According to Alves (3), digitization is a continually developing concept that affects businesses everywhere and offers small and medium-sized firms (SMEs) the ability to participate in the global economy. The fourth industrial revolution is flourishing, mostly due to digital transformation (4). Small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) should adjust to the latest round of scientific and technological revolution as well as the trend of industrial transformation; seize the benefits of digital technology; and enhance their quick perception, quick response, and wise decision-making skills in the digital age to improve their capacity to manage risks and sustain development. SMEs are increasingly interested in and required to use novel and creative decision-making techniques in order to increase performance and competitiveness. The impact of digital transformation on the growth of SMEs has not received enough research; SMEs nowadays face significant pressure to adapt their operations to the digital world.

The specific objectives are:

The three hypotheses of this study were as follows, in accordance with the objectives stated above:

The literature pertinent to this investigation is discussed in this section.

The conceptual framework in Figure 1 below articulates the relationship between the independent and the dependent variables. These are the impact of the digitalization and thereof the impact of SME’s development in Namibia and how they influence each other.

Case studies served as the primary method of investigation in this study. A case study is defined by Babbie and Mouton (7) as “an intensive/in-depth investigation of a single unit.” This study used two case studies as its method because it gave the researcher the opportunity to thoroughly examine the four papers that were utilized to assess secondary data. It is appropriate because the researcher purposefully drew conclusions using secondary data. However, the researcher chose a case study primarily because the concept behind one is that it presents a clear image of a problem and requires that the real-life issue be examined from a variety of aspects and perspectives (8). Since case studies comprise an empirical investigation of a specific contemporary event within its real-life setting during data collection, they will be used in this study (9).

As a tactic, the qualitative research methodology was chosen. Consequently, qualitative data were gathered. This is mostly due to the expressiveness of qualitative data types and the opinions of the participants involved. This kind of information would be useful in understanding the interactions that occur when business services are provided between humans, technologies, and other technologies (10). The qualitative research approach was chosen mainly because it enables the collection of data on people’s and groups’ subjective ideas and opinions.

The study used secondary data to analyze existing literature related to this study under discussion. Prisma model was used as the determinant factor in selecting the literature used in this study.

Data analysis involves searching, classifying, and summarizing data in order to create meaning and uphold evidence (11). Data organization, summarization, and interpretation will be used to control the analytical process. The interpretive technique will be used to analyze the qualitative data; this method was chosen because it follows a set of guidelines for how the data should be analyzed. The first step is data reduction, which is an analytical procedure whereby the qualitative information that the researcher gathered is condensed, reorganized, and combined to form theory (12). The researcher must take reduced data and display it in an organized, condensed manner in step two of the data analysis process. In the third step, “drawing conclusions,” the research questions are addressed by figuring out what the detected themes imply, considering explanations for the patterns and relationships seen, or drawing contrasts and comparisons.

As the study’s guiding theory, the diffusion of innovation has been chosen. A theory known as the diffusion of innovation aims to clarify the how, why, and rate at which novel concepts and technological advancements spread across civilizations. Diffusion, according to Rogers (13), is the process through which an innovation is disseminated over time among the members of a social system through certain routes. The diffusion of innovations idea has several different antecedents that come from different academic fields. According to Rogers, the innovation itself, communication methods, the passage of time, and social systems all play a role in how quickly a new concept spreads.

The research was conducted using secondary data related to the study under discussion, as mentioned in the research objectives and demonstrated in the research methods section. “Research ethics are moral codes that the researcher should abide by when conducting a research,” claims Bless and Higson-Smith (14). In essence, this means that the researcher must follow certain rules in order to be able to discriminate between right and incorrect when carrying out research. No one’s rights will be abused in any way while the study is being conducted. Prior to participation, the subjects were given a description of the study’s purpose. Assurance was given to protect their privacy and anonymity with utmost respect (15).

The study focused on secondary information about how digitalization has affected the growth of SMEs.

The following hypothesis was put to the test in this study Table 1: