Unveiling the role of stakeholder involvement for digital transformation of Indian food SMEs
Abstract With the advent of digitalization, the economy of the world is quickly changing itself and Indian Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) are the front runners. This study sheds light on how digital transformation is crucial to support the growth, competitiveness, and sustainability in the pres...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Springer
2025-07-01
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| Series: | Discover Food |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1007/s44187-025-00510-7 |
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| author | Sumit Gupta Deepika Joshi Sandeep Jagtap Hana Trollman Virendra Kumar Verma |
| author_facet | Sumit Gupta Deepika Joshi Sandeep Jagtap Hana Trollman Virendra Kumar Verma |
| author_sort | Sumit Gupta |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract With the advent of digitalization, the economy of the world is quickly changing itself and Indian Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) are the front runners. This study sheds light on how digital transformation is crucial to support the growth, competitiveness, and sustainability in the present business environment, and how digital transformation is important to the SMEs in India. To encourage SMEs to take up digital technologies, the Government of India has been creating an environment that encourages such moves by launching several initiatives including Digital India, Make in India and Startup India. This paper studies the role of stakeholder involvement in digital transformation in Indian food SMEs. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) is used on survey responses from 103 food SMEs using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). From the findings, there is a close relationship between stakeholder involvement and technological advancement (β = 0.595, p < 0.001) and organizational and political factors (β = 0.709, p < 0.001) as viewed by leadership, which reflects multidimensional factors leading to digital adoption. However, stakeholder involvement does not have any significant effect on financial factors (β = 0.018, p = 0.87), financial constraints being a major barrier to transformation. Moreover, although technological advancement results in a positive effect towards digital transformation (β = 0.694, p < 0.001), organizational and financial challenges act as stumbling blocks altogether. In the case of managers, this study indicates proactive involvement of stakeholders, investment in employees upskilling and alignment of organizational goals with digital initiatives for the support of technology adoption. This information assists decision makers in estimating government incentives and public private partnerships to overcome financial constraints. Digital transformation for food sector SMEs depends on a coordinated support of stakeholders, policy and technological readiness as preconditions for long term competitiveness. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-73a9d4f0588a4f65b2a7bebb4887d4b5 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2731-4286 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | Springer |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Discover Food |
| spelling | doaj-art-73a9d4f0588a4f65b2a7bebb4887d4b52025-08-20T03:38:13ZengSpringerDiscover Food2731-42862025-07-015112010.1007/s44187-025-00510-7Unveiling the role of stakeholder involvement for digital transformation of Indian food SMEsSumit Gupta0Deepika Joshi1Sandeep Jagtap2Hana Trollman3Virendra Kumar Verma4Department of Mechanical Engineering, Amity School of Engineering and Technology, Amity University Uttar PradeshOperations and Supply Chain Management Department, St. Joseph’s Institute of ManagementSustainable Manufacturing Systems Centre, School of Aerospace, Transport & Manufacturing, Cranfield UniversityCentre for Sustainable Organisations, School of Business, University of LeicesterSymbiosis Institute of Business Management, Symbiosis International (Deemed University)Abstract With the advent of digitalization, the economy of the world is quickly changing itself and Indian Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) are the front runners. This study sheds light on how digital transformation is crucial to support the growth, competitiveness, and sustainability in the present business environment, and how digital transformation is important to the SMEs in India. To encourage SMEs to take up digital technologies, the Government of India has been creating an environment that encourages such moves by launching several initiatives including Digital India, Make in India and Startup India. This paper studies the role of stakeholder involvement in digital transformation in Indian food SMEs. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) is used on survey responses from 103 food SMEs using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). From the findings, there is a close relationship between stakeholder involvement and technological advancement (β = 0.595, p < 0.001) and organizational and political factors (β = 0.709, p < 0.001) as viewed by leadership, which reflects multidimensional factors leading to digital adoption. However, stakeholder involvement does not have any significant effect on financial factors (β = 0.018, p = 0.87), financial constraints being a major barrier to transformation. Moreover, although technological advancement results in a positive effect towards digital transformation (β = 0.694, p < 0.001), organizational and financial challenges act as stumbling blocks altogether. In the case of managers, this study indicates proactive involvement of stakeholders, investment in employees upskilling and alignment of organizational goals with digital initiatives for the support of technology adoption. This information assists decision makers in estimating government incentives and public private partnerships to overcome financial constraints. Digital transformation for food sector SMEs depends on a coordinated support of stakeholders, policy and technological readiness as preconditions for long term competitiveness.https://doi.org/10.1007/s44187-025-00510-7Stakeholder’s involvementDigital transformationFood SMEsSEM |
| spellingShingle | Sumit Gupta Deepika Joshi Sandeep Jagtap Hana Trollman Virendra Kumar Verma Unveiling the role of stakeholder involvement for digital transformation of Indian food SMEs Discover Food Stakeholder’s involvement Digital transformation Food SMEs SEM |
| title | Unveiling the role of stakeholder involvement for digital transformation of Indian food SMEs |
| title_full | Unveiling the role of stakeholder involvement for digital transformation of Indian food SMEs |
| title_fullStr | Unveiling the role of stakeholder involvement for digital transformation of Indian food SMEs |
| title_full_unstemmed | Unveiling the role of stakeholder involvement for digital transformation of Indian food SMEs |
| title_short | Unveiling the role of stakeholder involvement for digital transformation of Indian food SMEs |
| title_sort | unveiling the role of stakeholder involvement for digital transformation of indian food smes |
| topic | Stakeholder’s involvement Digital transformation Food SMEs SEM |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1007/s44187-025-00510-7 |
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