Summary
For small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), there is a continuing pressure to change towards agile and flexible ways of working in order to meet customer needs more quickly. This pressure is intensified by the shortage of skilled workers. Successful implementation of digital work processes require new management roles and the willingness to change at the top level as well as the acceptance and continuous training of the workforce. These aspects are increasingly being discussed in science and business with the focus on large companies. This paper aims to reflect the discussion of digital working environments with a focus on SMEs.
SMEs usually lack own specialist staff for digitalisation, change management and innovative working methods and their scarce human resources are an obstacle for training measures. Nevertheless, the field of SMEs is extremely heterogeneous and comprises digitalisation pioneers from the IT sector as well as laggards in sectors such as construction, trade and hospitality.
Based on literature research and an expert dialogue, the following key findings were obtained:
- The change of SMEs towards New Work primarily represents a cultural change. It includes the management level as well as the employees who become independent and responsible actors. With flatter hierarchies and smaller organisations, the change affects especially the people’s interaction in the company.
- SMEs have a considerable need for further training and qualification measures, regarding agile working methods and digital processes, the use of relevant software applications as well as knowledge management tools.
- Knowledge management solutions, professional software and sufficient broadband connection are central components of digital organisations.
- In contrast to large enterprises, the need for structural adjustments is much less pronounced in SMEs, as they already have relatively flat hierarchies and, due to their company size, shorter and more informal decision-making processes.
SMEs can be advised to actively deal with these issues, to initiate change management projects for cultural change and to qualify their employees for the digital transformation.
Further research on the productivity effects of digital working environments is needed. In the area of distributed working many questions are still open about the necessary framework conditions as well as the impact on productivity level. Since qualification measures are a key component of the digital transformation, many questions remain for researchers how these can be optimally designed for SMEs.
