A Look at the Digitalization Strategies of Paraguayan Companies: Impact of the Drivers in the Context of MSMEs

Edgar Antonio Sánchez Báez; Raúl Marcelo Ferrer-Dávalos; Diego Daniel Sanabria

doi:10.4067/S0718-27242024000100019

Authors

Edgar Antonio Sánchez Báez Departamento de Tecnología de Producción, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Universidad Nacional de Asunción, San Lorenzo, Paraguay
Raúl Marcelo Ferrer-Dávalos Departamento de Investigación, Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y Administrativas. Universidad San Ignacio de Loyola, Asunción, Paraguay
Diego Daniel Sanabria Departamento de Estadística, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Universidad Nacional de Asunción, San Lorenzo, Paraguay

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.4067/S0718-27242024000100019

Keywords:

digitalization, drivers, MSMEs (Micro, Small, and Medium-sized Enterprises), Digital transformation, Competitive advantage, Digital technologies, ICT (Information and Communication Technologies), Business strategy

Abstract

All of the world's productive sectors are being impacted by the phenomenon known as digitalization, but different economies are experiencing this phenomenon in different ways due to a variety of internal and external factors at play in the businesses. According to official statistics, they make up 97% of the nation's commercial fabric and generate a sizable amount of employment (about 60%) and gross domestic product (GDP) for the nation. By categorizing Paraguayan MSMEs by economic sector, size, and age, the goal of this paper is to examine the influence of digitalization drivers in this context. In order to achieve this purpose, data was collected through a survey during the months of April to September 2022. The findings show that MSMEs' owners value the key forces influencing digitization. On the other hand, they point out to the fact that varied behaviors are displayed depending on the business sector, size, and age of the company, which calls for specialized tactics and attention to improve digitalization in MSMEs.

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