Multi-attribute assessment of digital maturity of smes

Abstract

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) need to keep pace with large enterprises, thus they need to digitally transform. Since they usually lack resources (budget, knowledge, and time) many countries have their support environment to help SMEs in this endeavor. To be able to ensure the right kinds of support, it is crucial to assess the digital maturity of an enterprise. There are many models and assessment tools for digital maturity, however, they are either theoretical models, partial, vendor oriented, or suited for large enterprises. In this paper, we address the problem of assessing digital maturity for SMEs. For this purpose, we developed a multi-attribute model for assessment of the digital maturity of an SME. We followed the design science research approach, where the multi-attribute model is considered as an IT artifact. Within the design cycle, the decision expert (DEX) methodology of a broader multi-attribute decision making methodologies was applied. The developed model was validated by a group of experts and upgraded according to their feedback and finally evaluated on seven real-life cases. Results show that the model can be used in real business situations.