Adoption of digital technologies in manufacturing SMEs in Bulgaria and the role of environmental factors

The adoption of digital technologies (ADT) in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) increasingly attracts researchers’ attention for several reasons. While being significant contributors to national economies, SMEs lack important resources and thus lag in digitalisation. Stakeholders pressure SMEs to digitalise while government support is seen as important in leveraging digital uptake. Yet, the role of governments and stakeholders in SMEs’ digitalisation is under-researched. This study explores ADT and its relationship with environmental factors (customers, competitors, suppliers, government policies) and two control variables – firm size and firm age. Analyses of variance and regression analysis are applied to a sample of 471 manufacturing SMEs in Bulgaria. The results highlight the important role of government policies in manufacturing SMEs’ digitalisation. The hypothesised impact of market pressure was not confirmed. The firm size matters while the firm age does not have a statistically significant impact on ADT in this sample. This article discusses several theoretical and practical implications. The role of government policies for manufacturing SMEs is reinforced and suggests that these should be customised and used proactively to close the digital gap. Further research is needed to explore the mechanisms through which the microenvironment influences the digitalisation decisions of manufacturing SMEs.