The effects of digital transformation on innovation and productivity: Firm-level evidence of South African manufacturing micro and small enterprises

This paper studies the relationships among the use of digital communication technologies, innovation performance and productivity, using an extended version of the Crepon-Duguet-Mairesse (1998) model, for a sample of micro and small enterprises (MSEs) in a middle-income country, South Africa. Based on the results of an original survey carried out in 2019, we investigate these links for a sample of 711 manufacturing MSEs located in Johannesburg. We estimate the relationships sequentially, firstly estimating the relationship between digitalization and innovation, and secondly the relationship between innovation and productivity. Our results show that selected digital communication technologies including the use of social media and of a business mobile phone for surfing the internet have a positive effect on innovation, and that innovation conditional on the use of these technologies has a positive effect on labor productivity. The findings suggest that public programs aimed at fostering inclusive digitalization must consider the types of digital technologies that are most accessible and beneficial to small firms, including those operating informally.

Automated summary

This paper investigates the relationships between the use of digital communication technologies, innovation performance, and productivity. Based on a survey conducted in South Africa, it finds that the use of digital communication technologies positively affects innovation and that innovation, in turn, positively impacts labor productivity. The study suggests that public programs promoting inclusive digitalization should focus on providing small firms, including those operating informally, with accessible and beneficial digital technologies.