas such as communications with customers and the digitalization of some aspects of services. Besides, the study revealed that the most frequent pathways taken by SSBs toward digitalization are the less capital-intensive and technology-based ones . Furthermore, customers are involved in three types of relational activities categorized as “transactional”, “intercommunication”, and “information sharing”.
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| Keywords: digital transformation, customer relationship, COVID-19 pandemic, small service businesses, digital maturity. |
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Full-Text [PDF 418 kb]
(24 Downloads)
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Type of Study: Original |
Subject:
Computing and information management
Received: 2025/01/29 | Accepted: 2025/06/9 | Published: 2025/06/13
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