Organisational mechanisms for building digital process improvement capabilities to foster SME competitiveness and growth

SMEs require digital and process improvement capabilities to address the organisational challenges associated with growth and performance. However, the two primary approaches to developing these capabilities, ERP and Lean, are challenging for SMEs to adopt. Therefore, this paper aims to investigate the underlying mechanisms by which ERP and Lean, as digitally supported approaches to process improvement, can facilitate SME competitiveness and growth. A longitudinal study of an integrated ERP–Lean intervention was completed over nine years using a design science research methodology and the CIMO framework. The research contributes to the theoretical understanding of SMEs’ adoption of digital and process improvement capabilities by identifying four organisational transformation mechanisms: discipline, understanding, engagement and enabling bureaucracy. The study provides evidence for the transformative potential of an integrated ERP–Lean method in digital process improvement, which can be deployed to achieve productivity increases, improve quality and foster company growth.