Resolving Digital Divide for Small Business Owners: Prioritizing Awareness and Literacy Enhancement

The Level of Awareness and Behavior of Small Business Owners Regarding Digital Transformation

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Cheol-hyun] An analysis has emerged that in order to resolve the digital divide between large, small and medium enterprises and small business owners, raising awareness of digital transformation and improving digital literacy (information decoding ability) must come first.

Researcher Kim Ki-woong of the Korea Small Business Institute announced these findings on the 8th in a study titled "Implementation Plans for the Smooth Digital Transformation of Small Business Owners." The report examined the current status of digital transformation among small business owners and government policies supporting digital transformation, and proposed implementation plans for policies supporting small business owners' digital transformation.

The report noted that although the era of the 4th Industrial Revolution has brought about drastic changes in the societal framework, small business owners, who hold a significant share in the national economy, have been insufficient in responding to this. While digital transformation in small and medium enterprises has been established with smart factories as the government's representative policy tool, there is a need for policies targeting small business owners as well.

Examples presented include business models in manufacturing, wholesale and retail, and lodging and food service industries where small business owners can practically apply digital transformation. Based on data from 2015 to 2017, the utilization rates of new technologies such as cloud computing, big data, Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence (AI), and 3D printing in key small business sectors?manufacturing, wholesale and retail, and lodging?showed slight increases but remained at very low levels.

As of 2017, the AI utilization rate among small manufacturers was only 0.2%, and small business owners in lodging·and food service sectors showed 0% utilization rates for big data, AI, and 3D printing. Although the utilization rates of big data, IoT, and AI in wholesale and retail were higher than in manufacturing, these were mainly used by large and medium enterprises, suggesting a high possibility of a digital divide between large, medium, and small business owners. Furthermore, as of 2019, small business owners showed below-average awareness and behavior levels regarding digital transformation, indicating a negative stance, with small business owners being more vulnerable in digital transformation awareness than small manufacturers. By industry, awareness of digital transformation was lower among small business owners in wholesale and retail and lodging·and food service than among small manufacturers.

Based on this analysis, the report proposed four implementation plans: enhancing acceptance of digital transformation and providing tailored pinpoint support for small business owners, establishing and monitoring policy goals for small business owners' digital transformation, managing the supply system supporting small business owners' digital transformation, and securing sustainability of support for small business owners' digital transformation.

Researcher Kim Ki-woong of the Korea Small Business Institute emphasized in this report that raising awareness and digital literacy of small business owners must come first, and that developing business models and considering content areas unique to small business owners are necessary. He also stressed the importance of considering the dual growth of small business owners and supply companies such as ICT venture firms through digital transformation.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.