Digital Innovation in Microenterprises: Current Trends and New Research Avenues
Juan E. Gómez-Morantes, Andrea Herrera, Sonia Camacho
TL;DR
The paper addresses the gap in understanding how ICTs affect microenterprises by reviewing adoption, use, and impact literature across IS, innovation, ICT4D, and small-enterprise domains. It adopts a three-stage lifecycle framing (adoption, use, impact) and a systemic perspective, revealing that adoption is highly contingent on firm size, resources, time horizon, and external networks, and that use and impact are mediated by value chains and institutional contexts. The authors argue for analytical generalisability and time-aware, co-evolutionary theories to capture dynamic digital innovation in MSEs, and they highlight the role of ICT producers and systemic side effects as gaps. Practically, the study guides researchers and policymakers toward studying markets, networks, and value chains rather than isolated microenterprises, to better understand how digital innovation spreads and affects livelihoods.
Abstract
The relationship between microenterprises and information and communication technologies (ICTs) has always been troublesome. Because of the rapid pace of modern digital technologies, digital innovation processes are permeating the industries, markets, and social contexts in which microenterprises exist today. However, microenterprises have severe difficulties engaging or performing in these digital contexts and are at risk of being left behind. This paper reviews the literature on ICTs and microenterprises, focusing on the adoption, usage, and impact of ICTs. The results indicate that further research in this field should avoid focusing on individual microenterprises (or samples of independent microenterprises) as the unit of analysis and should favour a systemic approach in which markets, value chains, or microenterprise-intensive sectors are studied. Additionally, theoretical frameworks capable of considering change and the dynamic nature of innovation processes are highlighted as a critical focus area for the field.