Digital transformation and role of KIBS

The digitization of businesses is becoming more and more critical not only to their internationalization but also for surviving in today's world. Since companies started using e-commerce to dematerialize barriers and reduce costs, how business is done has changed. Digitization is changing industries internationally because of globalization. Recent decades have seen a sharp increase in the pressure on companies to change. With the advancement of information and communication technologies (ICT), the demand for KIBS has increased (Smedlund & Toivonen, 2007). Complementary, KIBS play a vital role in facilitating the wide spread of modern technologies. This work investigates the role of KIBS in the digital transformation process for SMEs by analyzing and measuring the impact of DIHs in Italy, Spain, Germany, and France. Data were collected using the EUSurevy portal through a survey. Consequently, Tableau software was used to conduct a quantitative analysis on different dimensions selected throughout the research. The findings present the working environment of participating DIHs, the scale of operations, and their contributions. Chapter one briefly introduces the importance of digital transformation, giving a glimpse into the history of the four significant transitions in digitalization. The rest of chapter one discusses the digital transformation process in SMEs and the eternal connection between the characteristics of SMEs and their adaptability to new technologies. The first part of Chapter two presents some of the recent scientific literature connecting KIBS and their role in the digital transformation process. Moreover, it dives into understanding the classification and geography of KIBS. Moving to chapter three discusses the role of the EU in supporting digital transformation, strategies, and policies implemented that help KIBS perform better. This was followed by investigating the addressed DIHs' response to the survey in chapter four. Moreover, interpretations of the primary outcomes and additional contributions to the DIHs' countries.