Open Innovation at the Digital Frontier: Unraveling the Paradoxes and Roadmaps for SMEs' Successful Digital Transformation

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to fill a gap in the literature regarding the open innovation
management approaches that SMEs can use to access digital technologies and incorporate them into
their organizational processes. The research question is: What organizational and process-level
managerial actions do SMEs take to successfully access and implement digital technologies within
their organizational processes?
Methodology: Using Guertler et al.'s (2020) Action Innovation Management Research (AIM-R)
framework, this study examines the digital transformation experiences of 10 European SMEs to gain
insights into the managerial actions that foster successful digital transformation.
Findings: The findings of the paper reveal two major contributions. First, a digital transformation
roadmap for SMEs is proposed, with a focus on accessing external resources and reconfiguring
internal ones to ease their digital transformation journey. Second, three distinct paradoxes that
influence the digital transformation process in SMEs are highlighted, providing useful insights into
the challenges and tensions SMEs face during this journey.
Originality: This paper provides a unique perspective on the digital transformation of SMEs by
examining the managerial actions required for successful technology adoption and revealing the
paradoxes that may emerge during this transformative process. The findings form the basis for future
research, deepening our understanding of digital transformation in SMEs and providing actionable
advice to managers and practitioners navigating this journey.