Digital uptake of small peripheral Australian businesses: facilitating and inhibiting factors

Purpose This research explores the skills, attitudes and knowledge of micro and small businesses in the peripheral high growth region of Moreton Bay in southeast Queensland that would enable these businesses to adopt and use new business technology. Design/methodology/approach Sixteen in-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with participants recruited via snowball sampling and utilised in conjunction with the Queensland government’s Digital Scorecard survey data. The interviews were analysed using thematic analysis, NVivo 12 and a phenomenographic approach. Findings All micro and small business owners understood the value of new business technology and expressed a positive attitude towards its uptake but felt constrained by a lack of knowledge, time and resources. Thus, they require targeted and local guidance and tools to minimize the demands on their time of implementation, which has implications for policymakers, governments and educators. Originality/value Past studies on micro and small businesses adopting new technology have either looked at large regions or specific types of technology leaving the technological skills, attitudes and knowledge gaps of micro and small businesses in peripheral regions unexamined. This research aims to fill that gap by studying a specific high growth peripheral region, Moreton Bay, on the edge of the greater Brisbane city area. We recommend a phased approach to developing digital skills, adopting technology and appropriate support programs for each stage.