TOPIC: THE IMPACT OF PERSONAL RESOURCES AND DIGITALIZATION.

A
CASE STUDY OF E-COMMERCE AMONGST SMES IN MALAYSIA.

INTRODUCTION

For business, digitalization becomes an ever-growing key problem. Nevertheless, most

organizations, and especially SMEs, struggle with a coordinated process of global digital
transformation. In fact, digitization has an influence on much of the organizational strategy of
a firm, including market potential creation. The factor of digitalization that supports the
internationalization of SMEs has been found. To integrate digital technology, however,
investment and changes in internal procedures in a firm must be made through the
mobilization of new resources and the implementation of specialized management
competencies. Over the last decade, new processes of innovation, product and services
marketing models and the development of ever strong digital technology and digital
infrastructure have revolutionized and continue to revolutionize business processes,
organizations, and enterprises culturally (Tekic & Koroteev, 2019). Academic and industry
are utilized as a major phrase for expressing organizational changes impacted by digital
technology under the phrase "digital transformation." However, while a coherent definition
has not been embraced extensively, all scientific papers convey unanimously the fact that
digital transformation leads to a significant shift in organizations (Burki, 2018). According to
Lucas et al. (2013), these changes affect business process adaptation, the creation of new
organizations, changes in customer-organisation interactions, markets, user expertise, and the
quantity of customers. In conjunction with the expanding globalization of related economies,
accelerated digital technical development is also accelerate product and service innovation
cycles, producing new business models, and transforming the operational and organizational
environment for enterprises and customers.

BACKGROUND

Digitalization is raising more and more interest in today’s economic fabric. Its importance
will even grow exponentially in the near and long term. Some talk about “the fourth industrial
revolution” (Manyika J. et al., 2016). The concern about digitalization arises mainly from the
daily presence and usage of digital technologies. It profoundly modifies the strategic context
of companies. It is reshaping the structure of competition, the conduct of business, and as a
result, the performance across industries. Since the digital world is gaining in importance,
companies may raise questions about the place or even the impact of this technology in
organizations. They may inquire whether its influence is limited to information technology
systems or whether its effect is larger and touches other departments of the organization.
With the aim of enlightening part of these questionings, this paper will discuss the impact of
digitalization on companies’ strategy and especially its relationship with corporate strategy.
Several companies are aware of the need for changes, but only a few are searching for
solutions to prevent digital disruption. According to a published study shows that 46% of
executives surveyed in the United States think that digital will have an impact on more than
half of their sales in less than 5 years. This proves the awareness of the potential for this
technology to reshape business. Furthermore, these executives predict that 47% of their
revenue will be influenced by digitalization by 2025. Different business operations, including
firm business models, were affected in increasing digitalization by allowing different forms
of collaboration between firms and leading to new offers of products and services and new
forms of corporate connections with consumers and staff. This digitization has also put
pressure on enterprises to reflect on their existing strategy and to methodically and early on
investigate new business prospects (Rachinger, et al, (2019).

RESEARCH PROBLEM

Digital transformation has changed sectors and companies and will continue to alter. In a
widely consumed industry like music, publishing, consumer electronics, retail and financial
services (Acker et al., 2015; Hagberg, 2016) the most serious effects of this transformation
have been noted but have also started to affect all SMEs (Wang, Wang, Mohammed, &
Givehchi, 2015). Their economic relevance is unquestionable, but the literature has received
very little attention to their chances and problems in terms of competing in an increasingly
digital sector.

Digital processing in small and medium-sized businesses has become ever more crucial to
increase operational efficiency but also to develop novel approaches. The Industry 4.0 idea
allows for combinations of intelligent digital items and linked machines to automate on a new
level and items which will eventually notify machines of their activities (Regeringen, 2016).
Digital transformation in small businesses may bring change through the supply chain and
provide opportunities for the sharing of digital technology and innovation between
organizations, as 'digital ecosystems' grow across industry. Companies need to embrace
digital transformation strategies to meet these high expectations rather than to be abandoned
behind them (Schlaepfer & Koch, 2015).
Research has shown that Malaysia's small and medium enterprise enterprises have
insufficient digitalization adaptation plans and face different issues than bigger enterprises. In
terms of understanding digital transformation in SMEs, this exposes a void in study. Another
digital transformation gap in the existing literature Prior academics concentrated mostly on
digital technology, but not enough on the most crucial feature that companies must take
advantage of or utilize to achieve organizational changes (Matt et al., 2015). For present
research, an organizational transformation focus on digital transformation would thus be
advantageous. This implies that in SMEs, researchers need to look at why and how SMEs
utilize digital technology to alter areas of their companies and show the benefits, but also the
problems, of digital transformation. Digital transformation is important.

QUESTIONS OF RESEARCH

1. What are the current internal resources for the organization and how do they utilize
for digitalization?
2. Why digitalization for SME’s so crucial and how can it benefit them?
3. What are the factors effecting digitalization’s among SMEs and how can they go
global with digitalization?
4. What are the issues and challenges SMEs face in term of recourse to go digital?
5. Using TAM model among SME viable or not?

OBJECTIVE OF RESEARCH

1. To Study the current internal resources for the organization and how do they utilize
for digitalization in current market.
2. To explore the importance of digitalization for SME’s the benefit to them.
3. To examine the factors effecting digitalization’s among SMEs and how can they
manage to go global.
4. T study the issues and challenges SMEs face in term of recourse to go digital.
5. To undertake the study of using TAM model among SME.
6. To make recommendation for SMEs to grow by using personal resources.

SIGNIFICANCE OF STUDY

This research will assist small and medium-sized companies and governments, to meet the
needs and resources of every organisation to enable them to be able to use the necessary
resources in the digital age. The digitalization of SMEs by leveraging internal resources
currently is necessary, since digitization is crucial, where digitalization is the foundation for
digitization, which is defined as the exploitation of digital opportunities (i.e., the process of
transferring analogue data in digital data sets). Digital transformation is thus characterized as
a system-level restructuring process for economies, institutions, and society Pacheco, Edgar,
Miriam Lips, and Pak Yoong. (2018).

CONCLUSION

The research revealed several effects, depending on which type of facilitator is evaluated (e-
commerce, e-marketing, and e-commerce). In fact, those connected to strategic placement,
adjustment of their offer, transparency and organisation are the most influenced export
practices. Export operational procedures will be less affected. In addition, e-business enabled
facilitators with the biggest global influence immediately relate to the inner functioning of a
firm and affect its operations. E-marketing facilitators have also a significant influence but
focus more on communication strategies and consumer relationships.
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