In recent years, digitization greatly influences the production process of enterprises. In terms of competitiveness, we are more and more aware of the advantages that the use of digital technology entails for companies. However, there is still a digital divide between companies in northern Italy and those in the south due to the geographical position, which undoubtedly penalizes these companies in terms of costs, but also due a certain delay in terms of economic growth. To overcome this gap, it is necessary to undertake a process of change through greater cooperation between companies, creating supply chains that not only embrace different sectors, but also go beyond their borders and create an increasingly global system. Exactly for this reason, it is essential to perfect the knowledge and skills of digital tools. Only in this way can SMEs in the south have the opportunity to become more competitive in terms of international trade.
TopIntroduction
In economic literature, and in particular according Schumpeter, innovation determines a change in the social order, without forgetting that policy plays a crucial role too. Undoubtedly, economic innovation and, therefore, digitization, are some of the “neo-Schumpeterian” approaches, causing a change in economic life and giving rise to a new economic development; in the Theory of Economic Development he wrote:
What seems to us to be received doctrine: Industrial expansion, automatically incident to, and moulded by, general social growth – of which the most important purely economic forces are growth of population and of savings – is the basic fact about economic change or evolution or “progress”; wants and possibilities develop, industry expands in response, and this expansion, carrying automatically in its wake increasing specialization and environmental facilities, accounts for the rest, changing continuously and organically its own data. (Schumpeter, 1928, pp. 375‐6).
According to Schumpeter, progress, the expansion of industries and the growth in demand derive from “new combinations” of already existing factors of production, that means from “innovations”. He wrote:
What we, unscientifically, call economic progress means essentially puttingproductive resources to uses hitherto untried in practice, and withdrawing them from the uses they have served so far. This is what we call -innovation-. What matters for the subject of this study is merely the essential discontinuous character of this process, which does not lend itself to description in terms of a theory of equilibrium. (Schumpeter, 1928, pp. 378).
Innovation is important not to be confused with invention. Therefore, innovation is a technological transformation also linked to digitization. The technological change present in the modern economic system is synonymous with industry 4.0, which undoubtedly creates productive efficiency, well-being and greater wealth on the one hand, but can also create unemployment, due to the qualitative changes of the workforce.
TopRelationship Between Digitization And Smes
The relationship between digitization and SMEs, has many critical points, which derives from the organizational structure of companies. It is not easy for companies to adapt to technological changes and give up their habits, therefore, it is not easy to reach an optimal level; We talk about Organizational Inertia: companies need time to change, they are unable to realize deep and rapid changes. This aspect is described as a competence trap, as the limits that the company shows depend on its own resources and strengths. For SMEs, the difficulties described above are even more evident because of their size and features. Carrying out a process of technological innovation requires a commitment that is not easy for SMEs.
The production system, not only in Italy but also in Europe, is characterized by the large presence of SMEs, in fact in Europe SMEs represent 99.8% of all enterprises, involve about 67% of the workforce and participate in the 58% of production (Eurostat). In Italy the presence of SMEs is even stronger than in the rest of Europe. Italian SMEs exceed the European average both in terms of added value and employed. However, SMEs in Italy have difficulties in terms of performance and growth rates. It is important for these companies to improve the regulatory aspects and the policies in their favor; this means that the public administration will necessarily have to approach the needs of SMEs. Therefore, is necessary to: crate a context businesses can grow, helping weaker companies, giving the more opportunities and not letting them die after the first mistake, much less if they are in insolvency; facilitate access to credit; give SMEs the opportunity to take advantage of innovation, research and all the possibilities offered by the market; businesses have to care about sustainability and the environment too; It is important to enable companies to generate knowledge: we are talking about Learning by grafting, that is, the acquisition of knowledge through the hiring of new staff or the acquisition of a company.
In Italy, SMEs are micro-enterprises mainly concentrated in the manufacturing sector and with an average number of three employees.