Which Italian SMEs fall in love with digitalisation? An exploration into the determinants

Purpose Digitalisation represents an important opportunity for SMEs or, in other words, a fundamental factor to help them implement competitive strategies aimed at innovation, cost reduction and internationalization. This study aims to investigate the determinants of the level of digitalisation of Italian SMEs. Design/methodology/approach This study firstly involves a survey based on short telephone interviews to measure the level of digitalisation of 101 Italian SMEs and, secondly, uses a regression model to identify the drivers of this level of digitalisation. Findings Empirical findings reveal that the Italian SMEs have an average level of digitalisation. Besides, they show that firm size, firm profitability and financial leverage represent drivers that positively influence the digitalisation of the Italian SMEs. Originality/value This study provides an important contribution to the academic literature by providing a first operationalization of the concept of business digitalisation and by broadening the knowledge of the drivers of the level of digitalisation in the SMEs context.