Digital Innovation in Small and Medium-sized Enterprises: A comparative analysis between Albania and EU countries

• Pages: 1-19

1

Vol. 9 No. 3

November, 2023

Academic Journal of Business, Administration

Law and Social Sciences

E-ISSN 2410-8693

ISSN 2410-3918

Research Article

© 2023 Teuta Xhindi, Ermela Kripa & Mauro Gianfranco Bisceglia

This is an open access article licensed under the Creative Commons

Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License

(https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/)

Digital Innovation in Small and Medium-sized Enterprises: A comparative

analysis between Albania and EU countries

Teuta Xhindi

Faculty of Engineering, Informatics and Architecture, European University of Tirana,

Albania

Ermela Kripa

Department of Economic and Entrepreneurship Sciences, Catholic University ‘Our Lady of

Good Counsel’, Albania

Mauro Gianfranco Bisceglia

Faculty of Economics and Finance, Aldo Moro, Bari Italy

DOI: hps://doi.org/10.2478/ajbals-2023-0005

Abstract

Innovation has always been one of the drivers of competition and for the long-term success

of companies. The implementation of new digital technologies stimulates the development

and acquisition of new skills, competences and knowledge, which are relevant factors in

companies’ innovation activities, especially in SME’s.

Albania stays between the rst 10 European Countries where its citizens take 95% of public

services online. Also, Albania is the rst country not only in the region but also in Europe

to have a dedicated law for the development of start-ups. The study purpose is to present a

comparative analysis for the level of digital innovation for EU Countries and Albania.

The research question is: Are there dierences between Albania and European Countries

regarding the Key indicators of Digital Economy and Society Index?

We have conducted a review of the literature and a secondary data analysis. This study has a

descriptive nature, and its main contribution is to present the comparative results between EU

Countries and Albania regarding digital innovation. The results show that there are dierences

between Albania and European Countries regarding these indicators.

Keywords: Digitalization, innovation, SME, human capital, ICT.

Vol. 9 No. 3

November, 2023

Academic Journal of Business, Administration

Law and Social Sciences

2

E-ISSN 2410-8693

ISSN 2410-3918

1. Introduction

Nowadays, consumers are keenly aware of the profound shifts occurring on both

technological and social fronts. A more globalized and interconnected world has

signicantly impacted society and the economy over the past two decades. This

change can act as an exceptional drive towards innovation and technological progress,

obviously creating new problems and challenges along the way.

Facing challenges and diculties that derives by global changes is not easy, especially

for small and medium-sized companies that need careful and accurate planning to

manage the various risks they face.

In many countries, especially in some non-EU such as Albania, most of the working

class still refuses to adapt to this process of evolution towards the adoption of these

new tools and devices that strengthen the organization in which they work and that

could even determine their future.

Not keeping up with the latest trends and technological advances can lead to

disastrous results, which will obviously produce negative eects on the economic

and social context.

For this reason, our work focuses on the main opportunities and challenges that Small

and Medium Enterprises (hereinafter SMEs) in the EU and non-EU region are facing

in a process of digital transformation, or rather innovation.

Also, as part of Berlin process, it is necessary to advance inclusive regional mobility

and catalyzing mobility - driven innovation and knowledge transfer for six Western

Balkan countries (WB6).

This emphasis arises because scientic research, innovation, and the transfer of

knowledge & technology are considered a priority for the sustainable economic

development of Balkan nations. Considering the social and economic developments

in the region and concerns about brain drain, fostering regional cooperation is vital.

Moreover, of imperative importance is the collaboration between institutions in

the region with those in the EU, which could potentially lead to talent recruitment

from the region, diaspora, or even the EU. In the pursuit of progress, it is crucial that

nations come together to nurture innovation and facilitate the ow of knowledge

across borders.

Our destinies are interlinked, and our prosperity relies on our ability to collaborate

and empower each other through the sharing of knowledge and innovation.

To advance research and innovation collaboration between the WB6 and the EU, it is

necessary for WB6 countries that rst to strengthen the regional cooperation and to

address the need for more mobility programs in the region which are based on long-

term results.

To fully understand the topic under investigation, it may be useful to start from a

detailed description of what Innovation is and how SMEs are classied under the EU

regulation. In our study, we have taken inconsideration EU countries and Albania,

traditionally characterized by a large prevalence of SMEs. This work will focus on

SMEs since it is the type of company that faces the biggest problems and challenges

in terms of innovation.