Small business need to embrace digitisation

Small B2B companies must not be afraid to invest in digital technology- because it can lead directly to new business opportunities- according to a recently published paper from Professor Margherita Pagani of emlyon Business School.

Pagani, and colleague Catherine Pardo, interviewed digital marketing managers from B2B companies across five different industries and found that, despite it being initially costly, there are significant ways small businesses can benefit from digital transformation.

The key finding is that, aside from the opportunity to improve internal processes and co-ordination through things like introducing a cloud-based CRM system, digitization can help small businesses to connect with companies and suppliers they otherwise would not have encountered.

This, in turn could create new business relationships, encouraging knowledge sharing and potentially new business activities.

“Traditional B2B is often considered as lagging behind B2C as an arena for digital changes and innovations, with many being reluctant to apply digital technologies,” said Professor Pagani. “People generally don’t like change, but small B2B companies must not be afraid of committing to digitization, as the benefits they can reap make it absolutely worthwhile.”

“Our research should encourage small, traditional B2B companies to invest in digital transformation in order to enhance their networks and create more and more opportunities for themselves.”

The findings come from Professor Pagani and Professor Pardo’s research into The Impact of digital technology on relationships in a business network, published in Industrial Marketing Management Journal.